Dropped and Stripped of Captaincy, Salman Agha Answers with a Century as Pakistan Beat Sri Lanka

Salman Agha put the disappointment of being dropped and losing the captaincy behind him and answered with the bat. Riding on his century, Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by 37 runs in the first match of the tri-nation ODI series also involving England.

A counterattack by Pavan Rathnayake and Janith Liyanage had at one stage frightened Pakistan. But once that partnership was broken, relief returned to the hosts, who eventually left the field with the win.

Salman Agha was recently dropped from the Test and T20 squads, and he also lost the T20 captaincy. Given his chance in 50-over cricket, he gave everything he had and was named player of the match.

Batting first, Pakistan were under pressure after losing 2 wickets for 32 runs within six overs. From that position, Salman built the foundation of a big total, scoring the fourth century of his career in his comeback match for Pakistan.

When Pakistan lost their fourth wicket by the end of the 22nd over, with a long tail to follow, hopes for the innings were fading. But Salman rescued the side with useful partnerships alongside Hasan Nawaz and Arafat Minhas, scoring 107 runs off 90 balls.

Salman was dismissed in the 47th over. Shaheen Shah Afridi's 13 runs then took Pakistan to 305 all out with one ball to spare. For Sri Lanka, Ishan Malinga took four wickets and Asitha Fernando claimed three.

Chasing 306, Sri Lanka were in trouble at 91 for four. Kamindu Mendis played a useful hand of 44 at that stage, before Janith and Pavan built their resistance partnership.

The pair added 119 runs for the fifth wicket, which kept Sri Lanka on course for victory. The visitors needed 55 runs from the last seven overs — the match was well within their reach.

Pavan was dismissed for an innings-best 79, but Janith kept the fight alive alongside Dasun Shanaka. When Janith departed for 60 in the 44th over, the Sri Lankan batting collapsed, losing their last five wickets for just 15 runs.

Sri Lanka, who were 253 for four at one point, were eventually bowled out for 268. Shaheen Shah Afridi took the most wickets for Pakistan with three, while Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Fahim Ashraf picked up two each.

Pakistan's pace bowlers played a major role in handling Sri Lanka's resistance. But it was Salman Agha's contribution in laying the strong foundation for the total that mattered most, and it gave Pakistan a winning start to the series.