Salman Agha Century Fuels Pakistan’s Tri-Series Opening Win
Pakistan secured a 37-run victory over Sri Lanka in their tri-series opening match on Sunday, October 18, in Rawalpindi. The win was anchored by a century from Salman Agha, which propelled the hosts to a total of 305, despite a late-order collapse that saw their final five wickets fall for only 37 runs in the closing six overs. Eshan Malinga was the standout performer for the visitors, claiming 4-46. Despite their poor finish with the bat, Pakistan managed to go past 300 on the back of Agha’s ton. Pakistan didn’t get off to the greatest of starts after being asked to bat first. While those two wickets forced Pakistan to retreat, Sri Lanka couldn’t press home the advantage as Agha and Hasan Nawaz steadied the ship with an impressive partnership. A total of 305 appeared to be more than good enough for the home side as Sri Lanka stuttered in the run chase, despite that poor finish. Even though Agha turned on the heat in the slog overs, Arafat Minhas’s dismissal completely derailed Pakistan.
The Pakistani innings saw early struggles as Dilshan Madushanka dismissed both openers within the first six overs. Babar Azam, who contributed 45 runs, and Saad Baig attempted to steady the innings with a positive partnership, but both fell to short-pitched deliveries from Malinga. Agha then combined with Hasan Nawaz to stabilize the momentum, keeping the scoring rate high until the late-innings slide, during which Agha was eventually dismissed for 107. Fakhar Zaman cashed in on a free-hit to hammer a six early in his innings and went on to add a couple of boundaries as well. The two batters continued to bat in positive fashion with Baig in particular dealing in sixes. The boundaries started flowing again after the duo gained confidence.
In response, Sri Lanka’s chase faced early pressure. Avishka Fernando fell to a top-edge, and Kusal Mendis struggled to build rhythm, managing only 13 runs off 31 balls before being dismissed by Faheem Ashraf. By the end of the 20th over, the visitors were reeling at 91/4. A significant recovery followed, driven by a century-plus partnership between Pavan Rathnayake, who scored 79, and Janith Liyanage, who added 60. In reply, Sri Lanka recovered from their wobbly start and put themselves in contention to hunt down 306 following a century stand between Pavan Rathnayake and Janith Liyanage. However, they wilted under pressure towards the end to eventually go down. Rathnayake made a nervy start as he was beaten on numerous occasions at the start of his innings. Rathnayake and Liyanage provided exactly that as they kept finding the boundary regularly to help Sri Lanka crawl back into the contest.
The momentum shifted back in Pakistan’s favor when Rathnayake was caught at cover. Although Dasun Shanaka attempted a counter-attack, the Pakistani bowlers tightened their grip. Shaheen Afridi, who finished with figures of 3-55, removed Shanaka, effectively ending Sri Lanka’s hopes. Naseem Shah, who claimed 2-43, and Haris Rauf then dismantled the lower order to bowl out the visitors for 268 in 48.1 overs. That meant the onus was on Shanaka to get the job done alongside the Sri Lankan lower order. Effectively sealing the game for his side, afridi opted to bowl himself out immediately in order to go for the kill and that ploy paid dividends as the skipper bagged the big wicket of Shanaka. On expected lines, Sri Lanka’s tail caved in without a fight with Naseem Shah and Rauf completing the formalities to seal the win.
Brief scores: Pakistan 305 all out in 49.5 overs (Salman Agha 107, Babar Azam 45; Eshan Malinga 4-46) defeated Sri Lanka 268 all out in 48.1 overs (Pavan Rathnayake 79, Janith Liyanage 60; Shaheen Afridi 3-55, Naseem Shah 2-43) by 37 runs.
