Salman Ali Agha carved out a gritty knock to register his second career century as Pakistan recovered to finish at 299 for five on Tuesday in the opening ODI of the three-match series against Sri Lanka. The right-hander, who scored his maiden ton in February, remained unbeaten on 105 off 87 balls at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Playing their second successive home ODI series, part of preparations for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, the Shaheen Afridi-led Pakistan side endured a rocky start in Rawalpindi after being put in to bat, as Wanindu Hasaranga’s three-fer dismantled the top four for just 95 inside 24 overs.

The hosts were in deep trouble and could have been five down for the same score had Sri Lanka not burnt their reviews. In the 24th over, Hussain Talat was trapped lbw by Hasaranga, but the absence of reviews proved costly as he went on to forge a 138-run stand with Salman for the fifth wicket, helping Pakistan recover and accelerate after a sluggish first half. After Talat’s half-century, Salman found further support in Mohammad Nawaz as Pakistan capitalised on the momentum, adding 53 runs in the final five overs as part of an unbeaten 66-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Pakistan’s late acceleration was remarkable, from managing just 119 runs for four wickets in the first 30 overs at a rate below four, to hammering 180 in the last 25 at over nine an over for the loss of only one wicket. The 204-run addition after the fourth wicket was their highest against Sri Lanka in an ODI innings.

At the centre of Pakistan’s revival was Salman, who laced nine boundaries in his patient triple-figure knock. It was the first century by a Pakistani batter at the Rawalpindi Stadium in 927 days, the previous one being in early 2023 by Fakhar Zaman.

Salman has been in impressive form in the 50-over format at home in 2025. In eight innings thus far, he scored 502 runs, comprising two centuries and two fifties, at 83.66 and a strike rate of 97.85.