| Sri Lanka 419 (Chandimal 155*) & 138 (Yasir 5-51) |
| Pakistan 422 (Azhar 85, Herath 5-93) & 114(Herath 6-43) |
| Sri Lanka won by 21 runs |
Rangana Herath claimed his 400th wicket as Sri Lanka secured a thrilling 21-run win over Pakistan in the first Test in Abu Dhabi.
The left-arm spinner, 39, took 6-43 - for match figures of 11-136 - to help Sri Lanka dismiss Pakistan for only 114 in pursuit of 136 on the final day.
"All credit should go to the people behind me, from my parents to the team and the supporting staff," Herath said.
The final Test, a day-night match, in Dubai starts on Friday.
2nd Test review
| Sri Lanka 482 (Karunaratne 196) & 96 (Wahab 4-41) |
| Pakistan 262 & 248 (Shafiq 112, D Perera 5-98) |
| Sri Lanka won by 68 runs; won series 2-0 |
Sri Lanka won the second Test by 68 runs to condemn Pakistan to a first home series defeat since moving their home games to the United Arab Emirates.
Chasing 317 for victory in Dubai after bowling Sri Lanka out for 96 in their second innings in the day-night match, Pakistan were well placed at 222-5.
But they collapsed to 248 all out as off-spinner Dilruwan Perera took 5-98.
Asad Shafiq made 112, adding 173 for the sixth wicket with skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, who scored 68.
Sri Lanka, who had not won an away series against Pakistan since 2000, won the first Test in Abu Dhabi by 21 runs.
Their heavy home series defeat by India prompted the resignation of the selection panel.
The sides play a five-match one-day series starting on Friday, before contesting three Twenty20s, the last of which will take place in Lahore, subject to security.
Pakistan have not played a Test series on home soil since gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009, killing six policemen and two civilians and injuring several Sri Lanka players and coaches.
The majority of their 'home' Tests since have been played in the UAE.
1st ODI
Pakistan 292/6 (50 ov)
Sri Lanka 209/8 (50 ov)
Pakistan won by 83 runs
Pakistan reasserted their dominance in the UAE with a crushing win in Dubai over a Sri Lanka side that has seen ODI wins excruciatingly hard to come by in 2017. A century from Babar Azam - back playing his most favoured format - and a blistering 81 from Shoaib Malik saw Pakistan set Sri Lanka a stiff target of 293. They were never really in the chase, losing half the side for 67, with Rumman Raees and Hasan Ali leading the 83-run rout and handing them their eighth consecutive loss in the format.
Upul Tharanga won the toss and opted to bowl when most - Sarfraz included - considered fielding under the scorching Dubai an unappealing prospect. But Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage backed up their captain with a stellar opening spell, characterised by subtle swing and consistent line and lengths that deprived Pakistan of scoring opportunities. Ahmed Shehzad fell in what is becoming increasingly predictable fashion, getting bogged down by 11 dot balls, before coming down the wicket to Gamage and gifting midwicket a simple catch.
It wasn't until Babar, who had managed to hang in despite struggling for rhythm, and the street-smart Malik came together, that the momentum took a clear shift in Pakistan's favour. The running between the wickets was excellent, and Malik was destructive when he decided to take the aerial route, with even the tricky Dhananjaya rendered ineffective towards the close of the innings.
The bowling looked particularly toothless as Babar and Malik set themselves up for the finish, even if they were unable to come up with the sort of power-hitting the innings required at that stage. For their part, Sri Lanka were superb in the field, in stark contrast to the series against India, with fielders in the infield throwing themselves around and saving several runs. It wasn't until the last six overs that the big runs really began to leak, but along with it came regular wickets that stymied Pakistan's charge in the slog overs. Where once 300 looked a formality, Pakistan ended up scrambling to reach 292.
Even so, the target was a formidable one, and Sri Lanka began with a clear, positive intent. Upul Tharanga and Niroshan Dickwella sought to take advantage of the Powerplay in a way Pakistan had not, hitting five fours in the first 19 balls. But from the moment the first wicket fell, Dickwella poking at a ball from Raees that nipped away from him, the rot set in. The run rate began to drop sharply; just five runs were scored off the next 24 deliveries. Raees was the most menacing and accounted for Dinesh Chandimal's wicket too, the ball swinging back into the right-hander and trapping him plumb in front.
Tharanga looked thoroughly unconvincing once Mohammad Hafeez came on, surviving numerous lbw appeals in a phase when the middle of his bat completely disappeared from the game. After being worked over for a couple of overs, the Sri Lanka captain was put out of his misery by Hafeez with a ball that skidded on and thudded into his off stump. Two overs later, Hasan Ali dismissed Kusal Mendis and Milinda Siriwardana off successive deliveries, effectively putting the game to bed.
The lower order hung around long enough to seriously frustrate Pakistan, without really having a hope of winning. Thisara Perera provided brief entertainment before top-edging Shadab Khan and holing out, substitute fielder Faheem Ashraf taking an excellent catch. Raees came back into the attack and ended the resistance of the last recognised batsman Lahiru Thirimanne, who top-scored with 53.
Where Pakistan might have expected to skittle the tail out cheaply, Dananjaya and Jeffrey Vandersay, the Nos. 8 and 9, viewed the situation as an opportunity to get batting practice. While they never showed any intent of even trying to reach the target, they grittily hung around for a 68-run partnership, ensuring Sri Lanka batted out their full fifty overs.
Dananjaya ended up with an unbeaten fifty as the game meandered along for a full two hours. Pakistan seemed content to bowl out the overs than look to finish with a flourish. Even so, by the time Pakistan inevitably took a 1-0 lead, all Dananjaya and Vandersay had done was sprinkle some respectability onto another abject white-ball performance from Sri Lanka.
2nd ODI
Pakistan 219/9 (50 ov)
Sri Lanka 187 (48/50 ov)
Pakistan won by 32 runs
Babar Azam's seventh ODI hundred combined with a sublime all-round performance from Shadab Khan saw a listless Sri Lanka slump to their ninth consecutive ODI defeat. They lost by 32 runs, but the margin would have been much greater but for a fighting hundred by Sri Lankan captain Upul Tharanga; no one else scored more than 22. Sri Lanka were on top in the first quarter of the match, having reduced Pakistan to 101 for 6, before Azam and Shadab put together a gritty 109-run stand to propel Pakistan to 219.
It was a particularly grave indictment on Sri Lanka's batting display that they were in the chase for most of their innings, despite what was, by modern standards, a modest target. The batsmen didn't find many answers to the relentlessly accurate spin trio of Shadab, Mohammad Hafeez, and Shoaib Malik, on a surface on which runs were especially hard to come by. Tharanga was handed at least four chances during the course of his hundred. The chasm between the sides appeared so wide that Pakistan could afford to be that generous and still bowl Sri Lanka out for 187.
With Sri Lanka's current ODI plight and Pakistan's bowling prowess, Sri Lanka weren't expected to make light work of the chase on a slow surface. Sri Lanka lost two early wickets - Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis - and consumed plenty of dot balls in attempting to absorb the pressure, as if surviving a tricky Test match session. Tharanga and Lahiru Thirimanne added a scratchy 40 runs off 72 balls, and when the latter was eventually dismissed, the asking rate had already climbed to close to 5.50.
The rut set in straight after as the spinners knocked the wind out of the chase. Five wickets fell off the next 33 balls. Shadab took a wicket in each of his first three overs, getting prodigious turn with both his legbreak and googly.
Jeffrey Vandersay was involved in a 76-run, eighth-wicket stand with Tharanga, who found his range towards the close of the game, looming as the last line of defence against Pakistan taking a 2-0 lead in the series. Shadab was also taken for boundaries and his immaculate length started to waver as Sri Lanka narrowed the gap between runs required and balls remaining.
Pakistan could have established a near-impregnable position far earlier had they been less charitable in the field. Tharanga had lived a charmed life; he was dropped three times. That wasn't the end of his fortune either, he was also given out caught before being overturned on review, and survived another review for lbw. He was trapped right in front later in his innings, but Pakistan ran out of reviews.
As the asking rate came down and Sarfraz began to panic, berating his players almost every delivery, Pakistan broke through with 51 runs still to get, Vandersay holing out at deep square off a Rumman Raees slower ball. Lakmal was then run-out following a mix-up with Tharanga. It was fitting, in this frenetic contest, that the game ended via another run-out as Tharanga became the first Sri Lankan batsman to carry his bat through.
The first innings had effectively boiled down to a contest between Sri Lanka and Azam after another top-order collapse. Ahmed Shehzad poked and scratched around while Fakhar Zaman also struggled for timing. Zaman was the first to go, Lahiru Gamage angling the ball across Zaman, whose outside edge flew to a wide slip. Shehzad joined him three overs later, driving a wide delivery from Suranga Lakmal straight to point.
Lakmal and Gamage were once again terrific with the new ball, getting sufficient movement. Mohammad Hafeez broke the shackles with a glorious six back over Gamage's head, but edged the next ball - gently seaming away - to the keeper.
As Malik and Imad Wasim also fell cheaply, Azam continued to show signs of his quality, providing further evidence of his quality, and composure as a batsman. He held the innings together instead of letting the pressure of the situation get to him. Seemingly oblivious to the collapse around him, he guided the lower order, establishing a magnificent, match-changing partnership with Shadab.
There were no slog overs, no pinch hitting. Just mature, calm batsmanship by a pair whose combined age is less than that of recently-retired skipper Misbah-ul-Haq. The singles came freely and easily, and twos were routinely pinched. If the opportunity presented itself, the occasional boundary was struck, too, but not if a risk had to be taken.
Not until the first ball of the final over, anyway, when Azam tried to clear long-on with a tired heave. His job had been done, and he left the bowlers with enough room to do theirs. That, usually, is a winning strategy for Pakistan, and so it proved yet again.
3rd ODI
Sri Lanka 208 (48.2/50 ov)
Pakistan 209/3 (42.3/50 ov)
Pakistan won by 7 wickets (with 45 balls remaining)
Albert Einstein believed doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results was the definition of insanity. As such, it seems to be insane to have organised five ODIs between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They've done this three thrice so far, and a different result is nowhere in sight.
This match was the most decisive of the lot, an all-round masterclass from Pakistan helped them ease to a series win over Sri Lanka by seven wickets, with more than seven overs to spare. Hasan Ali's five-for helped bowl Sri Lanka out for 208, before a debut century by Imam-ul-Haq - just the second Pakistani to achieve that feat - made this game a heavily one-sided affair. Pakistan cruised to their seventh successive ODI win, while Sri Lanka slumped to their tenth straight defeat.
When Pakistan's squad for the ODI series was announced, Imam-ul-Haq's selection came under scrutiny given he is chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq's nephew. Imam was given a debut in the third ODI on Wednesday and after becoming the second Pakistan batsman to score a century on debut, the 21-year-old said performances were the best way to answer any questions over his place in the side.
"It's not my fault that I am his nephew," he said. "The only thing I can do is try. I am not answerable to everyone for this. The best way is to perform. There will be some failures, and I am not afraid of that because failure is a part of every cricketer's life.
"It doesn't make a difference to me. I have a lot of self-belief. I have domestic performances and an Under-19 World Cup to back me. People talk, and in some ways they are doing their job and I respect them but one has to go out and perform. If I don't perform in the next game, this kind of criticism will be leveled again, so I don't pay it much attention."
Pakistan needed no more than sober level-headedness in their modest chase. Fakhar Zaman and Imam provided more than just that. Imam looked unperturbed by the enormity of the occasion and wasn't afraid to hit in the air. Although he was uncomfortable against offspinner Akila Dananjaya at times, it was a generally chanceless innings that would have undoubtedly eased some pressure on his uncle and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Zaman was stumped attempting a wild heave over midwicket after the openers added 78. But the hosts did not collapse like Sri Lanka after their opening partnership was broken. Imam simply grew in confidence, coming down the wicket to neutralise the spin, and continued to take the attack to the opposition.
Babar Azam added 30 and went, but there was no twist in the tale. The outcome was a forgone conclusion long before the winning stroke was played. The only excitement towards the end was the wait to see the 21-year old Imam complete his debut hundred. And he nearly didn't.
In the 37th over, a peach of an indipper from Dushmantha Chameera took his inside edge, when he was on 89, and settled in the wicketkeeper's gloves. Imam whipped around to watch it happen and began shuffling off the field well before he was adjudged out. The on-field umpires, however, asked him to wait as he made his inconsolable trek back to the dressing room, saying they wanted to check the legality of the catch. With each passing replay it seemed a little bit of the ball had touched the ground before Niroshan Dickwella had taken it. The big screen finally flashed "not out". Both the Abu Dhabi crowd and Imam himself heaved a sigh of relief. And he knocked off the remaining 11 runs without further trouble to soak in all the emotion.
Earlier, Sri Lanka started brightly, as if liberated by not having a target to chase. Upul Tharanga's touch looked to have never left him since he carried his bat in the previous game. He drove Junaid Khan and Rumman Raees regularly through the offside, his timing allowing him to score regular runs past mid-off.
He put on 59 with Dickwella in 10.5 overs - it was the first fifty partnership at the top of the order for Sri Lanka in seven games - but Hasan broke through just as it began to look ominous. He bowled Dickwella, who was slightly unfortunate considering the ball had kept low.
That, right there, was the end of the good times for Sri Lanka. They slowed down considerably, the new batsman Chandimal needing to settle and the set batsman Tharanga beginning to stutter. It seemed that Sri Lanka, having seen clumps of wickets fall early in the first two games, made a point of prioritising wickets in hand over run rate.
The result was a familiar sight. Pakistan's spinners wrestled control of the middle overs and began to asphyxiate the batsmen. Chandimal made a painful 19 off 49 balls, and there was a sense of inevitability when he was out lbw after misreading a Shadab Khan googly.
Sri Lanka's run rate, once over six, had dipped below four. Tharanga, not having played an aggressive shot for the best part of 20 overs, pulled a long hop from Shadab straight to deep square leg. With a dull sense of familiarity, the visitors began falling apart, again. No one was able to get used to the slowness of the Abu Dhabi pitch or throw the Pakistan spinners off their nagging lines and lengths.
The fast bowlers were back to finish off the middle order, with Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana and Jeffrey Vandersay all falling within 12 balls. Hasan and Junaid were the men responsible, making all three batsmen mistime their shots. Suddenly, Sri Lanka were 141 for 6 in 36 overs, and even 200 seemed an eternity away.
Hafeez got rid of Thirmanne - a particularly unfortunate dismissal as he cut a ball onto his boot which then ballooned into the wicketkeeper's gloves. Hasan removed Akila Dananjaya to wrap up his third five-wicket haul of the year and leave Sri Lanka reeling at 163 for 8.
A late flurry from Thisara Perera, finding five fours in his 37-ball 38 dragged Sri Lanka past 200 even as Pakistan's fielding disciplines fell apart. Several mistakes on the boundary allowed ones and twos to be turned into many more. Hasan restored the upper hand, snuffing out the resistance of tailender Dushmantha Chammera and ensured Sri Lanka couldn't put up a total closer to what they would have aimed. Thisara was the last man dismissed, run-out while trying to look for a non-existent second run. Pakistan had knocked Sri Lanka over within 50 overs again. In a few hours, they had knocked them out of the series.
4th ODI
Sri Lanka 173 (43.4/50 ov)
Pakistan 177/3 (39/50 ov)
Pakistan won by 7 wickets (with 66 balls remaining)
If the purpose of a series is to find out which of two teams is the superior one, then this ODI felt nothing more than a rhetorical question. To have to play it at all was the equivalent of insisting upon an answer to the aforementioned rhetorical question. The problem with that is the answer is hardly ever surprising. That was emphatically the case with the fourth ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sharjah, which Sarfraz Ahmed's men won by seven wickets with 11 overs to spare. Four down, one to go.
This time Sri Lanka, who won the toss and batted, turned up the most abject performance of the series, losing seven wickets for 99 before recovering slightly to finish with 173. That was thanks to Lahiru Thirimanne, the visitors' only batsman, apart from the captain, who emerges from this series with any credit. He made 62 off 94 balls, including four fours. The target was far too comfortable for Pakistan, despite early hiccups that had left them at 58 for 3, with half-centuries from Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik guiding them home.
No matter what they try, it doesn't seem to work for Sri Lanka. They made three changes to their XI and batted with an unmistakable air of freedom, having already conceded the series. Yet they careened to 173 all out in 43.4 overs. Pakistan's bowlers put in an excellent collective performance - three of them took at least two wickets each - to establish the hosts' dominance at the half-way mark.
It began when captain Upul Tharanga was bowled for a duck, debutant Usman Khan producing a wonder ball that ripped through the gap between bat and pad. Niroshan Dickwella then began to attack the opening bowlers, carting Usman for consecutive fours and hitting Junaid Khan for six over fine leg. The wicketkeeper-batsman was taking risks, though, and he pushed it a bit too far when he tried to go over the infield on the off side, cover point taking a simple catch.
Inevitably, the run rate began to slow down with Dinesh Chandimal and Thirimanne at the crease; the two batsmen have the lowest and fifth lowest ODI strike rates respectively this year. It was - unforgivably - a run out that broke the partnership, Chandimal the casualty. That brought the highly-regarded debutant Sadeera Samarawickmara to the crease, but he only lasted two balls, Imad Wasim beating him with the angle as the ball broke the stumps.
Shadab Khan soon joined the party, removing Seekkuge Prasanna and Thisara Perera off successive balls to leave Sri Lanka seven down before they had reached three figures. Akila Dananjaya, who has been stoic in the lower order, hung around with Thirimanne as they attempted to reach what might be a competitive score. The last three wickets did add 74, but in the end, it merely saved Sri Lanka some extra embarrassment rather than having any impact on the scoreline.
Chasing a smaller target than they had done in the third ODI, Pakistan might have felt comfortable with the straightforward task at hand. However, they were nowhere near as assured to start off on Friday, although the Sri Lankan bowlers were partly responsible for that. Fast bowler Lahiru Gamage was successful coming round the wicket to Imam-ul-Haq, trapping last game's centurion plumb in front in the second over.
Zaman's dismissal was more disappointing. He got yet another start before falling in exactly the same fashion as he had in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. He charged at the spinner - Dananjaya this time - and failed to get anywhere near the pitch of the ball, and was utterly beaten by the spin. Dickwella completed a simple stumping.
Seekkuge Prasanna removed Hafeez shortly after, though it was more down to a poor shot by the batsman. He failed to control a sweep shot off a wrong'un, the ball ballooning straight to deep square leg. Pakistan were 58 for 3, the match still salvageable for Upul Tharanga's men.
From thereon, it could have turned into one of those awkward low-scoring thrillers that chasing sides find so horrible, but the combination of youth and experience got Pakistan out of a hole. Apart from a dropped catch that gave Shoaib Malik a reprieve, the veteran added an unbroken 119 with Babar with Babar that carried the side home. After a lengthy spell where they consolidated, they swatted the bowlers away towards the end, the last 26 runs coming off two overs. It was far too comfortable, as much of this series has been for Sarfraz's men.
5th ODI
Sri Lanka 103 (26.2/50 ov)
Pakistan 105/1 (20.2/50 ov)
Pakistan won by 9 wickets (with 178 balls remaining)
In a year in which Sri Lanka have continued to sink further into the depths of ODI ineptitude, they surely hit rock bottom today. In a performance that put an exclamation mark on their run of 12 straight ODI losses, they illustrated why they have struggled so badly in the format.
They couldn't bat, dismissed for 103 in 26 overs. They couldn't bowl all that well, taking only one wicket as Pakistan cruised home with over 30 overs to spare. It is another whitewash for Sri Lanka, the third they have suffered this year alone. South Africa and India were the other tormentors.
The prospect of a damning defeat was writ large over the contest after the very first over, in which Usman Khan took the first two wickets of a staggering opening spell. He had come to prominence with a scintillating performance in a domestic T20 final in 2013, but after today, that domestic admiration can turn to international acclaim. It tends to happen once you complete a five-for in 3.3 overs.
Maybe there's a peculiar curse Sharjah has cast on Sri Lanka - they've been bowled out below 100 four times at this ground. It could have been five; they were 85 for 9 at one point, before Dushmantha Chameera and Vishwa Fernando put together an 18-run partnership and rescued their side from that ignominy.
For the third straight game, Upul Tharanga won the toss and chose to bat. But Sri Lanka's luck has remained confined to the toss this tour. One over into the innings, it was clear that wasn't going to change today.
The dismissals themselves were something to behold; it was Pakistani fast bowling at its most exhilarating. Sadeera Samarawickmara failed to adjust to the moving ball and inside-edged onto his middle stump. Dinesh Chandimal was utterly helpless against one that swung away, edging to Sarfraz Ahmed.
In Usman's second over, Tharanga - just like the previous game - was unable to prevent one from sneaking in between his bat and pad. Niroshan Dickwella fell lbw to another prodigious inswinger. Siriwardana tamely scooped to cover point, and in under 7 overs Sri Lanka were 20 for 5.
Thoroughly dispirited and broken all series, Sri Lanka had dug themselves into a hole in the first half hour of the game, and were already reduced to respectability restoration. Then Thirimanne edged Hasan Ali to the wicketkeeper and Seekkuge Prasanna ran himself out in a horribly amateur way, failing to ground his bat in a bid to avoid a throw in his direction. Pakistan didn't need that sort of charity, but it was welcome.
Thisara Perera struck a few boundaries en route to 25, the top score for his side. But in an innings where wickets were the currency of choice, that sort of resistance was merely pennies on the dollar. Hasan and Shadab Khan cleaned up the tail, and Pakistan were left with 104 to get to sweep the series.
There was no drama to be had, with Sri Lanka coming out looking like a boxer for whom the knockout punch would be a blissful release. The second innings was a case of two teams going through the motions. But while Fakhar Zaman fell short of a half-century, reasons for joy were in short supply for the visitors. Pakistan looked almost embarrassed to complete the whitewash, so wide was the chasm between the two sides.
However, the major discomfort all belongs to the visitors, who will be left pondering how on earth to salvage some pride in the upcoming T20 series.
Pakistan 292/6 (50 ov)
Sri Lanka 209/8 (50 ov)
Pakistan won by 83 runs
Pakistan reasserted their dominance in the UAE with a crushing win in Dubai over a Sri Lanka side that has seen ODI wins excruciatingly hard to come by in 2017. A century from Babar Azam - back playing his most favoured format - and a blistering 81 from Shoaib Malik saw Pakistan set Sri Lanka a stiff target of 293. They were never really in the chase, losing half the side for 67, with Rumman Raees and Hasan Ali leading the 83-run rout and handing them their eighth consecutive loss in the format.
Upul Tharanga won the toss and opted to bowl when most - Sarfraz included - considered fielding under the scorching Dubai an unappealing prospect. But Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage backed up their captain with a stellar opening spell, characterised by subtle swing and consistent line and lengths that deprived Pakistan of scoring opportunities. Ahmed Shehzad fell in what is becoming increasingly predictable fashion, getting bogged down by 11 dot balls, before coming down the wicket to Gamage and gifting midwicket a simple catch.
It wasn't until Babar, who had managed to hang in despite struggling for rhythm, and the street-smart Malik came together, that the momentum took a clear shift in Pakistan's favour. The running between the wickets was excellent, and Malik was destructive when he decided to take the aerial route, with even the tricky Dhananjaya rendered ineffective towards the close of the innings.
The bowling looked particularly toothless as Babar and Malik set themselves up for the finish, even if they were unable to come up with the sort of power-hitting the innings required at that stage. For their part, Sri Lanka were superb in the field, in stark contrast to the series against India, with fielders in the infield throwing themselves around and saving several runs. It wasn't until the last six overs that the big runs really began to leak, but along with it came regular wickets that stymied Pakistan's charge in the slog overs. Where once 300 looked a formality, Pakistan ended up scrambling to reach 292.
Even so, the target was a formidable one, and Sri Lanka began with a clear, positive intent. Upul Tharanga and Niroshan Dickwella sought to take advantage of the Powerplay in a way Pakistan had not, hitting five fours in the first 19 balls. But from the moment the first wicket fell, Dickwella poking at a ball from Raees that nipped away from him, the rot set in. The run rate began to drop sharply; just five runs were scored off the next 24 deliveries. Raees was the most menacing and accounted for Dinesh Chandimal's wicket too, the ball swinging back into the right-hander and trapping him plumb in front.
Tharanga looked thoroughly unconvincing once Mohammad Hafeez came on, surviving numerous lbw appeals in a phase when the middle of his bat completely disappeared from the game. After being worked over for a couple of overs, the Sri Lanka captain was put out of his misery by Hafeez with a ball that skidded on and thudded into his off stump. Two overs later, Hasan Ali dismissed Kusal Mendis and Milinda Siriwardana off successive deliveries, effectively putting the game to bed.
The lower order hung around long enough to seriously frustrate Pakistan, without really having a hope of winning. Thisara Perera provided brief entertainment before top-edging Shadab Khan and holing out, substitute fielder Faheem Ashraf taking an excellent catch. Raees came back into the attack and ended the resistance of the last recognised batsman Lahiru Thirimanne, who top-scored with 53.
Where Pakistan might have expected to skittle the tail out cheaply, Dananjaya and Jeffrey Vandersay, the Nos. 8 and 9, viewed the situation as an opportunity to get batting practice. While they never showed any intent of even trying to reach the target, they grittily hung around for a 68-run partnership, ensuring Sri Lanka batted out their full fifty overs.
Dananjaya ended up with an unbeaten fifty as the game meandered along for a full two hours. Pakistan seemed content to bowl out the overs than look to finish with a flourish. Even so, by the time Pakistan inevitably took a 1-0 lead, all Dananjaya and Vandersay had done was sprinkle some respectability onto another abject white-ball performance from Sri Lanka.
2nd ODI
Pakistan 219/9 (50 ov)
Sri Lanka 187 (48/50 ov)
Pakistan won by 32 runs
Babar Azam's seventh ODI hundred combined with a sublime all-round performance from Shadab Khan saw a listless Sri Lanka slump to their ninth consecutive ODI defeat. They lost by 32 runs, but the margin would have been much greater but for a fighting hundred by Sri Lankan captain Upul Tharanga; no one else scored more than 22. Sri Lanka were on top in the first quarter of the match, having reduced Pakistan to 101 for 6, before Azam and Shadab put together a gritty 109-run stand to propel Pakistan to 219.
It was a particularly grave indictment on Sri Lanka's batting display that they were in the chase for most of their innings, despite what was, by modern standards, a modest target. The batsmen didn't find many answers to the relentlessly accurate spin trio of Shadab, Mohammad Hafeez, and Shoaib Malik, on a surface on which runs were especially hard to come by. Tharanga was handed at least four chances during the course of his hundred. The chasm between the sides appeared so wide that Pakistan could afford to be that generous and still bowl Sri Lanka out for 187.
With Sri Lanka's current ODI plight and Pakistan's bowling prowess, Sri Lanka weren't expected to make light work of the chase on a slow surface. Sri Lanka lost two early wickets - Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis - and consumed plenty of dot balls in attempting to absorb the pressure, as if surviving a tricky Test match session. Tharanga and Lahiru Thirimanne added a scratchy 40 runs off 72 balls, and when the latter was eventually dismissed, the asking rate had already climbed to close to 5.50.
The rut set in straight after as the spinners knocked the wind out of the chase. Five wickets fell off the next 33 balls. Shadab took a wicket in each of his first three overs, getting prodigious turn with both his legbreak and googly.
Jeffrey Vandersay was involved in a 76-run, eighth-wicket stand with Tharanga, who found his range towards the close of the game, looming as the last line of defence against Pakistan taking a 2-0 lead in the series. Shadab was also taken for boundaries and his immaculate length started to waver as Sri Lanka narrowed the gap between runs required and balls remaining.
Pakistan could have established a near-impregnable position far earlier had they been less charitable in the field. Tharanga had lived a charmed life; he was dropped three times. That wasn't the end of his fortune either, he was also given out caught before being overturned on review, and survived another review for lbw. He was trapped right in front later in his innings, but Pakistan ran out of reviews.
As the asking rate came down and Sarfraz began to panic, berating his players almost every delivery, Pakistan broke through with 51 runs still to get, Vandersay holing out at deep square off a Rumman Raees slower ball. Lakmal was then run-out following a mix-up with Tharanga. It was fitting, in this frenetic contest, that the game ended via another run-out as Tharanga became the first Sri Lankan batsman to carry his bat through.
The first innings had effectively boiled down to a contest between Sri Lanka and Azam after another top-order collapse. Ahmed Shehzad poked and scratched around while Fakhar Zaman also struggled for timing. Zaman was the first to go, Lahiru Gamage angling the ball across Zaman, whose outside edge flew to a wide slip. Shehzad joined him three overs later, driving a wide delivery from Suranga Lakmal straight to point.
Lakmal and Gamage were once again terrific with the new ball, getting sufficient movement. Mohammad Hafeez broke the shackles with a glorious six back over Gamage's head, but edged the next ball - gently seaming away - to the keeper.
As Malik and Imad Wasim also fell cheaply, Azam continued to show signs of his quality, providing further evidence of his quality, and composure as a batsman. He held the innings together instead of letting the pressure of the situation get to him. Seemingly oblivious to the collapse around him, he guided the lower order, establishing a magnificent, match-changing partnership with Shadab.
There were no slog overs, no pinch hitting. Just mature, calm batsmanship by a pair whose combined age is less than that of recently-retired skipper Misbah-ul-Haq. The singles came freely and easily, and twos were routinely pinched. If the opportunity presented itself, the occasional boundary was struck, too, but not if a risk had to be taken.
Not until the first ball of the final over, anyway, when Azam tried to clear long-on with a tired heave. His job had been done, and he left the bowlers with enough room to do theirs. That, usually, is a winning strategy for Pakistan, and so it proved yet again.
3rd ODI
Sri Lanka 208 (48.2/50 ov)
Pakistan 209/3 (42.3/50 ov)
Pakistan won by 7 wickets (with 45 balls remaining)
Albert Einstein believed doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results was the definition of insanity. As such, it seems to be insane to have organised five ODIs between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They've done this three thrice so far, and a different result is nowhere in sight.
This match was the most decisive of the lot, an all-round masterclass from Pakistan helped them ease to a series win over Sri Lanka by seven wickets, with more than seven overs to spare. Hasan Ali's five-for helped bowl Sri Lanka out for 208, before a debut century by Imam-ul-Haq - just the second Pakistani to achieve that feat - made this game a heavily one-sided affair. Pakistan cruised to their seventh successive ODI win, while Sri Lanka slumped to their tenth straight defeat.
When Pakistan's squad for the ODI series was announced, Imam-ul-Haq's selection came under scrutiny given he is chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq's nephew. Imam was given a debut in the third ODI on Wednesday and after becoming the second Pakistan batsman to score a century on debut, the 21-year-old said performances were the best way to answer any questions over his place in the side.
"It's not my fault that I am his nephew," he said. "The only thing I can do is try. I am not answerable to everyone for this. The best way is to perform. There will be some failures, and I am not afraid of that because failure is a part of every cricketer's life.
"It doesn't make a difference to me. I have a lot of self-belief. I have domestic performances and an Under-19 World Cup to back me. People talk, and in some ways they are doing their job and I respect them but one has to go out and perform. If I don't perform in the next game, this kind of criticism will be leveled again, so I don't pay it much attention."
Pakistan needed no more than sober level-headedness in their modest chase. Fakhar Zaman and Imam provided more than just that. Imam looked unperturbed by the enormity of the occasion and wasn't afraid to hit in the air. Although he was uncomfortable against offspinner Akila Dananjaya at times, it was a generally chanceless innings that would have undoubtedly eased some pressure on his uncle and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Zaman was stumped attempting a wild heave over midwicket after the openers added 78. But the hosts did not collapse like Sri Lanka after their opening partnership was broken. Imam simply grew in confidence, coming down the wicket to neutralise the spin, and continued to take the attack to the opposition.
Babar Azam added 30 and went, but there was no twist in the tale. The outcome was a forgone conclusion long before the winning stroke was played. The only excitement towards the end was the wait to see the 21-year old Imam complete his debut hundred. And he nearly didn't.
In the 37th over, a peach of an indipper from Dushmantha Chameera took his inside edge, when he was on 89, and settled in the wicketkeeper's gloves. Imam whipped around to watch it happen and began shuffling off the field well before he was adjudged out. The on-field umpires, however, asked him to wait as he made his inconsolable trek back to the dressing room, saying they wanted to check the legality of the catch. With each passing replay it seemed a little bit of the ball had touched the ground before Niroshan Dickwella had taken it. The big screen finally flashed "not out". Both the Abu Dhabi crowd and Imam himself heaved a sigh of relief. And he knocked off the remaining 11 runs without further trouble to soak in all the emotion.
Earlier, Sri Lanka started brightly, as if liberated by not having a target to chase. Upul Tharanga's touch looked to have never left him since he carried his bat in the previous game. He drove Junaid Khan and Rumman Raees regularly through the offside, his timing allowing him to score regular runs past mid-off.
He put on 59 with Dickwella in 10.5 overs - it was the first fifty partnership at the top of the order for Sri Lanka in seven games - but Hasan broke through just as it began to look ominous. He bowled Dickwella, who was slightly unfortunate considering the ball had kept low.
That, right there, was the end of the good times for Sri Lanka. They slowed down considerably, the new batsman Chandimal needing to settle and the set batsman Tharanga beginning to stutter. It seemed that Sri Lanka, having seen clumps of wickets fall early in the first two games, made a point of prioritising wickets in hand over run rate.
The result was a familiar sight. Pakistan's spinners wrestled control of the middle overs and began to asphyxiate the batsmen. Chandimal made a painful 19 off 49 balls, and there was a sense of inevitability when he was out lbw after misreading a Shadab Khan googly.
Sri Lanka's run rate, once over six, had dipped below four. Tharanga, not having played an aggressive shot for the best part of 20 overs, pulled a long hop from Shadab straight to deep square leg. With a dull sense of familiarity, the visitors began falling apart, again. No one was able to get used to the slowness of the Abu Dhabi pitch or throw the Pakistan spinners off their nagging lines and lengths.
The fast bowlers were back to finish off the middle order, with Chamara Kapugedera, Milinda Siriwardana and Jeffrey Vandersay all falling within 12 balls. Hasan and Junaid were the men responsible, making all three batsmen mistime their shots. Suddenly, Sri Lanka were 141 for 6 in 36 overs, and even 200 seemed an eternity away.
Hafeez got rid of Thirmanne - a particularly unfortunate dismissal as he cut a ball onto his boot which then ballooned into the wicketkeeper's gloves. Hasan removed Akila Dananjaya to wrap up his third five-wicket haul of the year and leave Sri Lanka reeling at 163 for 8.
A late flurry from Thisara Perera, finding five fours in his 37-ball 38 dragged Sri Lanka past 200 even as Pakistan's fielding disciplines fell apart. Several mistakes on the boundary allowed ones and twos to be turned into many more. Hasan restored the upper hand, snuffing out the resistance of tailender Dushmantha Chammera and ensured Sri Lanka couldn't put up a total closer to what they would have aimed. Thisara was the last man dismissed, run-out while trying to look for a non-existent second run. Pakistan had knocked Sri Lanka over within 50 overs again. In a few hours, they had knocked them out of the series.
4th ODI
Sri Lanka 173 (43.4/50 ov)
Pakistan 177/3 (39/50 ov)
Pakistan won by 7 wickets (with 66 balls remaining)
If the purpose of a series is to find out which of two teams is the superior one, then this ODI felt nothing more than a rhetorical question. To have to play it at all was the equivalent of insisting upon an answer to the aforementioned rhetorical question. The problem with that is the answer is hardly ever surprising. That was emphatically the case with the fourth ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sharjah, which Sarfraz Ahmed's men won by seven wickets with 11 overs to spare. Four down, one to go.
This time Sri Lanka, who won the toss and batted, turned up the most abject performance of the series, losing seven wickets for 99 before recovering slightly to finish with 173. That was thanks to Lahiru Thirimanne, the visitors' only batsman, apart from the captain, who emerges from this series with any credit. He made 62 off 94 balls, including four fours. The target was far too comfortable for Pakistan, despite early hiccups that had left them at 58 for 3, with half-centuries from Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik guiding them home.
No matter what they try, it doesn't seem to work for Sri Lanka. They made three changes to their XI and batted with an unmistakable air of freedom, having already conceded the series. Yet they careened to 173 all out in 43.4 overs. Pakistan's bowlers put in an excellent collective performance - three of them took at least two wickets each - to establish the hosts' dominance at the half-way mark.
It began when captain Upul Tharanga was bowled for a duck, debutant Usman Khan producing a wonder ball that ripped through the gap between bat and pad. Niroshan Dickwella then began to attack the opening bowlers, carting Usman for consecutive fours and hitting Junaid Khan for six over fine leg. The wicketkeeper-batsman was taking risks, though, and he pushed it a bit too far when he tried to go over the infield on the off side, cover point taking a simple catch.
Inevitably, the run rate began to slow down with Dinesh Chandimal and Thirimanne at the crease; the two batsmen have the lowest and fifth lowest ODI strike rates respectively this year. It was - unforgivably - a run out that broke the partnership, Chandimal the casualty. That brought the highly-regarded debutant Sadeera Samarawickmara to the crease, but he only lasted two balls, Imad Wasim beating him with the angle as the ball broke the stumps.
Shadab Khan soon joined the party, removing Seekkuge Prasanna and Thisara Perera off successive balls to leave Sri Lanka seven down before they had reached three figures. Akila Dananjaya, who has been stoic in the lower order, hung around with Thirimanne as they attempted to reach what might be a competitive score. The last three wickets did add 74, but in the end, it merely saved Sri Lanka some extra embarrassment rather than having any impact on the scoreline.
Chasing a smaller target than they had done in the third ODI, Pakistan might have felt comfortable with the straightforward task at hand. However, they were nowhere near as assured to start off on Friday, although the Sri Lankan bowlers were partly responsible for that. Fast bowler Lahiru Gamage was successful coming round the wicket to Imam-ul-Haq, trapping last game's centurion plumb in front in the second over.
Zaman's dismissal was more disappointing. He got yet another start before falling in exactly the same fashion as he had in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. He charged at the spinner - Dananjaya this time - and failed to get anywhere near the pitch of the ball, and was utterly beaten by the spin. Dickwella completed a simple stumping.
Seekkuge Prasanna removed Hafeez shortly after, though it was more down to a poor shot by the batsman. He failed to control a sweep shot off a wrong'un, the ball ballooning straight to deep square leg. Pakistan were 58 for 3, the match still salvageable for Upul Tharanga's men.
From thereon, it could have turned into one of those awkward low-scoring thrillers that chasing sides find so horrible, but the combination of youth and experience got Pakistan out of a hole. Apart from a dropped catch that gave Shoaib Malik a reprieve, the veteran added an unbroken 119 with Babar with Babar that carried the side home. After a lengthy spell where they consolidated, they swatted the bowlers away towards the end, the last 26 runs coming off two overs. It was far too comfortable, as much of this series has been for Sarfraz's men.
5th ODI
Sri Lanka 103 (26.2/50 ov)
Pakistan 105/1 (20.2/50 ov)
Pakistan won by 9 wickets (with 178 balls remaining)
In a year in which Sri Lanka have continued to sink further into the depths of ODI ineptitude, they surely hit rock bottom today. In a performance that put an exclamation mark on their run of 12 straight ODI losses, they illustrated why they have struggled so badly in the format.
They couldn't bat, dismissed for 103 in 26 overs. They couldn't bowl all that well, taking only one wicket as Pakistan cruised home with over 30 overs to spare. It is another whitewash for Sri Lanka, the third they have suffered this year alone. South Africa and India were the other tormentors.
The prospect of a damning defeat was writ large over the contest after the very first over, in which Usman Khan took the first two wickets of a staggering opening spell. He had come to prominence with a scintillating performance in a domestic T20 final in 2013, but after today, that domestic admiration can turn to international acclaim. It tends to happen once you complete a five-for in 3.3 overs.
Maybe there's a peculiar curse Sharjah has cast on Sri Lanka - they've been bowled out below 100 four times at this ground. It could have been five; they were 85 for 9 at one point, before Dushmantha Chameera and Vishwa Fernando put together an 18-run partnership and rescued their side from that ignominy.
For the third straight game, Upul Tharanga won the toss and chose to bat. But Sri Lanka's luck has remained confined to the toss this tour. One over into the innings, it was clear that wasn't going to change today.
The dismissals themselves were something to behold; it was Pakistani fast bowling at its most exhilarating. Sadeera Samarawickmara failed to adjust to the moving ball and inside-edged onto his middle stump. Dinesh Chandimal was utterly helpless against one that swung away, edging to Sarfraz Ahmed.
In Usman's second over, Tharanga - just like the previous game - was unable to prevent one from sneaking in between his bat and pad. Niroshan Dickwella fell lbw to another prodigious inswinger. Siriwardana tamely scooped to cover point, and in under 7 overs Sri Lanka were 20 for 5.
Thoroughly dispirited and broken all series, Sri Lanka had dug themselves into a hole in the first half hour of the game, and were already reduced to respectability restoration. Then Thirimanne edged Hasan Ali to the wicketkeeper and Seekkuge Prasanna ran himself out in a horribly amateur way, failing to ground his bat in a bid to avoid a throw in his direction. Pakistan didn't need that sort of charity, but it was welcome.
Thisara Perera struck a few boundaries en route to 25, the top score for his side. But in an innings where wickets were the currency of choice, that sort of resistance was merely pennies on the dollar. Hasan and Shadab Khan cleaned up the tail, and Pakistan were left with 104 to get to sweep the series.
There was no drama to be had, with Sri Lanka coming out looking like a boxer for whom the knockout punch would be a blissful release. The second innings was a case of two teams going through the motions. But while Fakhar Zaman fell short of a half-century, reasons for joy were in short supply for the visitors. Pakistan looked almost embarrassed to complete the whitewash, so wide was the chasm between the two sides.
However, the major discomfort all belongs to the visitors, who will be left pondering how on earth to salvage some pride in the upcoming T20 series.
1st T20I
Sri Lanka 102 (18.3/20 ov)
Pakistan 103/3 (17.2/20 overs)
Pakistan won by 7 wickets
A number of factors go into picking a XI. A player's composure under pressure, for one, or their ability to bowl fast. But choosing a XI on the basis of their travel preferences, as this Sri Lanka team was chosen - is, even in this modern world, generally a risky tactic that is likely to backfire more often than not. That was emphatically the case in Abu Dhabi, where a full-strength Pakistan swept past a depleted Sri Lankan side by seven wickets with nearly three overs to spare.
The result felt like a foregone conclusion from very early on. Sri Lanka were clearly out of their depth and Pakistan's bowlers, good enough to discomfit the best teams in the world, were far too good for a visiting side that is still searching for a win in the limited-overs leg of the tour. Sri Lanka were bundled out for 102 - Hasan Ali the standout bowler with three wickets - and Pakistan strolled to the target as if it were a practice session against net bowlers.
Pakistan opted to bowl and Imad Wasim obliged by removing opener Dilshan Munaweera with his third delivery. But the visitors looked to attack nevertheless. It was a ploy that wouldn't last as Pakistan's fearsome bowling attack chipped away. Sri Lanka still persisted with risky, aggressive shots when rotating the strike in the middle overs could have served them better. That eventually pushed the run rate down under six.
The Sri Lankan side had an uncomfortably domestic feel to it; this, therefore, did not feel like a fair fight for the most part. Both spinners and fast bowlers filled their boots, with easy wickets on offer. Thisara Perera, strangely, pushed himself down the order, coming in at 68 for 7 when the game already looked as good as gone. He didn't last long either, though, top edging Usman Khan when he was on 6.
From there on, it was just the tailenders - not that the difference was always easy to tell. The last wicket fell in the 19th over, with Pakistan needing a straightforward 103 to take a series lead.
They lost Fakhar Zaman early but with such a low target, the pressure was never really on them. They were unperturbed about having scored just 21 runs for two wickets in the Powerplay. Shoaib Malik and Ahmed Shehzad simply rotated the strike and ease towards the target. Shehzad fell to a loose shot midway but it barely mattered at that point, Hafeez effortlessly taking his place.
After the demoralising ODI whitewash, Sri Lanka's full side would have struggled to compete with the hosts. But as Sarfraz Ahmed's men put the finishing touches on the most routine of wins, it was impossible not to feel Sri Lanka may face a similar fate in the shortest format.
2nd T20I
SL124/9
PAK 125/8
Pakistan won by 2 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
There was a hat-trick from Faheem Ashraf, and a Sri Lankan collapse that saw them lose eight wickets for 14 runs. That might suggest another rout of the hapless visitors, but nothing could be further from reality. In the game of the entire tour, Pakistan edged home with one ball to spare, with only two wickets in hand when the winning runs were struck. They were struck by none other than golden boy Shadab Khan, who smashed a six off the game's penultimate ball to wrench victory from Sri Lanka's desperate, clawing hands.
This was a complete T20 game, beginning with intelligent batting by Sri Lanka, put in after Pakistan won the toss. That was followed by a remarkable collapse from 106 for 1 to 120 for 9. Pakistan looked like they were cruising early on, before an excellent spell by captain Thisara Perera dragged Sri Lanka back. From there, they held the ascendancy right until the last three balls. Pakistan needed eight off them. Shadab hit a straight six and a couple off the next delivery denied Sri Lanka's valiant young side victory in an astonishing contest.
It was Sri Lanka's best game of the limited-overs tour. The batsmen early on deprived Pakistan of wickets while keeping the score ticking. A 63-run second-wicket partnership between Gunathilaka and Sadeera Samarawickrama set Thisara's men up for a score above par, with fast bowlers Hasan Ali and Usman Khan expensive in the early overs.
Shadab was the only bowler in the middle overs able to rein in Sri Lanka. At one point, they might have been eyeing 150, but a superb spell from the teenager prevented them from cutting loose. He has added another variation, a quicker one that can reach 120kph, and it removed Sri Lanka's top scorer Gunathilaka amidst their late collapse. Shadab might not have taken heaps of wickets, but his figures of 4-0-14-1 were to prove crucial.
In the madness of Sri Lanka's final overs, Faheem Ashraf emerged as the hero with a sensational hat-trick, removing Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana and Mahela Udawatte off the last three balls of the 19th over. It was Pakistan's first T20I hat-trick and, in truth, couldn't have come from an unlikelier source.
Poor running and brilliant fielding hurt Sri Lanka's innings: there were three run outs, The wickets that crumpled in a heap towards the end crushed their hopes of a late charge, and while it was still an improvement on yesterday, they still finished with a below-par 124.
Pakistan were tentative in their approach to the chase, almost as if they had forgotten what to do when a match become mildly competitive. Fakhar Zaman was run out after miscommunication with Ahmed Shehzad, before Babar Azam fell victim to an incorrect lbw decision. But skipper Perera rose to the occasion, giving his side a real chance of victory, accounting for both Shehzad and Shoaib Malik in his first two overs.
For a while, Mohammad Hafeez and Sarfraz Ahmed looked in control, never letting the asking rate get out of sight. But once Hafeez holed out to long on with Pakistan still requiring 31, panic set in. Perera returned for his final over and got rid of Imad Wasim, and terrific fielding in the deep saw Pakistan's captain run out three balls later. Twenty-one were still required off 14, and with three wickets remaining, Sri Lanka were firm favourites.
Udana conceded only four in a brilliant penultimate over, but the drama all lay in the last over. Faheem was caught at long-on off the first ball of Vikum Sanjaya's over, and with 11 needed off four, Pakistan were up against it. It looked even graver for them when Hasan sliced one straight to long-off, but was reprieved by a crucial dropped catch, allowing Pakistan to scramble three. That brought on strike Shadab, a young man whose honeymoon with cricket simply refuses to end. Two balls and eight runs later, the contest was suddenly over, and Shadab's joy, as well as Abu Dhabi's, was unconfined.
Sri Lanka 102 (18.3/20 ov)
Pakistan 103/3 (17.2/20 overs)
Pakistan won by 7 wickets
A number of factors go into picking a XI. A player's composure under pressure, for one, or their ability to bowl fast. But choosing a XI on the basis of their travel preferences, as this Sri Lanka team was chosen - is, even in this modern world, generally a risky tactic that is likely to backfire more often than not. That was emphatically the case in Abu Dhabi, where a full-strength Pakistan swept past a depleted Sri Lankan side by seven wickets with nearly three overs to spare.
The result felt like a foregone conclusion from very early on. Sri Lanka were clearly out of their depth and Pakistan's bowlers, good enough to discomfit the best teams in the world, were far too good for a visiting side that is still searching for a win in the limited-overs leg of the tour. Sri Lanka were bundled out for 102 - Hasan Ali the standout bowler with three wickets - and Pakistan strolled to the target as if it were a practice session against net bowlers.
Pakistan opted to bowl and Imad Wasim obliged by removing opener Dilshan Munaweera with his third delivery. But the visitors looked to attack nevertheless. It was a ploy that wouldn't last as Pakistan's fearsome bowling attack chipped away. Sri Lanka still persisted with risky, aggressive shots when rotating the strike in the middle overs could have served them better. That eventually pushed the run rate down under six.
The Sri Lankan side had an uncomfortably domestic feel to it; this, therefore, did not feel like a fair fight for the most part. Both spinners and fast bowlers filled their boots, with easy wickets on offer. Thisara Perera, strangely, pushed himself down the order, coming in at 68 for 7 when the game already looked as good as gone. He didn't last long either, though, top edging Usman Khan when he was on 6.
From there on, it was just the tailenders - not that the difference was always easy to tell. The last wicket fell in the 19th over, with Pakistan needing a straightforward 103 to take a series lead.
They lost Fakhar Zaman early but with such a low target, the pressure was never really on them. They were unperturbed about having scored just 21 runs for two wickets in the Powerplay. Shoaib Malik and Ahmed Shehzad simply rotated the strike and ease towards the target. Shehzad fell to a loose shot midway but it barely mattered at that point, Hafeez effortlessly taking his place.
After the demoralising ODI whitewash, Sri Lanka's full side would have struggled to compete with the hosts. But as Sarfraz Ahmed's men put the finishing touches on the most routine of wins, it was impossible not to feel Sri Lanka may face a similar fate in the shortest format.
2nd T20I
SL124/9
PAK 125/8
Pakistan won by 2 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
There was a hat-trick from Faheem Ashraf, and a Sri Lankan collapse that saw them lose eight wickets for 14 runs. That might suggest another rout of the hapless visitors, but nothing could be further from reality. In the game of the entire tour, Pakistan edged home with one ball to spare, with only two wickets in hand when the winning runs were struck. They were struck by none other than golden boy Shadab Khan, who smashed a six off the game's penultimate ball to wrench victory from Sri Lanka's desperate, clawing hands.
This was a complete T20 game, beginning with intelligent batting by Sri Lanka, put in after Pakistan won the toss. That was followed by a remarkable collapse from 106 for 1 to 120 for 9. Pakistan looked like they were cruising early on, before an excellent spell by captain Thisara Perera dragged Sri Lanka back. From there, they held the ascendancy right until the last three balls. Pakistan needed eight off them. Shadab hit a straight six and a couple off the next delivery denied Sri Lanka's valiant young side victory in an astonishing contest.
It was Sri Lanka's best game of the limited-overs tour. The batsmen early on deprived Pakistan of wickets while keeping the score ticking. A 63-run second-wicket partnership between Gunathilaka and Sadeera Samarawickrama set Thisara's men up for a score above par, with fast bowlers Hasan Ali and Usman Khan expensive in the early overs.
Shadab was the only bowler in the middle overs able to rein in Sri Lanka. At one point, they might have been eyeing 150, but a superb spell from the teenager prevented them from cutting loose. He has added another variation, a quicker one that can reach 120kph, and it removed Sri Lanka's top scorer Gunathilaka amidst their late collapse. Shadab might not have taken heaps of wickets, but his figures of 4-0-14-1 were to prove crucial.
In the madness of Sri Lanka's final overs, Faheem Ashraf emerged as the hero with a sensational hat-trick, removing Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana and Mahela Udawatte off the last three balls of the 19th over. It was Pakistan's first T20I hat-trick and, in truth, couldn't have come from an unlikelier source.
Poor running and brilliant fielding hurt Sri Lanka's innings: there were three run outs, The wickets that crumpled in a heap towards the end crushed their hopes of a late charge, and while it was still an improvement on yesterday, they still finished with a below-par 124.
Pakistan were tentative in their approach to the chase, almost as if they had forgotten what to do when a match become mildly competitive. Fakhar Zaman was run out after miscommunication with Ahmed Shehzad, before Babar Azam fell victim to an incorrect lbw decision. But skipper Perera rose to the occasion, giving his side a real chance of victory, accounting for both Shehzad and Shoaib Malik in his first two overs.
For a while, Mohammad Hafeez and Sarfraz Ahmed looked in control, never letting the asking rate get out of sight. But once Hafeez holed out to long on with Pakistan still requiring 31, panic set in. Perera returned for his final over and got rid of Imad Wasim, and terrific fielding in the deep saw Pakistan's captain run out three balls later. Twenty-one were still required off 14, and with three wickets remaining, Sri Lanka were firm favourites.
Udana conceded only four in a brilliant penultimate over, but the drama all lay in the last over. Faheem was caught at long-on off the first ball of Vikum Sanjaya's over, and with 11 needed off four, Pakistan were up against it. It looked even graver for them when Hasan sliced one straight to long-off, but was reprieved by a crucial dropped catch, allowing Pakistan to scramble three. That brought on strike Shadab, a young man whose honeymoon with cricket simply refuses to end. Two balls and eight runs later, the contest was suddenly over, and Shadab's joy, as well as Abu Dhabi's, was unconfined.
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