Pakistan demolished Sri Lanka by 9 wickets in Sharjah to complete a 5-0 whitewash on Monday.
Sri Lankan skipper Upul Tharanga won the toss and opted to bat first on a solid batting deck in Sharjah. Left-arm seamer Usman Khan playing in his second ODI ripped through the top-order with a dream bowling spell.
Right-hander Sadeera Samarawickrama opened the batting today but only lasted 2 balls as he was undone by Usman Khan for his second consecutive duck. Dinesh Chandimal came and went without troubling scorers as the visitors were 2 down for only 1 run in the first over.
Usman Khan Shinwari was pumped up and looking dangerous as he removed Upul Tharanga for 8 and number 5 batsman Niroshan Dickwella for zero as the Islanders were reeling at 4 down for 8 runs in the 3rd over.
Sri Lanka on the verge of another whitewash
Sri Lanka succumbed to their 11th straight defeat in ODIs as Pakistan chased down a target of 174 with 7 …
The middle-order batsman Milinda Siriwardana continued his poor form as he became the 5th Usman Khan wicket as he ended up removing all 5 top order batsmen for 20 runs. The left-arm seamer completed his first 5-wicket haul for 34 runs in his 7 overs.
Number 1 ranked ODI bowler Hasan Ali and highly talented leg-spinner Shadab Khan came in handy after the early heroics by Usman Khan. Leg-spinner was impressive as he removed the dangerous Thisara Perera for a brisk 25 off 29 balls and trapped Jeffrey Vandersay right in front with a googly.
However, Sri Lanka had no answers for a top-class Pakistan bowling attack as they folded for a disappointing 103 in 26.2 overs.
Chasing a modest 104 to win, Pakistani openers came out all guns blazing as they went on the business with no trouble.
Leg spinner Jeffrey Vandersay was the only wicket taker for the visitors as he picked up the left-hander Fakhar Zaman for a quick-fire 48 off 47 deliveries that included 7 boundaries. His partner Imam Ul-haq remained unbeaten on 45 along with Fahim Ashraf as Pakistan thrashed Sri Lanka by 9 wickets. Sri Lanka’s poor-run in the ODIs continue with the 12th consecutive lost today in Sharjah.
Left-arm seamer Usman Khan was awarded the man of match for his maiden 5-wicket haul, while right-arm seamer Hasan Ali collected the man of the series honours for his 14 wickets with an excellent average of 11.28.
