Salman Ali Agha made a triumphant return to the Pakistan team with his fourth ODI century in a 37-run victory over Sri Lanka in the cricket tri-series opener on Sunday. Agha top-scored with 107 off 90 balls as Pakistan were bowled out for 305 in 49.5 overs after Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis won his fourth successive toss and elected to field. The batsman was among seven Pakistan cricketers summoned home at the end of August during a turbulent tour of England, having captained the side in the first Test.
Pakistan pace bowlers overcame heavy dew and threatening half centuries from Pavan Rathnayake (79) and Janith Liyanage (60) to dismiss Sri Lanka for 268 in 48.1 overs. Captain Shaheen Afridi picked up three for 55 while Naseem Shah pinned down Sri Lanka's top-order with impressive swing bowling to finish on two for 43. Haris Rauf ran through the tail with two for 48 while seam all-rounder Faheem Ashraf grabbed two for 49, including the key wicket of Rathnayake.
Avishka Fernando, making a comeback to ODIs, top-edged Shah while Kusal Mendis struggled for 34 balls to score only 18 before he fell to Ashraf. Kamindu Mendis (44 in 50) survived two dropped catches before Afridi struck twice in his return spell as Sri Lanka limped to 91-4 in the 20th over of its chase. Rathnayake and Liyanage then revived Sri Lankan hopes with a 119-run stand with Pakistan pacers unable to reverse swing the wet ball due to heavy dew at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
But the dismissal of Rathnayake in the 38th over provided Pakistan an opening despite Dasun Shanaka, playing his first ODI since the start of 2024, scoring 28 off 18 balls. After being summoned home, Agha was stripped of the Pakistan T20 captaincy and dropped from the side that beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in their recent three-match series. However, a prolific run of domestic form, including a triple century, earned him a recall to the ODI team.
Agha helped Pakistan recover from 118-4 in the 22nd over, building crucial partnerships with Hasan Nawaz (37) and Arafat Minhas (18), before Sri Lanka struck back in the death overs. Eshan Malinga (4-46) and Asitha Fernando (3-59) struck repeatedly in the final five overs to deny Pakistan a strong finish. From 279-5, Pakistan lost its last five wickets for just 26 runs.
Malinga claimed two wickets in a maiden over before No. 11 Haris Rauf denied him a hat-trick. Dilshan Madushanka (2-67) removed openers Fakhar Zaman (16) and Saim Ayub (7) in his opening spell. Babar Azam and 19-year-old debutant Saad Baig rebuilt with a 74-run third-wicket stand before Malinga removed both batters in successive overs.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
