Fakhar and Minhas lead Pakistan to three-wicket win in Tri-Series final
Pakistan won by 3 wickets (with 9 balls remaining) against Sri Lanka in the Tri-Series final at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Fakhar Zaman provided the foundation with 127 from 99 balls, while Arafat Minhas supplied the late acceleration that carried Pakistan to 331/7 in reply to 325/8.
Sent in, Sri Lanka built their innings around Kamindu Mendis’s 131 from 128 balls. He shared an opening stand of 87 with Avishka Fernando and added 146 for the third wicket with Pavan Rathnayake, who made 77 from 65. Shaheen Afridi dismissed Kamindu at 255/3 in the 42nd over, and wickets fell regularly thereafter. Afridi’s 2/50 helped Pakistan contain an innings that had substantial momentum.
Dilshan Madushanka removed Maaz Sadaqat and Babar Azam to leave Pakistan 14/2, but Fakhar and Saad Baig rebuilt with a third-wicket partnership of 149. Baig contributed 74, while Fakhar struck 11 fours and six sixes before Madushanka bowled him at 220/4. Salman Agha’s subsequent dismissal left Pakistan 230/5.
Minhas’s 61 from 31 balls, including four sixes, then changed the chase. His 94-run partnership with Hasan Nawaz took Pakistan to 324 before Asitha Fernando dismissed Minhas and Faheem Ashraf on consecutive deliveries. Those wickets interrupted the finish but did not undo the recovery: Nawaz remained unbeaten on 37, and Shaheen Afridi finished with 6 not out as Pakistan completed a chase sustained by two substantial partnerships.