Salman Ali Agha achieved a significant milestone in his ODI career during Pakistan’s opening match against Sri Lanka in the ongoing tri-series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The middle-order batter struck a century to surpass former Pakistan batter Mohammad Yousuf’s record for the most ODI hundreds by a Pakistani batter at No. 5 or lower.
Agha played a crucial role in helping the hosts post 305 in 49.5 overs before Pakistan bowled Sri Lanka out during a dramatic late collapse to register a 37-run victory. His innings also strengthened his reputation as a dependable contributor in Pakistan’s middle order.
Salman Ali Agha breaks Pakistan’s ODI record
Agha scored 107 off 90 deliveries, including 10 fours and a six, to register his fourth ODI century for Pakistan. All four hundreds have come while batting at No. 5 or lower, taking him past Mohammad Yousuf, who had scored three centuries in these positions.
Yousuf achieved the feat across 114 matches between 1998 and 2009. Agha, meanwhile, has reached the milestone in just 54 ODIs. More notably, three of his four centuries have come specifically at No. 5, making him the first Pakistani batter to score three ODI hundreds at that position. Yousuf had previously registered two centuries in 84 matches batting at No. 5.
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Agha joins elite group as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka
While Agha now holds the Pakistan record, England’s Jos Buttler and South Africa’s David Miller lead the overall list for the most ODI centuries scored at No. 5 or lower, with eight each. India’s MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh finished their careers with seven hundreds apiece in these positions, while AB de Villiers, Andrew Symonds, Eoin Morgan and Sikandar Raza have six each.
Agha’s century proved crucial as Sri Lanka mounted a strong recovery after slipping to 91/4 in the 20th over. Janith Rathnayake and Pavan Rathnayake stitched together a 119-run partnership to revive the chase, while Dasun Shanaka added 25 off 14 deliveries. With five wickets remaining, Sri Lanka needed 58 runs from the final eight overs. However, Pakistan struck back in the closing stages, triggering a dramatic collapse and securing a 37-run victory to begin their tri-series campaign on a positive note.
