Lahore delivered a proper final on Saturday night. Sri Lanka posted 325, Pakistan lost two wickets for 14 runs in reply, and the Gaddafi Stadium crowd spent a long evening alternating between worry and delight. In the end the hosts got there with nine balls left. This piece covers how the match unfolded, the performances that decided it and what the result suggests for both teams. The figures come from reports and scorecards published up to 1 November 2026.
The final at a glance
Pakistan won the ODI tri-series final by three wickets, chasing 326. Cricinfo’s match report gives the scores: Pakistan 331 for 7 (Fakhar 127, Baig 74, Minhas 61, Madushanka 3-63) beat Sri Lanka 325 for 8 (Kamindu 131, Rathnayake 77, Agha 2-44, Afridi 2-50). The match was played at the Gaddafi Stadium. The hosts had arrived at the final as the home side, and the third team in the competition was England. Sri Lanka had come into the final on the back of a defeat to England in their last league game.
Pakistan won the toss and chose to field, which meant Sri Lanka batted first for the first time in the tournament, according to Al Jazeera’s report on the match. It also meant the chase would be played under lights, which is often the easier job in Lahore at this time of year. That advantage looked thin for a while.
Sri Lanka’s innings: Kamindu’s maiden century
The visitors started with purpose. Avishka Fernando and Kamindu Mendis put on 87 for the first wicket in just over 17 overs, a steady rather than spectacular stand. When Kusal Mendis fell soon after, Sri Lanka were 109 for 2, and it was the third-wicket partnership that put them in command. Kamindu and Pavan Rathnayake added 146 together before the stand ended at 255.
The century itself drew the day’s first big cheer. Kamindu’s hundred was a milestone, and the live coverage on Outlook India described it coming against a short, off-stump delivery from Faheem Ashraf. It was his first ODI hundred. He finished with 131 off 128 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes, before Shaheen Shah Afridi trapped him lbw in the 42nd over. Rathnayake chipped in with a brisk 77 off 65.
Sri Lanka at 255 for 3 with eight overs to go looked headed for 350 or more. Instead, the late overs went wrong. The scorecard shows how the innings fell away: Dasun Shanaka was caught for 17 off nine balls, Rathnayake went in the 45th over, and Janith Liyanage, Sahan Arachchige and Dunith Wellalage all departed cheaply. From 255 for 3, the visitors added only 70 runs for five wickets. That was still a big total, but it was perhaps 25 short of what they had seemed to be building.
Naseem Shah, Afridi and Haris Rauf took two wickets apiece in the bowling figures, and it was Pakistan’s discipline at the death, rather than anything dramatic, that dragged the total back toward something chaseable.
The chase: from 14 for 2 to a title
Everyone in the ground knew Pakistan’s start would matter, and it was a bad one. Maaz Sadaqat was caught for 5 in the second over and Babar Azam, one of the biggest names in the team, was out for a five-ball duck. That left the score at 14 for 2 with 312 still needed.
Cricinfo’s report picks out what happened next: Fakhar and Baig’s 149-run stand rescued Pakistan from 14 for 2 after Kamindu Mendis’ 131 set them 326. Saad Baig, a wicketkeeper-batter, made 74 off 75 balls with 11 fours, which is quietly excellent for a young player in his first big final. He steadied the innings while Fakhar found his range at the other end.
Fakhar’s hundred, and the dropped catches
Fakhar Zaman’s innings came with a back story. Al Jazeera noted that he came into the final with only 31 runs in his last four innings and spent most of the time in the dressing room after injuring his right knee while fielding. So there were real questions about whether he would bat at all, let alone score big.
He scored 127 off 99 balls, with 11 fours and six sixes, which was his 12th ODI hundred according to the scorecard. Sri Lanka also let him off the hook at key moments. The same report records that Maheesh Theekshana, playing his first match in the tri-series, missed out on claiming Zaman on 69 and 106, when he couldn’t hold on to a return catch. Two chances to remove the man who eventually won the match is the sort of detail that decides finals. Fakhar was finally bowled by Dilshan Madushanka in the 34th over, when Pakistan still needed 106.
The twist: Arafat Minhas
At that point the game was in the balance. Salman Agha departed for 17, and Pakistan, at 275 for 5 after the 36th over, still had work to do. The man who finished it was a surprise.
Arafat Minhas, batting at No. 7, smashed 61 off 31 balls, with four sixes and a strike rate of nearly 197. Alongside Hasan Nawaz (37 not out off 45), he added 94 for the sixth wicket in about 11 overs. ESPNcricinfo’s headline captures it neatly: Minhas’ match-turning 61, Fakhar 127 take Pakistan to tri-series title. Minhas fell in the 48th over after Pakistan were already within a few runs, Faheem Ashraf was out first ball and Afridi, with a six off his third delivery, helped to finish things off with 9 balls and three wickets remaining.
The Outlook India match summary says it simply: Fakhar Zaman and Arafat Minhas power Pakistan to the tri-series title after a 326 chase against Sri Lanka in Lahore.
Where Sri Lanka lost it
It would be unfair to say Sri Lanka threw this away, but a few moments will bother them.
- The collapse at the death. Five wickets for 70 runs after 255 for 3 left them short of a par score on a good batting pitch. The weather was clear, with no rain or wind, and conditions were normal for batting.
- Dropped chances. Two missed opportunities against Fakhar cost them dearly.
- Death bowling. In the last few overs of Pakistan’s chase, Sri Lanka went for plenty. Asitha Fernando conceded 16 in one over and Madushanka gave away 20 in 1.3 overs. Shanaka’s one over cost 15.
On the bright side, Madushanka finished with 3 for 63, including both Babar and Sadaqat early, and the pace attack kept Pakistan under pressure for long periods. Sri Lanka’s batting also looked healthier than in recent seasons, and Kamindu’s hundred is a real bright spot.
What this says about Pakistan
Pakistan have now won the tri-series on home soil, and they did it with a mix of senior and newer names. Shaheen Shah Afridi captained the side. The match report listed Shadab Khan as unavailable for the final.
Three takeaways stand out.
- Depth in the batting. A team that loses Babar for nothing and still chases 326 has real lower-order firepower. Minhas’s innings is the clearest sign.
- Fakhar remains a big-match player. The Cricinfo report describes his hundred as a masterclass in another final. He has a reputation for this, and the 2018 Zimbabwe tri-series, where he was named player of the series, is another example.
- Bowling still has leaks. Pakistan conceded 325 on a pitch that did not do much, and Naseem went for 80 in his 10 overs. If their bowling attack is to be trusted in tougher conditions, they will need tighter lines.
A short history behind the rivalry
The two sides know each other well. Last November, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 3-0 in an ODI series in Rawalpindi, a result Gulf News described as Pakistan’s fourth consecutive ODI series win over Sri Lanka, after 2015, 2017 and 2019. That tour was also overshadowed by security worries. The same report noted that the Pakistan Cricket Board and Sri Lanka Cricket had to convince the players to stay with enhanced security measures. The fact that Sri Lanka returned in October 2026 for a full tri-series, with a final played in front of a full crowd, says something about how far touring cricket in Pakistan has come.
In a T20 tri-series with Zimbabwe at the end of last year, Pakistan also won the final against Sri Lanka, another sign that Sri Lanka’s record in Pakistan remains a work in progress.
What to watch next
- Sri Lanka’s death overs. Both batting collapses and bowling leaks in the last ten overs need work.
- Fakhar’s fitness. He was nursing a knee injury during the final. Whether he plays the next series will matter to Pakistan’s plans.
- The Minhas question. Pakistan will be tempted to keep him in the finisher’s role, but one 31-ball cameo is a small sample.
- Kamindu Mendis. Having made a maiden ODI hundred in a high-pressure final, he looks like a batter who could anchor Sri Lanka’s middle order for years.
Conclusion
This final was close, and both teams will take away something. Pakistan get a title, a reminder of Fakhar’s quality and a new finisher. Sri Lanka get a maiden century from one of their brightest batters and a long list of small things to fix. Cricket fans got an ending worthy of a final.