Pakistan Edge Past Sri Lanka by Six Runs in a Thrilling ODI Opener
Salman Agha's brilliant century and Haris Rauf's fiery spell guided Pakistan to a narrow win in the first ODI at Rawalpindi.
Agha’s ton and Rauf’s late strikes seal the game
Pakistan began their home ODI series against Sri Lanka with a nail-biting victory in Rawalpindi, winning by just six runs after a tense finish.
Batting first, Pakistan got to a competitive total of 299 for 5, thanks largely to Salman Ali Agha’s unbeaten 105-an innings of composure that rescued his team from early pressure. Hussain Talat chipped in too, his 62 helping Pakistan recover from a shaky start and giving them a solid platform for more runs.
Sri Lanka began the chase with intent, never really allowing the required run-rate to get out of hand for the most part of the chase, but despite several promising partnerships, they failed to get starts converted into match-winning knocks. The real spark was provided by Wanindu Hasaranga, who fought back with a quickfire 59 off 52 balls, threatening to take the game away from Pakistan in the closing overs.
Just when Sri Lanka could pull off an upset, Haris Rauf changed it all with a timely late spell of 4 wickets to peg their progress back. Eventually, it was tight death bowling and razor-sharp fielding in the final overs that confirmed Pakistan’s narrow escape as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 293, falling short of the target.
Yet, the performance of Pakistan was not perfect: wayward bowling, with as many as 26 wides, and dropped catches nearly lost them the match. Still, the manner in which they held their nerve under pressure was commendable.
This win gives Pakistan the lead in the three-match series 1–0, while Sri Lanka, though disappointed by the close defeat, showed enough fight to promise an exciting contest in the matches ahead.
