Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in the one-day international (ODI) tri-series final at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday, October 31, chasing down a target of 326 with nine balls to spare.
Fakhar Zaman led the chase with 127 runs from 99 balls, an innings that included 11 fours and six sixes and brought up his 12th hundred in ODI cricket. His batting held the innings together after a difficult start and kept Pakistan ahead of the asking rate for most of the pursuit.
Sri Lanka had earlier reached 325 for 8 from their 50 overs. Kamindu Mendis made 131 from 128 balls, and Pavan Rathnayake supported him with 77, giving the visitors a total that looked strong enough to defend under lights.
Pakistan’s reply began badly. Maaz Sadaqat was out for 5 and Babar Azam for nought, leaving the home side on 14 for 2. Zaman then rebuilt the innings alongside Saad Baig, who made 74 — his first fifty in ODI cricket — in a stand of 149 that put Pakistan back in control.
Arafat Minhas added 61, and Hasan Nawaz was unbeaten on 37 at the end as Pakistan finished on 331 for 7 in 48.3 overs. Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi struck the winning six to seal a chase that stands as the joint-highest successful run chase in an ODI final.
The result gives Pakistan its first ODI tri-series title since 2008, and its first tri-series title on home soil after defeats in the finals of 1994, 2004 and 2025.
Sources: Reuters; Khaleej Times; International Cricket Council (ICC); The Nation; Aaj English — October 31 to November 1, 2026.
