LAHORE: Head coach Mike Hesson believes Pakistan are yet to produce their best in the ongoing ODI tri-series and is hopeful of a strong performance from the hosts when they take on Sri Lanka in the final here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

Pakistan were the first team to qualify for the final of the tri-series, also involving England, after registering three consecutive wins. The hosts began their campaign with a 37-run win over Sri Lanka before defeating England by 87 runs, with both matches played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

In their third outing, which was also the first match of the tri-series at the Gaddafi Stadium, Pakistan secured a thrilling one-wicket win on the back of Shadab Khan’s maiden ODI century. The hosts however suffered an eight-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in their final league fixture at the same venue.

Following a day’s rest, the Pakistan squad returned to training at the LCCA Ground in Lahore as preparations continued for Saturday’s title clash.

THREE WINS IN A ROW GOOD SIGN

Speaking exclusively to PCB Digital on the sidelines of the training session, Hesson expressed satisfaction with the team’s performances in the said event while acknowledging that there was still room for improvement.

“It’s been a pretty good couple of weeks. We have played some decent cricket without being perfect. To get three wins in a row without contributions from a few of our key players is a good sign,” the coach said.

“I still don’t think we have played our best game yet. Hopefully, we are saving that for the final.”

Since Hesson took charge as Pakistan’s white-ball head coach last year, the national side have registered 12 wins in 19 ODIs while losing seven. During this time, Pakistan have also recorded ODI series wins over Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Reflecting on the performances produced by Pakistan’s senior batters, Hesson backed the experienced players to deliver on the big occasion and said that the team’s ability to secure wins without significant contributions from the top order was an encouraging sign.

“You are talking about two of the greatest players in Pakistan’s history in the top three. I expect big players to stand up in big games.

“The fact that we have been able to achieve the wins that we have without the top order performing as well as we know they are capable of is a good sign.

“A couple of our key players are searching for that match-winning performance and there’s no better place to do it than in a final.”

MIDDLE-ORDER CONTRIBUTION

The head coach also praised the contributions of the middle-order batters, particularly Salman Ali Agha and Hasan Nawaz, while highlighting the progress being made by the youngsters.

“Salman has got the most hundreds of any Pakistan player batting at number five or below in an ODI and probably in half the games that some of the other greats have played. His performance is often underrated,” Hesson underlined.

“Hasan is showing some really good progress. I am really pleased with the way he is developing. When you are a youngster batting in the middle order, you have got to learn how to control the chase, understand risk and manage it. That’s something Hasan is continuing to get better at.”

Speaking about the bowling unit, Hesson lauded skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi’s ability to provide early breakthroughs and acknowledged the contributions of Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and young Arafat Minhas.

“Shaheen continues to take top-order wickets for us, which is critical. Both Naseem and Haris have bowled nicely at times throughout the tri-series, while Arafat, as a young player, is continuing to develop. There are some good signs there.”

Giving his view on Pakistan’s defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the final league match, Hesson admitted that the batting performance had fallen short of expectations but remained confident that the players would respond positively in the all-important final.

Hesson also acknowledged the support of the home crowd throughout the competition and hoped his side would deliver a performance worthy of the occasion.

“The crowd has been outstanding throughout the whole series. [This] tri-series bring something different. We have had a couple of games in the last week in Pakistan that would probably rank among the greatest.

“Lahore has always supported Pakistan incredibly well, as has Islamabad and hopefully we put on a good show for them in the final,” the head coach signed off.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2026