Dilshan Madushanka took a career-best 5 for 34 as Sri Lanka bowled Pakistan out for 110 in Lahore, then chased 111 with eight wickets in hand. The win sends Sri Lanka into the ODI tri-series final and knocks England out.
Lahore, Pakistan: It took Pakistan fewer than 26 overs to lose control of their own tri-series. At the Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday, the hosts folded for 110, and Sri Lanka walked to the target with more than 30 overs unused.
Madushanka tears through the top order
Pakistan batted first and were in trouble almost at once. Madushanka, bowling in the mid-130s kph, had Fakhar Zaman caught and bowled in the fourth over, and the innings never found its footing. Saad Baig added 23 with Babar Azam for the third wicket before Madushanka removed him too, caught at cover.
Babar top-scored with 29 off 33 balls, but nobody stayed with him. Salman Ali Agha fell for 9 to Sahan Arachchige, and Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando and Dunith Wellalage each took a wicket as the middle order disappeared. Hasan Nawaz made 17 and shared a 27-run stand for the seventh wicket with Arafat Minhas, Pakistan’s best partnership of the day, but the score was still 91 for 8 when Minhas went to Madushanka.
The tail goes the same way
Madushanka returned to finish the job. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf both fell to him, completing his five-wicket haul, and Pakistan were all out for 110 in 25.3 overs. His 5 for 34 is a career best, beating the 5 for 80 he took against India in Mumbai at the 2023 World Cup, and it left Pakistan with their second-lowest ODI total at home.
Kamindu Mendis makes it look easy
Sri Lanka’s chase was brisk and almost uneventful. Avishka Fernando made 16 off 17 balls before he was caught at midwicket off Afridi, and captain Kusal Mendis fell for 8 when the ball rebounded off his bat onto the stumps. That was all Pakistan got.
Kamindu Mendis finished unbeaten on 62 off 60 balls, with eight fours and two sixes, for his fifth ODI half-century, and Pavan Rathnayake stayed with him on 23 off 26.
England out, a final set
The result settles the tri-series. Sri Lanka have two wins from three matches and join Pakistan in the final, while England, who lost all three of their games, are eliminated. Their last league match against Sri Lanka on Thursday is now a dead rubber.
Pakistan had opened the tournament by beating Sri Lanka by 37 runs, thanks to Salman Agha’s 107 in Rawalpindi, and had snatched a one-wicket win over England on Sunday through Shadab Khan’s unbeaten 113. Sri Lanka had already shown they could chase big, when they hunted down 430 against England. The final, scheduled for Lahore, now pits the two sides against each other again.
Result: Sri Lanka 111/2 beat Pakistan 110 (25.3 overs) by eight wickets. Dilshan Madushanka 5/34, Sahan Arachchige 2 wickets; Babar Azam 29 (33), Hasan Nawaz 17. Kamindu Mendis 62* (60 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes), Pavan Rathnayake 23* (26).
