Pakistan vs Sri Lanka — Match Centre

17:10 Local Time, 12:10 GMT, 17:40 IST: Sri Lanka have booked their place in the final, and they have done it in emphatic fashion! Pakistan, thoroughly outplayed today, will have a chance to hit back when the two sides meet again in the finale on Saturday. But today belonged entirely to Sri Lanka, who were at their absolute best. If their batters stole the show in that remarkable 430-run chase against England, Sri Lanka’s bowlers took centre stage today. They 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. 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 and Pavan Rathnayake, however, had no trouble getting the runs, stitching together an unbeaten 52-run stand to take Sri Lanka over the line in just 18.1 overs. Sri Lanka head coach Gary Kirsten walks out with a big smile on his face as the players shake hands. Stick around for the post-match stuff..

FOUR! Maaz Sadaqat to Pavan Rathnayake, FOUR, Pakistan have been blown away, and Sri Lanka have their reward - a place in the final, where they will face the same opponents once again. England’s fate is sealed too, with their last league game on Thursday now nothing more than a dead rubber. The man in form, Pavan Rathnayake, hammers the final nail in the coffin! Gifted a short and wide delivery, he rocks back and smashes it to sweeper cover for a boundary. Sri Lanka have chased it down with nearly 32 overs to spare

Maaz Sadaqat, Left arm orthodox, comes into the attack

Naseem Shah to Kamindu Mendis, no run, looks like an off-cutter outside off, it's on the fuller side and Kamindu Mendis fails to get any bat to it

Naseem Shah to Kamindu Mendis, wide, this is high and wide outside off, and Mendis lets it go. The umpire signals wide, and the scores are now level

Naseem Shah to Kamindu Mendis, no run, short and rushes the left-hander, who is late on the hook and ends up edging it onto the thigh pad

Naseem Shah to Pavan Rathnayake, 1 run, square of the wicket

Naseem Shah to Kamindu Mendis, 1 run, fullish on the off stump, Kamindu Mendis gets low and blocks it to point with soft hands

Naseem Shah to Pavan Rathnayake, 1 run, short of a length and Pavan Rathnayake tucks it to deep backward square leg for a single

Naseem Shah to Pavan Rathnayake, no run, full and tailing into the stumps, Rathnayake goes deep in the crease and drills it to mid-on. Wait a second, Pakistan have gone for the review! They still have two reviews left, so why not?! Not sure why, though, as the replays show it came straight off the bat, with no contact with the pads

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, no run, tossed up and Kamindu Mendis eases into it as the ball rolls to the same fielder at mid-wicket

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, no run, Kamindu Mendis leans forward and nudges it to mid-wicket

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, no run, stays on the back foot and defends this length delivery into the off side

Arafat Minhas to Pavan Rathnayake, 1 run, some width on offer and Pavan Rathnayake plays it square of the wicket for a single

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, 3 runs, tries the same shot once again, but the left-arm spinner slows it up and bowls it full down the leg. There's not enough pace on it to reach the boundary, but the batters come back for three

FOUR! Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, , just nine more needed, and Mendis brings out some innovation! Almost a , as he shuffles across and scoops it over the keeper's head for a boundary

Time for , and Sri Lanka are just 13 runs away from confirming their place in the final. They have all the time in the world, but this shouldn't take more than a couple of overs.

Naseem Shah to Pavan Rathnayake, no run, fullish on the stumps, Pavan Rathnayake times the drive but straight to the fielder at mid-off

Naseem Shah to Pavan Rathnayake, 2 runs, almost a replica of the first delivery of this over, Pavan Rathnayake allows the length ball to come to him and punches it to the right of sweeper cover for a brace

Naseem Shah to Pavan Rathnayake, no run

Naseem Shah to Pavan Rathnayake, no run, fullish at 136kph and driven straight to the fielder at mid-off

Naseem Shah to Pavan Rathnayake, no run, a bit of tail in and also stays a tad low on the stumps, Pavan Rathnayake is ready and blocks it firmly to cover

Naseem Shah to Pavan Rathnayake, 2 runs, 135.7kph on length around off, Pavan Rathnayake punches it to deep extra cover and has enough time to come back for two

Just 17 needed now, and both batters are calmly going about their business.

Arafat Minhas to Pavan Rathnayake, 1 run, deflects this to square leg and will retain the strike with a single

Arafat Minhas to Pavan Rathnayake, no run, in-drifter on the middle and leg, Pavan Rathnayake blocks it to silly mid-off

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, 1 run, works it towards mid-wicket, and the non-striker is a couple of steps into the run. The fielder has a shy at the stumps, but Rathnayake makes it back in, and the overthrow allows them to take an extra run

Arafat Minhas to Pavan Rathnayake, 1 run, rocks back, allows the ball to turn and tucks it to the left of mid-wicket for a single

Shaheen Afridi to Pavan Rathnayake, no run, another short delivery from round the wicket, and this time Pavan Rathnayake drops his bat and lets it go

FOUR! Shaheen Afridi to Pavan Rathnayake, , The left-arm seamer bangs it in short, and Pavan Rathnayake stands tall, opens up and hammers the pull to deep mid-wicket for a boundary

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, 1 run, steers it to third man and collects an easy single

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, no run, was that a chance? A tough one! It was a full toss, and the left-hander chipped it back towards Shaheen, who got low and stuck out his left hand in the hope of pouching it, but the ball didn't stick

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, no run, yorker length with some inward movement, Kamindu Mendis squeezes it back to the bowler

Shaheen Afridi to Pavan Rathnayake, 1 run, length delivery angling across, Pavan Rathnayake opens the bat face and sends it square of the wicket for a single

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, no run, tossed up and Kamindu Mendis eases it back to Arafat Minhas

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, no run, moves across and blocks this length delivery into the off side

Arafat Minhas to Pavan Rathnayake, 1 run, just opens the face of the bat and steers it to backward point for a single

Arafat Minhas to Pavan Rathnayake, no run, makes room and taps this flat delivery to cover

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, no run

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, , oh, has the fielder stepped on the boundary cushion while taking the catch? Yes, he has! That’s a six, and Mendis brings up his fifty in dramatic fashion, raising his bat to acknowledge the milestone.

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, no run, Oh, the umpire has raised his finger, and the batter will surely review it. It was very full on the pads, tailing in from over the wicket, and Mendis missed the clip. The replays show nothing on UltraEdge. Impact is in line, but the ball was always missing leg. A poor call from the umpire, but this is why we have DRS

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, no run, fullish and tailing in with the angle off the length, Kamindu Mendis hammers the drive straight to the fielder at cover

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, , looks like a slower bumper, but it’s down the leg side and the umpire signals wide

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, no run, wants to work this to the on side but gets a leading edge that rolls into the off side

Shaheen Afridi to Pavan Rathnayake, 1 run, short and angling across, Pavan Rathnayake stands tall and times it square of the wicket for a single

Arafat Minhas to Pavan Rathnayake, 1 run, slanting onto the pads, Pavan Rathnayake deflects it to backward square leg and collects a single

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, 1 run, goes across and works it to long-on and jogs to the other end

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run, slanting away and it's fullish, Kamindu Mendis is happy to shoulder arms

FOUR! Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, , length ball drifting into the pads, and the left-hander whips it deep to backward square leg for a boundary

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run, on length and it stays low, Kamindu Mendis once again fail to make any connection

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run

FOUR! Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, , to sweeper cover

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run, angling across on length, Kamindu Mendis defends it to the point area

Arafat Minhas to Pavan Rathnayake, no run, tossed up and driven to the left of the bowler who makes a good diving stop

OUT! Arafat Minhas to Kusal Mendis, Bowled!! His run of bad luck in the tri-series continues, and so does his struggle for runs. So, let's see what happened. It was on a length and on the stumps, angling in as Mendis made a bit of room and went on the back foot to punch. Was late on the shot and he got it off the lower end of the bat, and on the bat's follow-through, the ball hit the back of the bat before rolling back onto the stumps, clipping the off stump and dislodging just one bail.

Arafat Minhas to Kusal Mendis, Bowled!!

FOUR! Arafat Minhas to Kusal Mendis, , easy pickings for Kusal Mendis! Half-tracker on the leg stump and Kusal Mendis rocks back and hammers it towards deep mid-wicket for a boundary

Arafat Minhas to Kusal Mendis, no run, makes room and slaps this length delivery on the stumps to the fielder at cover

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, 1 run, shapes to come down the track, but Minhas keeps it on a length. Mendis hangs back and punches it to long-on for a single

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run, short of length delivery, angled across, Kamindu Mendis looks to pull and misses. The ball skidded on and didn't bounce as much as he thought it would or maybe it wasn't that short

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run, on a length, angled across, stabbed down to point

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run, fuller length delivery, angled across, Kamindu Mendis defends it down to cover

Shaheen Afridi to Kusal Mendis, no run

OUT! Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, Caught by Fakhar Zaman!! Pakistan get a wicket. Timing has been a bit of a problem against Shaheen Afridi. Again mistimed. The ball stopped on him and Avishka Fernando cue-ended it down to mid-wicket. Bit of a send-off for the batter as well. Lanka still on top though. The skipper gets the breakthrough. That one was short, angled across and Avishka Fernando wanted to pull it but never controlled it.

Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, Caught!!

Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, no run, dot ball! Banged in short, Avishka Fernando ducks under it and lets it go to the keeper

Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, no run

Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, no run, angled across, length delivery, Avishka Fernando looks to pull and plays his shot early to cue-end it back to the bowler

Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, 2 runs, 50 up! Chips a fuller length delivery back past the bowler. That also stopped on the batter a bit. The batter was into the drive a little too early as he saw it full and moving in a little

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, , they are off to a rapid start. Fuller ball, well outside off, Kamindu Mendis got under the ball and lofted it over cover for a four. That was hit well by Kamindu Mendis. Hat-trick of fours for Kamindu Mendis and Lanka have wiped off almost half the runs in quick time

FOUR! Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, , fuller length delivery, angled in, Kamindu Mendis stays his crease and clips the ball behind square for a four. The man at long leg had no chance. Erred in length and line did Haris Rauf and paid the price for it

FOUR! Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, , short ball, angled in, Kamindu Mendis stays back and pulls it. The ball landed over the man at mid-on and he tried to chase it down. Put in the dive but palmed the ball into the cushion

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run, wide length delivery, slapped down to the man at mid-off

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run, length delivery, outside off, punched down to the man at mid-off

Haris Rauf to Kamindu Mendis, no run, length delivery, angled in, Kamindu Mendis hangs his bat and the ball held on to the deck a little. The ball went off the shoulder off the blade and landed wide of the bowler

Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, no run, banged in short, Avishka Fernando sees it early and lets it go to the keeper

Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, no run, steers the pull down and finds the man at short fine. That was a short of length delivery down on to the pads and Avishka Fernando would be disappointed that he didn't put it away

Shaheen Afridi to Kamindu Mendis, 1 run, angled down on to the pads, tucked down to long leg for a single

Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, 1 run, taps the length delivery angled across down to backward square for a single. Not much bounce on it

Shaheen Afridi to Avishka Fernando, no run, fuller length delivery, angled in, little bit of movement, clipped down to square leg