Pakistan Beat Sri Lanka by 3 Wickets in Lahore — Fakhar Zaman's 127 and Arafat Minhas's 61 Win the Tri-Series

Pakistan chose to bowl and for a long while the decision looked a costly one. Avishka Fernando and Kamindu Mendis put on 87 for the first wicket, and after Kusal Mendis fell cheaply, Kamindu and Pavan Rathnayake added 146 for the third. Kamindu's 131 off 128 balls was an innings of patience that kept its pace, and Rathnayake's 77 off 65 gave the back half of the innings its push. Pakistan did pull something back: from 255 for 2 Sri Lanka lost six wickets for 52 runs, and it took Maheesh Theekshana and Asitha Fernando to add an unbroken 18 at the end.

Dilshan Madushanka, who had taken five wickets against these same batters days earlier, removed Maaz Sadaqat and Babar Azam inside four overs. You could have forgiven the crowd for fearing a repeat. Fakhar Zaman and Saad Baig refused the idea, adding 149 by the 27th over, Baig striking eleven fours in his 74. Fakhar went on to 127 off 99 balls with six sixes, but when he and Salman Agha fell, Pakistan were 230 for 5 and still needed 96. That was where Arafat Minhas came in. His 61 off 31 balls, with four sixes, and a stand of 94 with the calmer Hasan Nawaz turned a tense finish into a comfortable one. Both Minhas and Faheem Ashraf fell at 324, and Shaheen Shah Afridi's three-ball 6 saw it through.

Sri Lanka will feel they did enough, and on most days 325 would have been. Pakistan take the title after losing heavily to the same side earlier in the week, which tells you something about how quickly a one-day side can change its mind about itself.