Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Final, Pakistan ODI Tri-Series 2026
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Final 2026: Fakhar Zaman’s Century Powers Pakistan to Victory
Pakistan chased 326 to beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in the ODI Tri-Series final at Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday, reaching 331 for 7 with nine balls to spare. Fakhar Zaman made 127 from 99 balls and was named Player of the Match.
Sri Lanka had posted 325 for 8, built around Kamindu Mendis’s 131 — his maiden one-day international century — and a 146-run third-wicket stand with Pavan Rathnayake, who made 77 from 65. It was a total that should have been enough.
It was not, mostly because of two innings. Fakhar’s hundred rebuilt a chase that had started 14 for 2, and Arafat Minhas’s 61 from 31 balls took it out of Sri Lanka’s reach after Fakhar had gone. Minhas, who did not take a wicket all day, was named Player of the Series.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Final 2026 – Match Summary
| Match | Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Final |
|---|---|
| Tournament | Pakistan ODI Tri-Series 2026 |
| Date | 31 October 2026 (day/night) |
| Venue | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
| Toss | Pakistan won and chose to field |
| Sri Lanka | 325/8 in 50 overs |
| Pakistan | 331/7 in 48.3 overs |
| Target | 326 |
| Result | Pakistan won by 3 wickets, with 9 balls to spare |
| Player of the Match | Fakhar Zaman |
| Player of the Series | Arafat Minhas (149 runs, 9 wickets) |
Kamindu Mendis’s Century Lifts Sri Lanka to 325
Sri Lanka batted first for the only time in the tournament, having been put in, and began carefully. Avishka Fernando’s 38 from 49 was a holding innings, and the opening stand with Kamindu Mendis was worth 87. Kusal Mendis then fell for 8, caught and bowled by Salman Agha at 109 for 2.
From there the innings became one partnership. Kamindu Mendis and Pavan Rathnayake added 146 for the third wicket, reaching their hundred stand in 85 balls and taking Sri Lanka to 255 for 2 after 41 overs.
Kamindu’s 131 came from 128 balls with twelve fours and two sixes — placement rather than power, and his first ODI hundred on the best possible stage. Rathnayake’s 77 from 65 was the faster half of the stand.
At 255 for 2 with nine overs left, Sri Lanka were set for something closer to 370. Instead they lost six for 70. Shaheen Afridi removed Kamindu lbw in the 42nd over and Dasun Shanaka two overs later, and Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah took two each at the death. Shanaka’s 17 from nine balls was the only late acceleration that came off.
Kusal Mendis put it plainly afterwards: “We were short by 25-30 runs.”
Pakistan’s Early Wickets Put the Chase Under Pressure
Pakistan’s reply began badly. Maaz Sadaqat went for 5 and Babar Azam for a five-ball duck, leaving the hosts 14 for 2 inside the opening overs of a chase that required better than six and a half an over from the start.
There was recent history working against them too. Four days earlier, in the fifth match of this tournament, this same Sri Lanka attack had bowled Pakistan out for 110 on this ground.
Fakhar Zaman’s 127 Changes the Final
Fakhar Zaman arrived with the innings two down and almost nothing behind him. He had scored 31 runs in his previous four innings, and he had taken a knock to his right knee while fielding earlier in the day.
What followed was his best innings of the year. He made 127 from 99 balls with eleven fours and six sixes, reaching his hundred from 84 deliveries, in two distinct phases — rebuilding with Saad Baig before opening up once the rate demanded it.
Saad Baig’s 74 from 75 balls was the other half of a 149-run third-wicket stand. The 19-year-old wicketkeeper’s job was to stay in, rotate and let Fakhar take the risks, and he did it for twenty-five overs.
Sri Lanka had chances. Maheesh Theekshana put Fakhar down on 69 and again on 106, and later dropped one on the boundary. In a final decided by three wickets, two missed chances at the same batter is the margin.
Fakhar was eventually bowled by Dilshan Madushanka in the 34th over, with Pakistan still 106 runs short. The match was not won when he left, and the next section explains why it was never seriously in doubt after that either.
“It is good that I am able to get runs in the finals,” Fakhar said afterwards — a line that will read differently to anyone who remembers his hundred in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
Arafat Minhas and Hasan Nawaz Deliver Under Pressure
Pakistan were 230 for 5 after 36.5 overs, needing 96 from 79 balls. The sixth-wicket partnership settled it.
Arafat Minhas made 61 from 31 with three fours and four sixes, and he and Hasan Nawaz added 94. Minhas did not simply score quickly; he scored quickly enough to remove the equation, taking the required rate below a run a ball and leaving Hasan free to work singles. Hasan finished unbeaten on 37 from 45.
Asitha Fernando produced a late jolt, removing Minhas and Faheem Ashraf off successive balls to leave Pakistan 324 for 7 with the target still ahead of them. Shaheen Afridi then finished it with a six — six not out from three balls, and the shot that carried Pakistan past 326.
“The team needed someone to raise his hand today,” Minhas said.
Sri Lanka’s Bowling Effort and the Missed Opportunity
Sri Lanka took seven wickets defending 326 and still lost, which is an unusual way to be beaten.
Dilshan Madushanka was the best of them with 3 for 63, including the two that mattered most — Fakhar Zaman and Salman Agha. Asitha Fernando’s 2 for 72 brought two wickets in two balls at the death. Maheesh Theekshana (1 for 57) and Dunith Wellalage (1 for 58) each struck once.
Two things worked against them. Dew made the ball hard to grip in the second innings, a known hazard of day-night cricket in Lahore. And Theekshana’s two drops both came off the same batter, who went on to make 127. But blaming one player would be unfair: Sri Lanka’s bigger problem was the nine overs in which 255 for 2 became 325 for 8, and their captain said so himself.
Player of the Match and Player of the Series
Fakhar Zaman took the Player of the Match award for his 127 — on a night when 326 had to be chased from 14 for 2, the one innings that made the rest possible.
Arafat Minhas was Player of the Series with 149 runs and nine wickets. The detail that makes the award interesting is that he went wicketless in the final — ten overs for 64 — and still decided it, with the fastest fifty of either innings.
Key Turning Points in the Final
- The 146-run third-wicket stand between Kamindu Mendis and Rathnayake, which took Sri Lanka from 109 for 2 to a commanding position.
- Sri Lanka losing 6 for 70 in the last nine overs, turning a likely 370 into a chaseable 325.
- Theekshana’s two drops, on 69 and 106, both off Fakhar Zaman.
- Minhas’s 61 from 31, which took the required rate below a run a ball with five overs still to bowl.
- Shaheen Afridi’s six to finish, with nine balls unused.
What Pakistan’s Victory Means
Pakistan won the tournament having lost only once in it — to Sri Lanka, four days earlier, in the match where they were dismissed for 110. Recovering from that to chase 326 against the same attack says most of what needs saying about their depth.
The win is reported as Pakistan’s first ODI tri-series title since 2008, when they beat India in Bangladesh, and the chase has been described as the joint-highest successful chase in an ODI final. Both are worth checking against a records database before anyone builds a headline on them.
For Sri Lanka there is more to take than the result suggests. Kamindu Mendis has a maiden ODI hundred and Madushanka took wickets in both the matches that mattered. Losing a final by three wickets after making 325 is not the collapse of a campaign.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka final in 2026?
Pakistan won by three wickets at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on 31 October 2026, chasing 326 with nine balls to spare.
What was Pakistan’s score in the final?
Pakistan made 331 for 7 in 48.3 overs, chasing Sri Lanka’s 325 for 8.
How many runs did Fakhar Zaman score?
Fakhar Zaman made 127 from 99 balls with eleven fours and six sixes, reaching his century off 84 deliveries.
How many runs did Kamindu Mendis score?
Kamindu Mendis made 131 from 128 balls with twelve fours and two sixes — his maiden ODI century.
Who was the Player of the Match?
Fakhar Zaman, for his 127 in the chase.
Who was the Player of the Series?
Arafat Minhas, with 149 runs and nine wickets across the tournament.
How many runs did Arafat Minhas score in the final?
Arafat Minhas made 61 from 31 balls with three fours and four sixes, adding 94 for the sixth wicket with Hasan Nawaz.
By how many wickets did Pakistan win, and how many balls remained?
Pakistan won by three wickets with nine balls to spare, finishing on 331 for 7 in 48.3 of their 50 overs.
Conclusion
Pakistan were 14 for 2 chasing 326, against the attack that had bowled them out for 110 on the same ground four days earlier. They won with nine balls to spare.
Fakhar Zaman’s 127 is the innings the final will be remembered for, and rightly — it came after a lean run, a knee injury, and two early wickets. But the match was still 106 away when he was bowled. Minhas’s 61 from 31 turned a competitive chase into a won one, and Shaheen’s six ended it.
