Pakistan withstood a fierce middle-order counterattack from Pavan Rathnayake and Janith Liyanage to secure a thrilling 37-run victory over Sri Lanka in the opening match of the ODI tri-series in Rawalpindi, which also features England.
Rathnayake and Liyanage had put Sri Lanka firmly on course for victory with a brilliant 119-run partnership for the fifth wicket. With the visitors cruising and requiring just 55 runs from the final seven overs under a heavy evening dew, the match appeared to be slipping away from the hosts. However, the dismissal of Liyanage triggered a dramatic collapse, as Sri Lanka lost their last five wickets for a mere 15 runs, allowing Shaheen Shah Afridi’s side to breathe a collective sigh of relief and close out a 305-run defense.
The foundation for Pakistan’s total was laid by Salman Agha, who marked his triumphant return to the national side with a masterclass in middle-order resilience. Scoring his fourth ODI hundred, Salman single-handedly rescued the hosts from a precarious position and steered them past the 300-run mark.
By the 22nd over, Pakistan had already lost four wickets and looked vulnerable against a disciplined Sri Lankan bowling attack, particularly with a relatively long tail waiting in the pavilion. Displaying immaculate tactical awareness and composure, Salman compiled a magnificent 107 off 90 deliveries. He navigated the team out of danger through sizeable partnerships with Hasan Nawaz and Arafat Minhas, anchoring the innings when his team needed stability the most.
Despite Salman’s heroics, Sri Lanka’s bowlers successfully restricted Pakistan from achieving an explosive finish. Eshan Malinga and Asitha Fernando struck crucial blows in the death overs to ultimately bowl Pakistan out for 305. At the time, those left-over runs looked like they might prove costly at the climax of the contest, especially as the dew set in and made bowling increasingly difficult.
Rathnayake and Liyanage seized upon those conditions, methodically dismantling Pakistan’s early dominance. Pakistan had initially skittled Sri Lanka’s top four batsmen while conceding very few runs, but the second half of the run chase told a entirely different story.
Afridi continuously rotated his bowling attack in search of a breakthrough, but aside from a disciplined spell from Naseem Shah, the bowlers had no answers for the free flow of runs. Haris Rauf, Arafat Minhas, Saim Ayub, and Afridi himself were taken apart, particularly by Rathnayake. The Sri Lankan batsman paced his innings to perfection, dancing down the pitch and keeping up with the required run rate with calculated aggression. Afridi was notably taken out of the attack after being pulled for back-to-back sixes over his hips—a stark contrast to Pakistan’s own well-documented struggles against the short ball earlier in the day.
The breakthrough finally arrived after a pair of tight overs from Faheem Ashraf. The pressure induced a false stroke from Rathnayake, who could only spoon an intended big shot to Salman at short cover, bringing Dasun Shanaka to the crease. Even so, Sri Lanka remained in the driver’s seat until Liyanage chipped Rauf straight to long-on with 53 runs still required.
That single dismissal blew the house down. Afridi returned to remove Shanaka in the very next over, and although the tail-enders limped on briefly, Pakistan’s relentless pressure made the final outcome a mere formality.
Reflecting on the match, Pakistan will look back fondly on their dominance during the first 25 overs of both innings, though their fielding left much to be desired. Sri Lanka’s top order had earlier failed to keep pace with the asking rate under Naseem’s tight opening spell, which included the prized wicket of Avishka Fernando. Earlier in the innings, debutant wicketkeeper Saad Baig endured a difficult evening behind the stumps, dropping a skier before Ashraf swooped in with sharp reflexes to collect the rebound. It was emblematic of a generally untidy day for Pakistan’s fielders.
Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bowl first in Rawalpindi, utilizing early morning swing and extra pace from Dilshan Madushanka to dismiss both Pakistan openers. Both Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman fell victim to short deliveries, forcing Babar Azam and Baig to initiate a rebuilding phase.
The pair responded with a gritty 74-run partnership, steadily accelerating the run rate. However, Babar’s recent frustrating tendency of throwing away promising starts surfaced once again. Malinga, operating as Sri Lanka’s quickest bowler, hurled a sharp bouncer that rushed onto Babar, who was late on the pull shot and departed just five runs short of a half-century. Shortly afterward, Baig—who had shown significant promise and a willingness to tackle the short ball head-on rather than retreating—miscued his shot and holed out to deep fine leg.
This was precisely the type of scenario where Salman thrives. Having been dropped from both the Test side and the T20 captaincy over the previous two months, the middle-order batsman used the opportunity to silence his critics. He built an innings with flawless execution during the middle overs, expertly halting Sri Lanka’s momentum while maintaining a healthy run rate. By rotating the strike efficiently and covering for Nawaz, who endured a sluggish start, Salman anchored the innings. He capitalized on a tactical error by Sri Lanka when they prematurely turned to Kamindu Mendis’ spin in the 25th over, extracting 11 runs to shift the momentum back toward the hosts.
As Salman grew increasingly comfortable at the crease, Sri Lanka’s bowling attack appeared toothless through the middle overs. Dominating the partnership, Salman brought up his well-earned half-century off just 48 balls. Nawaz began to open up his shoulders as well, highlighted by a towering six off leg-spinner Sachindu Colombage, but Asitha rooted him out in the subsequent over to end their fifth-wicket stand at 97 runs. Salman then forged a similar stabilizing partnership with Minhas for the sixth wicket, adding 64 runs while once again shouldering the primary scoring burden.
Pakistan gathered 26 runs across the 44th and 45th overs as they chased a strong finish, but Sri Lanka’s death-bowling specialists struck back decisively. Both Minhas and Salman fell attempting ambitious sixes, and the lower order quickly unraveled. Malinga dismissed Ashraf and Naseem on consecutive deliveries, leaving a pair of lusty blows from Afridi to edge Pakistan past the 300-run threshold.
For long stretches of Sri Lanka’s chase, it seemed certain that Pakistan’s inability to finish their innings strongly with the bat would cost them the match. Instead, on a dewy autumn night in Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s pace attack—which collectively shared nine wickets—ensured that Salman’s magnificent century would not go to waste, securing a hard-fought win to kick off the tri-series.
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