Fakhar Zaman century steers Pakistan to tri-series final win over Sri Lanka in Lahore

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by three wickets to win the tri-series final at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 31 October 2026, the match finishing in the penultimate over after a high-scoring chase. Fakhar Zaman scored 127 from 99 balls as Pakistan successfully pursued a target of 326.

The final was played under lights before a packed Gaddafi Stadium and delivered a decisive finish to the mini-tournament. Sri Lanka set the target largely on the back of Kamindu Mendis’s 131, while Pavan Rathnayake and Avishka Fernando supplied valuable starts that built momentum in the middle overs. Seven years on from his ODI debut, Mendis recorded his first hundred in the format, more than doubling his previous career-best.

Rathnayake contributed 77 and combined with Mendis for a 146-run partnership inside 20 overs; his half-century also took him to 427 runs in the tri-series at 106.75, including two hundreds against England earlier in the competition. An opening stand of 87 between Avishka Fernando and Rathnayake helped Sri Lanka push to 255 after 41 overs before late wickets restricted them from accelerating even further.

Pakistan fought back with the ball late in the innings, Shaheen Afridi going full to dismiss Kamindu and Dasun Shanaka, and Haris Rauf using short deliveries to claim two late wickets. Pakistan took six wickets in the last nine overs to prevent Sri Lanka from posting an even higher total.

The chase lost early momentum when Babar Azam was dismissed without scoring, leaving him now nine innings without a half century after edging to a wide slip. Maaz Sadaqat then fell to Dilshan Madushanka, bringing Fakhar Zaman and Saad Baig together at 14 for two.

Saad Baig advanced to his first international half-century off 52 balls and finished 74 before being caught by Maheesh Theekshana on return. Fakhar benefitted from three missed chances—dropped by Madushanka on six and by Theekshana on 69 and 106—and reached three figures off 84 balls on his way to 127 from 99.

Arafat Minhas and Hasan Nawaz anchored the finish with a 94-run partnership; Minhas struck 61 from 31 balls, including four sixes, and had earlier decimated England with a six-wicket haul at the start of the tri-series. Minhas’s left-arm spin had been expensive in this match, but his power hitting, coupled with a 15-run over off Shanaka when 46 were needed from 30 balls, swung the game Pakistan’s way. Minhas and Faheem Ashraf fell with two runs still required, and Shaheen Afridi completed the chase with a six over the ropes.

The victory secured the tri-series title for Pakistan, concluding the tournament with a final played under lights at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.