Fakhar's century, Shaheen's final blow: Pakistan scale 326 to win by three wickets

Pakistan chased down Sri Lanka's 326 with three wickets in hand, and the winning blow came off Shaheen Afridi's bat — he cleared the boundary to end the contest. On the scorecard the win looks comfortable; on the field it was not. Pakistan lost two wickets for the last two runs and at one stage it seemed they might fall into the same hole that had swallowed the entire side for 110 four days earlier. Sri Lanka's innings first. Kamindu Mendis made 131, the highest score of his one-day career — more than double his previous best. Pavan Rathnayake contributed 77, taking his series tally to 427. Sri Lanka had reached 255 for two in 41 overs and were set for something around 350. But they lost six wickets in the last nine overs and were bowled out for 325 for eight. The credit goes to the Pakistan bowlers, though the report gives no figures for them — no economy rates, no overs, no wicket details. All that is recorded is that Shaheen Afridi removed Kamindu and Shanaka to pull his side back. Pakistan's chase stumbled badly at the start. Two wickets were down with only 14 on the board and Babar Azam had returned without scoring. In came Saad Baig — hours before his twentieth birthday — and struck his maiden international fifty. He made 74 and, alongside Fakhar Zaman, steadied the innings. Fakhar top-scored with 127. But that innings was no serene one. Fakhar was dropped three times — on 6, on 69 and on 106. The third chance went down off Maheesh Theekshana, who had already spilled one earlier. Had any of those catches stuck, the match could have turned completely. That is why it is wrong to read the victory as simply the product of Fakhar's hundred: his hundred was not possible without those three drops. Pakistan's middle order kept losing men too. Salman fell, and then Mohammad Minhas and Mohammad Nawaz put on 94 together. That stand made a difficult target manageable, but it cannot be called match-securing. Minhas and Faheem were both dismissed when only two runs were needed. Seven wickets were down before Shaheen Afridi finished it with a six. The match is part of a tri-series that also involves England, alongside Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Four days earlier in the same competition Pakistan had been bowled out for 110. How the side travelled from that defeat to this successful 326 chase is nowhere explained in the report. It remains a genuine question, one that cannot be filled with phrases designed only to heighten the drama. As for the bowling, Haris Rauf took two late wickets. The report does note that he bowled short to get them, but offers no figures. Shaheen Afridi contributed at both ends — first with the ball, then with the bat. Notably, there is not a single direct quote from any player, captain or coach across the whole report. After a match in which a young player made a fifty on the eve of his birthday, an opener converted three lives into a century and the game was settled at the death, the absence of anyone speaking is unusual. Taken as a whole, the match exposes both Pakistan's depth and Sri Lanka's weakness at the death. Sri Lanka were on course for roughly 350 at 41 overs and finished on 325 after losing six in the last nine — that was the decisive gap. And Pakistan, who began at 14 for two and were still fighting for the final two runs despite a 94-run stand, ended up winning.