Pakistan vs Sri Lanka tri-series final result: Fakhar Zaman's 127 seals a 3-wicket win in Lahore

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka tri-series final result: Pakistan won by 3 wickets at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Saturday 31 October 2026, chasing 326 to reach 331 for 7 in 48.3 overs and lift the 2026/27 Pakistan ODI Tri-Series trophy. Sri Lanka had posted 325 for 8 in 50 overs. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first, and nine balls were still remaining when the winning runs were hit.

The chase did not look like a chase for long. Pakistan lost two early wickets with only 14 runs on the board, and at that point the target of 326 looked a long way away. What followed was a 149-run partnership between Fakhar Zaman and Saad Baig that put the innings back on its feet, and then a finish of rare violence from Arafat Minhas, whose 61 came from only 31 balls. Captain Shaheen Shah Afridi finished the match with a six in the 49th over, and the home crowd had its trophy.

This was also a reversal. Four days earlier, on 27 October, Sri Lanka had beaten Pakistan by 8 wickets in the league stage, bowling Pakistan out for 110. The final was not a repeat. Pakistan chased 326, in front of their own supporters, and won the tournament they were hosting.

Sri Lanka's 325: Mendis' first ODI century sets the target

Sri Lanka's innings was built on one long partnership at the top of the order and one outstanding individual innings. Kamindu Mendis scored 131 from 128 balls, with 12 fours and 2 sixes. It was his first century in one-day internationals, and it gave Sri Lanka the platform for a total that would test any chasing side.

Pavan Rathnayake supported him with 77 from 65 balls, and Avishka Fernando added 38 from 49. Together they carried Sri Lanka past 300 and into a position where 325 felt like a defendable score on a Lahore pitch that had already produced big totals in the series. The innings closed at 325 for 8 from the full 50 overs, at a run rate of 6.50.

Pakistan's bowlers shared the work rather than one of them running through the innings. Shaheen Shah Afridi took 2 for 50 from his 10 overs, and Salman Agha took 2 for 44. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf took two wickets each as well. No Sri Lanka batter after the top three reached 38, and the last nine overs of the innings produced only 70 runs as Pakistan's fast bowlers pulled the scoring back. That late squeeze mattered. Without it, the target could have been well past 340, and the chase would have been a different task altogether.

The target was still 326. In a final, with a trophy at stake, that is a score that demands a century from somebody, or two fifties and a fast finish. Pakistan got all three.

The chase: 14 for 2, then Fakhar and Baig rebuild

Pakistan's reply started badly. Two wickets fell for 14 runs, and the chase was in trouble before it had begun. Fakhar Zaman walked in under exactly the kind of pressure that had followed him through the series: he had scored only 31 runs in his previous four innings, and the final was the last place to find form.

He found it. Fakhar scored 127 from 99 balls, with 11 fours and 6 sixes, and he paced the innings the way a big chase needs to be paced. But he stayed, and he kept the required rate within reach while the partnership with Saad Baig grew.

Baig, 19 years old, scored 74 from 75 balls. The pair added 149 runs together, and that stand did the heavy work of the chase. It took Pakistan from a collapse to a contest, and from a contest to a position where the asking rate was no longer climbing. When Baig was dismissed, the platform was set. The finish still needed doing, and it needed doing quickly, because Sri Lanka's bowlers had wickets in hand and the game was still live.

Fakhar's century was his 12th in one-day internationals. He was eventually dismissed by Dilshan Madushanka, who finished with 3 for 63 from 9.3 overs and was Sri Lanka's most successful bowler on the day. Asitha Fernando took 2 for 72. But by the time Fakhar departed, the damage was done and the equation was manageable.

The finish: Minhas' 61 from 31 balls changes the game

Arafat Minhas walked in at number seven and changed the tempo of the match in a single spell of batting. His 61 came from 31 balls, and it took the chase from a careful pursuit to a sprint. Where Fakhar and Baig had rebuilt, Minhas finished. He attacked from the start, found the boundary regularly, and made sure Sri Lanka never got the quiet overs they needed to drag the game back.

Hasan Nawaz stayed with him and finished 37 not out from 45 balls, and the pair saw the chase home. Shaheen Afridi, on 6 not out from 3 balls, hit the winning six off Madushanka on the third delivery of the 49th over, with nine balls remaining. Pakistan finished on 331 for 7 in 48.3 overs.

Minhas' innings was the difference between a chase that goes to the last over and a chase that is settled with room to spare. A 61 from 31 balls at number seven is the kind of innings that wins finals, because it removes the pressure from everybody else. Hasan Nawaz did not need to take risks. Shaheen Afridi did not need to do more than finish the job. The match was won in those 31 balls as much as in Fakhar's 99.

It was also the latest chapter in a series in which Minhas had already made his mark. He had already taken six wickets against England earlier in the tournament, and his all-round contribution across the series was recognised with the Player of the Series award: 149 runs and 9 wickets. Fakhar Zaman was named Player of the Match for his 127.

Scorecard summary and what the result means

Team	Score	Top scorers	Best bowling
Sri Lanka	325/8 (50 overs)	Kamindu Mendis 131 (128), Pavan Rathnayake 77 (65), Avishka Fernando 38 (49)	Salman Agha 2/44, Shaheen Afridi 2/50
Pakistan	331/7 (48.3 overs)	Fakhar Zaman 127 (99), Saad Baig 74 (75), Arafat Minhas 61 (31), Hasan Nawaz 37* (45)	Dilshan Madushanka 3/63, Asitha Fernando 2/72

Result: Pakistan won by 3 wickets, with 9 balls remaining. Toss: Pakistan won and chose to bowl first. Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Date: Saturday 31 October 2026. Player of the Match: Fakhar Zaman. Player of the Series: Arafat Minhas.

For Pakistan, the trophy matters beyond the single match. This was a home tri-series against Sri Lanka and England, and England had already been eliminated before the final despite beating Sri Lanka in the last group match. Pakistan lost heavily to Sri Lanka in the league stage and then beat them when it counted. That is the shape of a tournament win that a team remembers: a bad defeat absorbed, a final won, and a young player in Minhas and a young batter in Baig announcing themselves on the biggest stage of the series.

For Sri Lanka, there is plenty to take from the tournament even in defeat. Mendis' first ODI century came in a final, Rathnayake's 77 was a substantial innings under pressure, and Madushanka's three wickets kept them in the chase until late. They set a target that would have won most finals. On this day, it was not enough, because Pakistan's chase had a century at the top, a partnership in the middle, and a finish that arrived too fast to stop.

The two teams' combined 656 runs made it a final worth the occasion. Pakistan's chase, completed with nine balls to spare, was the joint-highest successful chase in an ODI tournament final, equalling the 326 India chased against England in the 2002 NatWest Series final at Lord's. Whether that record stands as context or coincidence, the simpler fact is the one that will be remembered in Lahore: Pakistan chased 326, in a final, at home, and won.

Scores and awards in this article were verified against the full scorecards published by ESPNcricinfo and Cricbuzz. The Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards were confirmed from the post-match reports published after the presentations, which were not shown on the live score pages at the first check.