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Pakistan's Salman Agha responds to T20I axe with 107 vs Sri Lanka in ODI tri-series opener

Edited By Gautam Sodhi

Published: Oct 18, 2026, 19:02 IST | Updated: Oct 18, 2026, 19:02 IST

Pakistan's Salman Agha responds to T20I axe with 107 vs Sri Lanka in ODI tri-series opener

Salman Agha responds to T20I axe with 107 vs Sri Lanka in ODI tri-series opener Photograph: (AFP)

Story highlights

Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha responded to his T20I omission with his fastest ODI century against Sri Lanka in the tri-series opener in Rawalpindi.

Salman Ali Agha responded to his T20I axe as captain and player with a brilliant 107 off just 90 balls against Sri Lanka in the ODI tri-series opener in Rawalpindi on Sunday (Oct 18). The PCB and the selectors replaced Agha with Sahibzada Farhan as the new T20I captain and dropped him from the squad for the concluded three-match series against Sri Lanka. His departure from the T20I setup came shortly after the board sent him home along with six other players midway through the away England tour.

Embarrassed and hurt over his exclusion from the two formats, Agha channelled his energy into responding to his critics with a befitting reply in the first ODI. The right-hander smashed his fourth ODI hundred -- all scored batting five or below -- with this being his quickest in the One-Day format. His heroics with the bat, which included 10 fours and a six, powered Pakistan to 305 in the first innings.

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Walking out to bat in the 20th over, Agha held one end and stitched a 97-run partnership with Hasan Nawaz for the fifth wicket, lifting Pakistan from 118 for four at one stage. The two calculated the innings’ pace and played accordingly, frustrating the Sri Lankan bowlers. Following Nawaz’s dismissal on 37, Agha and Arafat Minhas added crucial 64 runs for the sixth wicket.

He completed his fastest ODI hundred in 82 balls before eventually falling to Asitha Fernando in the 47th over.

Earlier, Sri Lankan captain Kusal Mendis won the toss and elected to field first. The visitors reduced Pakistan to 32 for two inside the first six overs before talismanic batter Babar Azam and newbie keeper-batter Saad Baig bailed the team out of trouble by stitching a 74-run stand for the third wicket.