An Oddsworth Opinion
Fakhar Zaman's tri-series final hundred and the lean fortnight before it
The view doing the rounds in Pakistan is that Fakhar Zaman is a man for the big day, and that his hundred in the tri-series final outshone Kamindu Mendis's because it won the trophy. What makes the innings remarkable is the fortnight before it. Fakhar walked out at the Gaddafi Stadium having made 16, 0, 10 and 5 in his earlier innings of the series.
Then came 127 from 99 balls, and Pakistan, 68% favourites in our pre-match call, got home by three wickets.
Career average 44.7
How the final hundred compares with his others
Reports at home had the hundred drawing him level with a record of Saeed Anwar's, and it carried him past 4,000 ODI runs. The big days have come less often lately. His career batting average in men's ODIs is 44.66, and over the last two years it has dropped to 35.13, against 33.16 for top-seven batters.
His five ODIs in November 2025 brought 0, 0, 32, 78 and 55, against South Africa and then Sri Lanka, before the four low scores in this series. The 127 is his only ODI hundred in 15 innings over the last two years.
Did Fakhar Zaman outplay Kamindu Mendis in the final?
Yes, on what happened in the match itself. Kamindu's 131 was his maiden ODI hundred, a proper innings that hauled Sri Lanka to a fighting total, but it took him 128 balls.
Fakhar made almost as many from 99 balls, and he made them in the chase, in a game tight enough to finish by three wickets. Kamindu gave Sri Lanka a total to defend. Fakhar took it apart quickly enough that the wickets falling around him never cost Pakistan the final.
What Pakistan should take from the final
Keep him at the top of the order. Even through the lean spell he has scored at a strike rate of 94.4 over the last two years, against 85.4 for top-seven batters, and our ratings have him 41st of 120 ODI batters, worth about 3 runs a match more than an average player.
That is a sound opener with a big day still in him. Pakistan should pick him for the quick starts and count a hundred like this one as the bonus, because the batter of the career average has not turned up often enough lately to build a side around.