Ahmed was named Man of the Match for his knock of 77
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan’s entire batting line-up and spinner Yasir Shah combined to form a lethal combination that crushed Sri Lanka by 135 runs in the third ODI in Colombo.
Pakistan captain Azhar Ali would have been thrilled with his decision to bat first as every single one of his batsmen made solid contributions.
However, wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed and all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez would have the pick of the batsmen as they managed to convert their promising starts into half-centuries. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Ali and Ahmed Shehzad as they were dismissed for 49 and 44 respectively.
Ahmed scored 77 off 74 balls, which included seven boundaries, while Hafeez made 54 off 64 deliveries, which included four boundaries.
Hafeez hit four boundaries during his innings of 54
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
After both batsmen were removed, all-rounder Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Rizwan smashed an unbeaten 42 and 35 respectively to lead Pakistan to 316/4 off their 50 overs.
Lasith Malinga and Sachith Pathirana picked up one wicket apiece.
Chasing 317 to win, Sri Lanka batsman Lahiru Thirimanne was the only batsman to make a valuable contribution as he scored 56 off 67 balls, which included four boundaries.
With the rest of the batting line-up failing to have an impact whatsoever, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 181.
Shah was the most successful bowler with four wickets, while Anwar Ali and debutant Imad Wasim snapped up two wickets apiece and Rahat Ali claimed one.
Shah finished with career-best figures of 4-29 off 10 overs
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was not impressed with his side’s performance, and said: “Pretty disappointed. They outplayed us in all three departments. The way the wicket played, the toss was crucial. It started turning in the second innings, but they outplayed us. In the field we showed a little bit of improvement, but we need to improve a lot in all three departments. We can’t panic. Just a must-win match, and we can’t chop and change too much. Just have faith in the boys.”
Ali was pleased to have taken a 2-1 lead in the series, and said: “Wonderful performance. Great team effort. We had the plan to bat Sarfraz higher yesterday itself because of the combination of the team. He adapted very well. The plan came off really well. The takeaway from Pallekelle was the fight we showed with both bat and ball. If you come back from these situations, it shows you have it in you. We will try and cope with the Hafeez situation, we have two all-rounders, and all boys chipped in.”
Ahmed was named Man of the Match, and said: “Great team effort. I am very happy with my batting and keeping. Yesterday Azhar came up and told me he wanted me to bat higher. And I said okay. My natural game is to take it one ball at a time, and that’s what I am doing .”