Fakhar Zaman's 127 carries Pakistan past Sri Lanka in Lahore
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by three wickets with nine balls to spare in the one-day international tri-series final at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday 31 October. A one-day international is a 50-over match for each side, and a tri-series is a short event where three teams play each other before the top two meet in a final.
Sri Lanka batted first after Pakistan won the toss and chose to field. Kamindu Mendis led the way with 131, his first one-day hundred. It came seven years after his debut and more than doubled his previous best score. He added 146 runs with Pavan Rathnayake, who made 77, in just over 20 overs. Sri Lanka finished on 325 for 8 in their 50 overs, according to the BBC scorecard.
Pakistan's bowlers then pulled things back. They took six wickets in the last nine overs of the innings. Dilshan Madushanka finished with three for 63, and Asitha Fernando took two for 72.
The chase looked shaky early. Pakistan were 14 for 2, but Fakhar Zaman and Saad Baig put on 149 runs for the third wicket. Fakhar made 127 off 99 balls, with 11 fours and six sixes. He was dropped twice by Maheesh Theekshana, on 69 and 106, and was eventually bowled by Madushanka. ESPNcricinfo's report credits the stand as the platform for the win.
Baig scored 74 off 75 balls, with 11 fours. It was his first international half-century, reached off 52 balls. Arafat Minhas then attacked with 61 off 31 balls, hitting four sixes. He shared 94 runs with Hasan Nawaz, who finished unbeaten on 37.
Pakistan needed to score quickly at the end. Shaheen Shah Afridi, who captained the side, hit a six to finish the chase. He was on 6 not out off three balls. Pakistan's win came in the 49th over, with the scoreboard reading 331 for 7.
Not every Pakistan batter found form. Babar Azam was out for a duck, which means he scored no runs, and it extended his run to nine innings without a half-century. Pakistan had also been bowled out for 110 by Sri Lanka only four days earlier, in the fifth match of the tri-series, which makes the final's turnaround stand out.
For Sri Lanka, Kamindu Mendis's innings was the highlight of a match that ended in defeat. Kusal Mendis led the side. Pavan Rathnayake had already scored 427 runs in the tri-series at an average of 106.75, according to ESPNcricinfo's player record, including two centuries against England.
The final was a day-night match, played under lights in the evening. Its result was settled late, and the crowd stayed to see the chase through to its final balls.
