Salman Ali Agha's ODI record grew on Sunday with a century against Sri Lanka in the opening match of the ongoing tri-series, a tournament involving three teams, at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. He struck 107 off 90 balls, including 10 fours and a six, to help Pakistan post 305 in 49.5 overs. Pakistan went on to win by 37 runs. The innings also made him the country's most prolific centurion among batters who regularly bat at No. 5, the fifth position in the order, or lower.
Salman Ali Agha ODI record at No. 5
The hundred was Agha's fourth in 54 ODIs for Pakistan, and all four have come while batting at No. 5 or lower. Three of them came at No. 5, a position he has filled in just 33 matches, making him the first Pakistani to score three ODI hundreds there. That moved him past Mohammad Yousuf, with whom he had shared the national mark for ODI centuries from those positions. Yousuf scored three such hundreds between 1998 and 2009, playing 114 matches in those positions.
The wider record is still held by others. England's Jos Buttler and South Africa's David Miller have eight centuries each from No. 5 or lower. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh finished their ODI careers with seven each, while AB de Villiers, Andrew Symonds, Eoin Morgan and Sikandar Raza have six each. Some coverage of the match has described Agha as joining an elite list with Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, but on these counts he has four such hundreds to their seven, so he is not yet level with them.
How Pakistan closed out the win
Agha had strong support from the lower order. He added 97 runs for the fifth wicket with Hasan Nawaz, who made 37 off 49 balls, and then 64 with Arafat Minhas, who scored 18 off 15 deliveries. Sri Lanka slipped to 91 for 4 in the 20th over, but Janith and Pavan Rathnayake put on 119 runs to revive the chase, and the increasing dew appeared to make batting easier. Dasun Shanaka added a quick 25 off 14 balls, and with five wickets in hand Sri Lanka needed 58 runs from the final eight overs.
The game turned when Janith and Shanaka were dismissed within four deliveries of each other. Pakistan then removed Sri Lanka's last five batters for 15 runs to seal the 37-run win. Agha's century had provided the foundation for a competitive total, and the result gives the hosts a winning start to the series.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Sunday: Pakistan posted 305 in 49.5 overs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in the opening match of the tri-series.
- Sunday: Agha scored 107 off 90 balls, his fourth ODI century and third at No. 5.
- Sunday: Sri Lanka's last five wickets fell for 15 runs, and Pakistan won by 37 runs.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Salman Ali Agha ne Rawalpindi mein Sri Lanka ke khilaaf 107 runs banaye aur Pakistan ke liye ODI record banaya. Woh ab No. 5 ya us se neeche khelne wale Pakistani batters mein sab se zyada centuries wale khilari hain. Pakistan ne ye match 37 runs se jeeta, lekin tri-series abhi jari hai. Aam logon ke liye iska seedha asar petrol, bijli ya naukri par nahi hai, lekin cricket ke shaiqeen ke liye yeh yaadgar pari hai.
