Pakistan claim narrow win over Sri Lanka in series opener
Salman Agha's century and Haris Rauf's four-wicket haul gave Pakistan a winning start in the ODI series against Sri Lanka as they defeated the visitors by a narrow margin of six runs in the first ODI in Rawalpindi. Agha's 105 not out was complemented well by Hussain Talat's 62 and Mohammad Nawaz's quick-fire 36 not out as Pakistan finished with 299 for 5. Sri Lanka started the chase well but lost wickets regularly as the innings progressed. Wanindu Hasaranga came up with a fighting 59 off 52 but his knock went in vain as Sri Lanka fell just short.
Sri Lanka got off to a steady start in the chase with openers Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara putting on a brisk 89-run stand. Pakistan missed some early chances as Nissanka was dropped by Agha off Shaheen Afridi while Rauf couldn't take a tough one in his own over to reprieve Mishara. Sri Lanka's positive start, however, was undone quickly by Rauf who had Mishara miscuing to mid-off and Kusal Mendis bowled off successive deliveries. Nissanka was caught behind in Rauf's next over as Sri Lanka slipped to 90/3 in the 14th over. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka were building a promising partnership but Rauf returned to have the former caught at slip.
Janith Liyanage counterattacked and Asalanka got going too after a slow start as they put on a half-century stand before Mohammad Nawaz had the Sri Lankan skipper out stumped for 32. Liyanage struck a six off Naseem Shah but was bowled in the same over as Sri Lanka were reduced to 191 for 6 in the 33rd over, which became 210/7 in the 38th when Faheem Ashraf had Kamindu Mendis dragging one onto the stumps.
Wanindu Hasaranga tried to take the game deep and also scored crucial boundaries but Sri Lanka lost their eighth wicket when Chameera tried to pull an Ashraf delivery but only got a top edge. Needing 50 off the last five overs, Hasaranga brought it down to 23 off the last two overs as he struck two fours off Ashraf in the 47th over en route to a 45-ball fifty, and also got a boundary off Rauf. But he fell to Naseem in the 49th over trying to hit a full toss down the ground. Theekshana kept the fight going in the last over as it came down to 9 off 2 balls. But a dot followed by a couple meant Pakistan held their nerve to go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series.
Earlier, asked to bat, Pakistan lost Saim Ayub and got off to a slow start, getting only 28 in the first 10 overs. Sri Lanka lost both their reviews very early but their disciplined bowling ensured Pakistan weren't able to get off the blocks as quickly as they would have liked. Fakhar Zaman tried to ease the pressure as he struck a six off Hasaranga but was out stumped soon after on 32 off 55. Mohammad Rizwan was trapped in front by the legspinner, who also had Babar Azam bowled on 29 off 51, leaving Pakistan at 95/4 in the 24th over.
Agha and Talat then got together and put on a century partnership to set the base for Pakistan's strong total. They rotated the strike well and scored regular boundaries as they took Pakistan past 200 in the 41st over. Talat, who brought up his maiden ODI fifty, fell a short while later, out lbw to Maheesh Theekshana. Pakistan were 240/5 at the end of the 44th over, and only 17 came in the next three overs. But Agha and Mohammad Nawaz took 20 off Dushmantha Chameera in the 48th over, with the Test skipper also bringing up his second ODI century in the process. Nawaz struck a six off Asitha Fernando and two fours off Chameera in the final over as Pakistan scored 42 in the last three overs to finish just short of 300.
Brief scores: Pakistan 299/5 in 50 overs (Salman Agha 105*, Hussain Talat 62; Wanindu Hasaranga 3-54) beat Sri Lanka 293/9 in 50 overs (Wanindu Hasaranga 59, Sadeera Samarawickrama 39; Haris Rauf 4-61) by 6 runs.
