Malinga’s career best effort fails to stop Pakistan crossing 300

Eshan Malinga delivered his career-best performance, taking four wickets for just 46 runs, but it was not enough to thwart Pakistan's ascent past the 300-run mark in the inaugural ODI of the tri-nation series in Rawalpindi, held on Sunday. Pakistan managed to be all out for 305, with former captain Salman Ali Agha spearheading the charge with his fourth ODI hundred.

The talented batsman scored a fluent 107 off 90 balls, displaying ten fours and a six before being dismissed by Asitha Fernando. The Sri Lankan seamer put up an impressive performance as well, conceding a tidy 3 for 39. Agha was instrumental in a 97-run partnership with Hasan Nawaz and looked poised to win the game when the score hit 215 for four with 13 overs left.

However, Sri Lanka's bowlers managed to pull off a remarkable turnaround, slowing down the hosts' progress just when they seemed set to dominate the match. Aided by the batting-friendly pitch, Sri Lanka's late resistance could prove pivotal, with the visitors hopeful of chasing down the target successfully. The Sri Lankan attack, composed of just four specialist bowlers, had to shoulder a significant amount of workload, sharing ten overs between three players without letting Pakistan dominate the game.

Despite some flaws, such as Dilshan Madushanka's tendency to pitch his deliveries too much, the makeshift attack managed to keep Pakistan at bay. Avishka Fernando, who returned to the ODIs after a long absence, also contributed to the Sri Lankan effort. The series, which serves as a warm-up for the upcoming World Cup, features three matches in Rawalpindi before shifting to Lahore for the remaining fixtures, including the final.

This 50-day tour of Pakistan is part of Sri Lanka's busy schedule, which includes a T20I series, a First-Class warm-up match, and two Tests.