Fakhar Zaman's century, Saad Baig's maiden fifty and Shaheen's final flourish: Pakistan's thrilling 326-run chase

Karachi: Pakistan chased down Sri Lanka's 326 with three wickets in hand and a few overs to spare. The headlines will attribute it to one name — Fakhar Zaman's 127. What actually happened on the field was more collective, more scattered, and more interesting than that. Saad Baig's 74, his maiden international half-century on the eve of his 20th birthday; the 94-run stand between Mohammad Minhas and Mohammad Nawaz; Shaheen Afridi's contribution at both ends — dismissing Kamindu Mendis, restricting Dasun Shanaka, and finally launching the ball over the boundary to end the contest. That is the chain that actually carried Pakistan home. Sri Lanka, batting first, had reached 255 for 2 in 41 overs. At that point, a total around 350 seemed likely. But they lost six wickets in the last nine overs and collapsed to 325 for 8. Kamindu Mendis made a career-best 131 — more than doubling his previous best. Pavan Rathnayake added 77. His series aggregate stands at 427 runs at an average of 106.75, though that average rests on only four dismissals and should be read with statistical caution. Pakistan's start was disastrous. Two wickets had fallen with only 14 on the board — Maaz Siddiqui for 1, and captain Babar Azam for 2. This was the same Babar who was 'expected' to produce a special innings. The team looked all but gone. Saad Baig walked out, and alongside Fakhar Zaman, stabilised the innings. His 74 was his first international fifty, and it came hours before his 20th birthday. He absorbed the pressure that the top order had failed to handle. Then came the decisive passage — the 94-run partnership between Mohammad Minhas and Mohammad Nawaz. When they came together, Pakistan looked out of the chase. Their stand did not 'secure the game' in the literal sense; it made the target manageable. It ended after 94 runs, and immediately Pakistan lost two quick wickets and found themselves needing 2 runs with the tail exposed. For a moment, a won match seemed to be slipping away. The final piece was supplied by Shaheen Afridi, who cleared the ropes and closed it out. The real question is how clean Fakhar Zaman's century really was. He made 127, but the innings rested on several reprieves. Dropped on 6, dropped on 69, and dropped on 106. At the 69-run mark, Maheesh Theekshana put him down twice. Those missed catches proved expensive for the hosts. Yet it is also true that the hundred came off 84 balls — with pace and control. Beyond Fakhar, Pakistan received a series of smaller but essential contributions. Shaheen Afridi first checked Kamindu Mendis and Shanaka with the ball, then finished the job with the bat. Haris Rauf picked up two late wickets. Statistically, Pakistan's six wickets in the last nine overs is the single hardest piece of evidence for the bowling comeback. But the same numbers also underline a Sri Lankan failure — a side that was set at 41 overs should have ended closer to 360. The match report leaves some things unclear. Exactly when Sri Lanka's innings ended, and whether rain played a part, is not spelled out. What is clear is that Pakistan were set 326 and reached it with three wickets in hand. The third team in the tri-series, England, is never explicitly named, even though Rathnayake's numbers make its presence inferable. That is a structural omission: a report about a tri-series in which the identity of the opposing sides remains foggy. What is striking is that four days earlier Pakistan had been bowled out for 110. Today the same side chased 326. No explanation is offered for the turnaround. Nor is there any reconstruction of the strategic shift that took a side from 14 for 2 to a successful 326 chase. At one point Pakistan needed 46 off 30 balls; a 15-run over followed; what happened after that is not accounted for. The report makes one thing clear — this win was not the work of one man. Fakhar Zaman's hundred was its main pillar. But Saad Baig held the innings together when it was falling apart, Minhas and Nawaz brought the target within reach, and Shaheen put the last brick in the wall. A report that says 'Fakhar beat Sri Lanka' is telling the truth — but not the whole truth. The whole truth is that this was a collective win, in which every contribution mattered in its own way.