Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman equalled former captain Saeed Anwar’s record for centuries in ODI tournament finals after a rapid hundred against Sri Lanka in the tri-nation series final at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Fakhar Zaman made 127 off 99 balls, with 11 fours and six sixes. The knock was his 12th century in One-Day Internationals and the second time he has scored a hundred in an ODI tournament final.
How the Lahore innings stacked up
The final was staged at Gaddafi Stadium as the climax of the three-team ODI series. Facing Sri Lanka, Fakhar Zaman set the tone at the top of the order with a high-tempo innings that cleared the century mark inside 100 balls and finished on 127.
The strike mix underlined the aggression: eleven boundaries along the ground and six over the rope. For Pakistan supporters at the ground and watching at home, it was a familiar sight of the left-hander taking the attack to the new ball and the middle overs alike.
Matching Saeed Anwar’s finals mark
By completing a second century in an ODI tournament final, Fakhar Zaman drew level with Saeed Anwar, the former Pakistan captain and batting great who had held the distinction alone among national players for that feat.
Fakhar Zaman’s first such hundred came in 2017, when he scored a century against India in the Champions Trophy final at The Oval in London. The Lahore innings against Sri Lanka became the second entry on that list.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 1993: Saeed Anwar scores a century against Sri Lanka in the Wills Trophy final.
- 1998: Saeed Anwar scores another final century, against India in the Silver Jubilee Independence Cup final.
- 2017: Fakhar Zaman scores a century against India in the Champions Trophy final at The Oval in London.
- Lahore tri-series final: Fakhar Zaman scores 127 off 99 against Sri Lanka, equalling Anwar’s two final centuries.
What the record means in Pakistan cricket
Saeed Anwar’s two final hundreds spanned different eras and opponents: Sri Lanka in 1993 and India in 1998. Fakhar Zaman’s pair links the 2017 Champions Trophy night in London with this Lahore final against Sri Lanka, placing a current opener alongside a landmark name in Pakistan’s ODI history.
The comparison is narrow and specific—it is about centuries in ODI tournament finals, not overall career tallies—but it is a rare club. Only those two Pakistan batters now share that double on the public record described here.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Fakhar Zaman ne Lahore ke final mein Sri Lanka ke khilaf 127 runs banaye. Yeh unki One-Day career ki 12vin century thi. Tournament final mein doosri century bana kar unhon ne Saeed Anwar ka record barabar kar diya. Pakistan ke fans ke liye yeh ek special batting milestone hai.
