First it was the Sri Lankan batters who took England by the collar, yesterday at the Gaddafi Stadium, it was their bowlers who put on an outstanding performance to rout Pakistan for 110 and bring their side an eight-wicket win in emphatic fashion to book a place in the Pakistan ODI Tri-Series final.
After months of modest showing the Sri Lankan team needed this. Pakistan was thoroughly outplayed, but will have a chance to hit back when the two sides meet again in the final on Saturday.
But yesterday belonged entirely to Sri Lanka who were at their absolute best. Their bowlers tore through Pakistan’s batting line-up to dismiss them for a mere 110 in 25.3 overs, with Dilshan Madushanka leading the charge with a career-best 5/34, while the rest of the attack chipped in with wickets of their own.
Pakistan’s top-order woes continued, and this time, there was no rescue act from the middle or lower order. A fifer in an ODI is a rare thing and Madushanka will cherish it. It was his bouncer that did most of the damage. Pakistan invited to bat first started off on in a scratchy manner. They lost Fakhar Zaman and Maaz Sadaqat early. Babar Azam looked good before again throwing it away. He got a good ball from Eshan Malinga which jagged in to trap him lbw. Sri Lanka rotated their bowlers well to pick up wickets at regular intervals and none of the Pakistani batters looked in for a big haul. They seemed to be in a hurry with a few dismissals being soft ones.
The run chase was never going to be a problem, but Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis will rue their missed opportunities to get some runs. Kamindu Mendis (62* off 60 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes) and Pavan Rathnayake (23*), however, had no trouble getting the runs, stitching together an unbeaten 52-run stand off 56 balls to take Sri Lanka over the line in just 18.1 overs.
Sri Lanka had handed the previously unbeaten Pakistan a thumping defeat and a timely wake-up call. There is still one league game to go, with Sri Lanka taking on England on Thursday, but that will now become a dead rubber and will have no bearing on the final standings.