The ODI tri-series in Pakistan ends today, Saturday, 31 October 2026, with a final between hosts Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The match starts at 1:00 PM Pakistan time. After two weeks of full stadiums and entertaining cricket, the final brings together the best bowling side and the most explosive batting side of the tournament.

How the two teams reached the final

Pakistan won their first three matches. They beat Sri Lanka by 37 runs in the opener, England by 87 runs in Rawalpindi, and then England again by one wicket in Lahore, thanks to Shadab Khan's unbeaten century and a record last wicket stand with Haris Rauf. Those wins sent them into the final early. Their only defeat came on Tuesday, when Sri Lanka beat them by eight wickets with more than 31 overs to spare in Lahore.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, grew stronger as the series went on. Their biggest moment was a huge chase of 430 against England, finished with a six by Janith Liyanage off the penultimate ball. They have scored over 330 twice in the series, and their win over Pakistan on Tuesday gave them a psychological lift before the final.

Pakistan's strength: the bowling attack

Pakistan's bowlers have been the best of the three teams. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf give the captain different options with pace, while Arafat Minhas and Shadab Khan control the middle overs with spin. This group defended two modest totals early in the series and held England to 241 in the Lahore game. Their main task today is to cut down Sri Lanka's top order early, as they did in the opening match, when Sri Lanka lost their last five wickets quickly at the end.

Pakistan's weakness: the top order

The worry is the batting at the top. All three of the top order batters have been out of form, and the lower middle order has had to rescue the team more than once. When it has not worked, as in the loss to Sri Lanka and parts of the England game, the innings has collapsed quickly. The team management also has to decide between Fakhar Zaman, who has a reputation for big matches but poor recent form, and Sahibzada Farhan, who joined the squad from Nepal on Tuesday morning and was not considered ready to start in the last game.

Players to watch

Babar Azam: he has made starts in three of his four innings in this series but did not turn them into big scores. With another World Cup coming, a big innings in a final would answer many questions about his form.

Pavan Rathnayake: the 24 year old has been the batter of the tournament for Sri Lanka. He scored 79 against Pakistan in the opening game and two centuries against England, finishing with 350 runs at an average of 116.67 and a strike rate of 123.67.

Dilshan Madushanka: the Sri Lanka fast bowler hurt Pakistan's top order earlier and can break open a match with the new ball.

Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf: after their match winning partnership against England, Pakistan will hope they do not need a rescue act again.

Pitch and weather

Lahore has had flat pitches during the tri-series, so another high scoring game is expected. The Sri Lanka and England match showed how many runs can be scored, which puts pressure on the team batting first to put up a big total. The weather has been warm and sunny all week and should stay that way today.

Record and trivia

Sri Lanka have won six of the eight ODIs they have played against Pakistan in Lahore, which gives them good memories at this ground. Pakistan last won an ODI tri-series title in 2008, when they beat India in the final of the Kitply Cup in Bangladesh. Their most recent tri-series was at home in early 2025 against New Zealand and South Africa, and they lost that final to New Zealand.

Where to watch the final

In Pakistan, the match is shown on PTV Sports and streamed on Tapmad, Tamasha and the PCB Live app. In the United Kingdom, it is on Sky Sports, and in Australia on Fox Sports. In Sri Lanka, viewers can watch on Peo TV and Siyatha TV, with streaming on Dialog. In Bangladesh, T Sports shows it on TV and Tapmad streams it.

Our view

It is a close final between two different strengths: Pakistan's bowlers against Sri Lanka's batters. If Pakistan's top order finally gives them a base, their bowlers can defend almost any total. If Sri Lanka's batters get off to another fast start, the trophy could leave Pakistan again.