Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Tri-Series Final Today: Time, Venue, Playing XIs

Pakistan face Sri Lanka in the final of the ODI tri-series at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Saturday, October 31, 2026. The match starts at 1:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time (PKT), with the toss at 12:30 PM PKT. Pakistan topped the league table with six points from four matches, while Sri Lanka finished second with four points, and England were eliminated from the three-team series.

Final match details and how to watch

The final will be played at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Saturday, October 31. In India, the match starts at 1:30 PM IST, with the toss 30 minutes earlier. According to live-streaming guides published on October 30, fans in Pakistan can watch the final live on PTV Sports and stream it on Tapmad and PCB Live, while viewers in India can watch on SonyLIV and the Sony Sports Network. No television channel in India was listed for a live broadcast in one guide, which pointed viewers to streaming instead, so fans should check their local listings before the toss.
Pakistan reached the final after a famous one-wicket win over England on October 25, when Shadab Khan scored an unbeaten 113 and shared an 89-run last-wicket stand with Haris Rauf. Sri Lanka booked their place by beating Pakistan on October 27, bowling the hosts out for 110 and winning by eight wickets.

Road to the final

Pakistan won three of their four league matches and lost one. They beat Sri Lanka by 37 runs in the first meeting between the sides, beat England by 87 runs and then by one wicket, but lost the return fixture against Sri Lanka by eight wickets after being bowled out for 110, with Dilshan Madushanka taking five wickets for 34 runs.
Sri Lanka won two and lost two. Their standout performance was the eight-wicket win over Pakistan in Lahore, powered by Kamindu Mendis, who finished unbeaten. They also chased down a huge 430-run target against England in Rawalpindi earlier in the series, but lost their last league match to England by 55 runs in Lahore on October 29, when England posted 386 for five and Sri Lanka were bowled out for 331.
Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson said before the final that he expected his big players to stand up in the trophy match, noting that Pakistan had won three straight games without key contributions from their senior batters. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, arrive with the psychological edge of their eight-wicket win, but with questions over their bowling consistency after conceding 386 to England two days later.

Players to watch and probable playing XIs

For Pakistan, captain Shaheen Shah Afridi leads the pace attack with Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, while Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed control the middle overs with spin. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman anchor the batting, and Salman Ali Agha has led the hosts’ scoring with 158 runs in four games, according to one preview. Arafat Minhas has been Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the series with eight wickets, including six for 40.
For Sri Lanka, Pavan Rathnayake has been the tournament’s standout batter with 350 runs including two centuries, and he scored 118 off 77 balls against England in the last league match. Captain Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis and former captain Dasun Shanaka carry the batting, while Dilshan Madushanka, Asitha Fernando, Eshan Malinga, Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana share the bowling duties. Madushanka shares second place on the wicket-taking list with Shaheen Afridi on eight wickets each.
Probable playing XIs, as published in previews on October 30 and subject to confirmation at the toss, are: Pakistan — Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha, Hasan Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Arafat Minhas, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf; Sri Lanka — Kamindu Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (captain and wicketkeeper), Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Eshan Malinga, Dilshan Madushanka and Asitha Fernando. Different previews varied on one or two places, so the confirmed XIs will only be known at the toss at 12:30 PM PKT.

Pitch report and prediction

Totals around 280 to 300 should be competitive at Gaddafi Stadium, according to previews, though no total has felt safe in this series after Sri Lanka’s 430 chase at Rawalpindi and Pakistan’s 305 in the opening match. The team winning the toss will have a genuine decision: bat first and set a target, or chase under lights with dew around in the evening.
One prediction guide tipped Pakistan to win the final and lift the trophy, most likely by defending a total or chasing with wickets in hand, provided the top order survives the first ten overs. Another prediction guide tipped Sri Lanka, citing their eight-wicket win over Pakistan in the league stage. Both previews agreed on one point: if Pakistan lose three wickets in the powerplay again, as they did when bowled out for 110, Sri Lanka will win comfortably.

Read our earlier coverage: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka final tomorrow: time and teams (https://niazitvnews.com/?p=2791) and Pakistan vs Sri Lanka tri-series final: Hesson backs big players (https://niazitvnews.com/?p=2632).

Source: News18, CricFacts, Sports Digest and Daily The Destination previews published October 30, 2026.