Watch: Babar Azam dismissed for 45 in PAK vs SL ODI tri-series 2026 opener at Rawalpindi

Babar Azam’s poor form continues as he was dismissed for 45 runs during the opening clash of the tri-series for Pakistan against Sri Lanka, which also involved England. The encounter took place at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi. He was on a break from international cricket after the end of the Test series in the United Kingdom.

Sri Lanka’s captain, Kusal Mendis, won the toss and opted to bowl first on a surface which was expected to get better in the second innings, especially with the presence of dew. The home fans expected a big knock from their beloved Babar.

The dismissal: How Babar Azam got out for 45 at Rawalpindi

Babar walked into the middle in the fourth over of the innings after the dismissal of Saim Ayub and opened his account with a glorious boundary, which was driven with a closed bat-face and put in the gap wide of the cover region.

Watch Babar Azam's dismissal here- 

The right-handed batter pulled the short ball against Asitha Fernando in the mid-wicket region for another boundary. He also leaned across and continued to find the gap against the pacers. He was also well supported by Saad Baig from the other end in the 74-run third-wicket stand.

See Also: Wisden’s current world Test XI: Shubman Gill in, Babar Azam out

On the fourth delivery of the 20th over of the innings, Eshan Malinga went with a short ball that was angled in to the batter, who was hurried on playing the pull shot and failed to keep control of the ball, only to find the mid-wicket fielder, who grabbed a simple catch to send the batter back to the hut for 45 runs off 57 balls with six boundaries.

How Pakistan batted against Sri Lanka in the tri-series opener

Most of the Pakistan batters got starts but failed to convert them into big scores. They lost Saim Ayub early for just nine runs, while Fakhar Zaman made his way back to the pavilion for 16 runs off 19 balls.

Just after the dismissal of Babar for 45 runs off 57 balls, Saad Baig made his way back to the hut for 39 runs off 40 balls, shouldering on three boundaries and a pair of sixes at a strike rate of 97.50. Salman Agha and Hasan Nawaz later settled them with a 44-run stand.

See Also: Watch: Babar Azam receives special bat on his 32nd birthday ahead of ODI tri-series 2026

Brief Scores: Pakistan 173/4 (Babar Azam 45, Eshan Malinga 2/22) vs Sri Lanka