A century from Salman Agha and a maiden ODI fifty from Hussain Talat helped revive a flagging Pakistan innings, as their 138-run fifth-wicket stand saw the hosts post 299 for 5 in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi.

The pair came together at 95 for 4 in the 24th over, but by the time their partnership came to an end, they had taken Pakistan to 233 for 5 midway through the 44th over.

Agha then turned on the afterburners alongside Mohammad Nawaz, as Pakistan managed 104 runs off the last 10 overs to set Sri Lanka a 300-run target, which, if achieved, would be the second highest successful chase at the Rawalpindi Stadium.

Agha brought up his second ODI ton with a gentle dab behind point for a single off his 83rd delivery, but the ball prior to that highlighted the confidence with which he was batting – sweeping an attempted Dushmantha Chameera yorker for four. That Chameera over, the 48th of the innings, would end up going for 20 – the most expensive of the innings – as Nawaz, who had entered following the fall of Talat, also began to find his range in a cameo worth 36 not out off 23; their partnership of 66 came off just 40 deliveries.

Prior to Agha and Talat’s intervention, however, Sri Lanka had choked the Pakistan innings for large parts. Miserly opening spells from Asitha Fernando and Chameera ensured just 28 runs were scored inside the opening powerplay, and while just one wicket fell in that period the introduction of Wanidu Hasaranga saw wickets fall at a canter. He ended up with figures of 3 for 54, with Asitha and Maheesh Theekshana the only other wicket-takers.

Introduced into the attack in the 14th over, it wasn’t until his third over that Hasaranga was able to make his first breakthrough. Fakhar Zaman, who had earlier in the over skipped out and belted one over long-on for a six, was looking to break out of his early shell, but in attempting to repeat the trick he missed a wide one and found himself duly stumped for a 55-ball 32.

New batter Mohammed Rizwan was Hasaranga’s next victim, trapped lbw by a googly. A couple of overs later Hasaranga got the prize scalp of Babar Azam. It was his trademark googly doing the damage, as Babar sought to drive a floated one outside off only to see it sneak through his bat and pad.

Hasaranga might have had another to close out the over after he had Talat rapped on the front knee-roll only for the umpire to turn down the appeal. Ball-tracking showed it would have crashed into leg stump, but Sri Lanka had burnt both their reviews early on – both for lbw appeals where the ball pitched outside leg.

That proved to be a sliding doors moment of sorts as Pakistan’s fortunes gradually began to shift, and it was also some much-needed luck for Talat in particular, whose place in the side had come under increasing scrutiny of late – his six innings in ODIs leading up to this game had seen him score 107 runs with a high score of 41.

But with Pakistan in need of resuscitation, he and Agha set about rebuilding. Boundaries weren’t the aim, rather the focus was on running between the wickets. Thirty-two of Talat’s 62 runs came in either ones of twos; Agha was alongside him in lockstep having run 40 singles and 13 twos by the end of the innings.

The plan was clear at this point: keep wickets intact for the final overs and then launch. And in this instance the execution was perfect. Sri Lanka, who might have regretted their decision to not go with a genuine fifth bowling option, were left requiring Janith Liyanage to bowl eight overs of his part-time seam after Charith Asalanka was taken for 18 in his two solitary overs.

Liyanage, to his credit, gave away 48 runs during his efforts, though with Sri Lanka in the ascendancy at the halfway point of the innings, their need to get through the their fifth bowler quota allowed Talat and Agha to settle in nicely.

And while Talat was unable to see the innings to its close, Agha ensured he remained unbeaten to get his side to a competitive total after they were asked to bat first. Whether that will be enough on an ostensibly good batting track, one where dew is expected to come to the fore later on, remains to be seen.

Brief scores:
Pakistan 299 for 5 in 50 overs  (Fakhar Zaman 32, Salman Agha 105*, Hussain Talat 62, Mohammed Nawaz 36*;  Wanidu Hasaranga 3-54) vs Sri Lanka

[Cricinfo]