A Salman Agha century on his return to the side powered Pakistan to a 37-run win over Sri Lanka in the opening match of the ODI tri-series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Batting first, Pakistan posted 305 in 49.5 overs. Agha scored 107 off 90 balls with ten fours and a six, his fourth one-day international hundred, before falling to Asitha Fernando in the 47th over.
Babar Azam added 45, debutant Saad Baig made a quick 39 off 40 balls and Hasan Nawaz chipped in with 37. Openers Saim Ayub (7) and Fakhar Zaman (16) both fell early to Dilshan Madushanka. Fast bowler Eshan Malinga returned career-best figures of 4-46 for Sri Lanka.
How the Salman Agha century set up the win
Agha rebuilt the innings after the early wickets and kept the scoring rate moving through the middle overs, giving the bowlers a total to defend on a good batting surface.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 268 in 48.1 overs. Pavan Rathnayake top-scored with 79, Janith Liyanage made 60 and Kamindu Mendis added 44, but Pakistan kept taking wickets at key moments.
Shaheen Shah Afridi led the attack with 3-55, while Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Faheem Ashraf took two wickets each.
Babar reaches 16,000 international runs
During his innings, Babar Azam became the fifth Pakistan cricketer to reach 16,000 runs in international cricket across all formats, getting there in 399 innings.
England are the third team in the tri-series, which is part of the build-up to next year’s ODI World Cup. Pakistan face England in the second match on Tuesday, also in Rawalpindi.
