By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Fakhar Zaman made a magnificent 127 and 21-year-old Arafat Minhas struck 61 off 31 balls to carry Pakistan to a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the tri-series final at a packed Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday, with nine balls to spare.
It was the joint-highest successful chase in an ODI final. The captain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, finished it by pulling Dilshan Madushanka over midwicket for six, and it gave Pakistan their first ODI tri-series title since 2008, when they beat India in Bangladesh.
The win came four days after Sri Lanka had bowled Pakistan out for 110 in the league stage, when Madushanka took a career-best five for 34. That defeat had raised fresh doubts about the batting, and Pakistan’s reply to it was emphatic.
The doubts looked justified early on. Pakistan won the toss and chose to field, but Sri Lanka made 325 for eight on another flat pitch, and the chase began badly. Madushanka had Maaz Sadaqat caught at slip for five, then Babar Azam, nine innings without a half-century, edged to slip for a five-ball duck. Pakistan were 14 for two in the fourth over.
Fakhar, 36 and with his place in the side the subject of debate, did not look settled. He took 52 balls to reach his fifty and was twice reprieved by Maheesh Theekshana, on 69 and 106. But the left-hander, who made the match-winning hundred in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, found his rhythm and scored 75 off his last 40 balls. He reached his 12th ODI century off 84 balls, and 72 of his runs came on the leg side.
He added 149 for the third wicket with Saad Baig, who made 74 off 75 balls, his first international half-century, hours before his 20th birthday. When Baig was caught and bowled by Theekshana and Fakhar was bowled by Madushanka, charging at a slog in the 34th over, Pakistan were 220 for four and still needed 106. Salman Agha then fell to Dunith Wellalage, and at 230 for five the game was alive again. Pakistan went nine overs without a boundary, but the required rate had been kept under 6.5 an over.
Minhas, at No 7, decided it with Hasan Nawaz. He scored no boundaries off his first 14 balls and waited for the dew to settle on the outfield. Then he scored 48 off his last 17, with four sixes and three fours. His check-driven six over long-on off Madushanka was the shot of the night. Pakistan needed 18 off 18 when he took two sixes and a four off Asitha Fernando in one over, and the pair put on 94 for the sixth wicket. Minhas fell with the target in sight, caught and bowled by Asitha, and Faheem Ashraf went first ball in the same over, but Hasan and Shaheen kept their nerve.
Sri Lanka’s total should have been bigger. Kamindu Mendis made his first ODI hundred, 131 off 128 balls, and shared stands of 87 with Avishka Fernando and 146 in 119 balls with Pavan Rathnayake, who hit 77 off 65. At 255 for two after 41 overs they were heading for 350. Shaheen then had Kamindu leg-before and Dasun Shanaka caught at long-on, and he finished with two for 50 from his ten overs. Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah also took two wickets each, and Sri Lanka lost six wickets in the last nine overs.
“We had to score another 30 runs,” said Sri Lanka’s captain, Kusal Mendis. His side also put down chances to dismiss Fakhar, and the dew made fielding and bowling harder as the chase went on.
Rathnayake finished as the series’ leading run-scorer by a distance, with 427 runs. Minhas, whose six for 40 beat England earlier in the tournament, was named player of the series, having taken nine wickets and scored 149 runs.
The sides meet again soon. Sri Lanka stay for a Test tour, with a three-day match in Islamabad from 4-6 November, then the first Test at Rawalpindi from 9-13 November.
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