5th Match

Well, that was a stroll in the park for Sri Lanka! They have handed the previously unbeaten Pakistan a thumping defeat and a timely wake-up call. The finalists are now confirmed. There is still one league game to go, with Sri Lanka taking on England on Thursday, but that will have no bearing on the final standings. All eyes are now on Saturday’s finale, where Sri Lanka and Pakistan will lock horns once again. But that’s all from us for tonight! Until next time, goodbye and take care, everyone!

<b>Dilshan Madushanka | Player of the Match (Translated to English):</b> [On registering his best ODI figures] Actually, I’m very happy. I worked really hard in practice to achieve this, and I’m very happy that I was able to get these figures today. [On bowling short to Pakistan batters] We had a plan and followed it. Because of that, as a team, we were able to bowl them out for a low score. I’m very happy.

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Maaz Sadaqat to Pavan Rathnayake, <b>FOUR</b>, Pakistan have been blown away, and <b>Sri Lanka have their reward - a place in the final</b>, 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 to Pavan Rathnayake, <b>FOUR</b>, Pakistan have been blown away, and <b>Sri Lanka have their reward - a place in the final</b>, 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

<b>Maaz Sadaqat, Left arm orthodox, comes into the attack</b>

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, <b>wide</b>, this is high and wide outside off, and Mendis lets it go. The umpire signals wide, and the <b>scores are now level</b>

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, Pavan Rathnayake drives this low full toss along the carpet to sweeper cover and SL are now just two runs away

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

Arafat Minhas to Kamindu Mendis, <b>FOUR</b>, only nine more needed, and Mendis brings out some innovation! Almost a <b>left-handed Dilscoop</b>, as he shuffles across and scoops it over the keeper's head for a boundary

<b>Kusal Mendis | Sri Lanka captain:</b> [Happy with how the bowling group executed their plans?] Yeah, of course. The guys bowled really well in the powerplay and after the powerplay also. They had a plan coming into this match, and the execution was very good. Everybody is very happy, and the fast bowling coach is also very happy. [On Dilshan Madushanka] Dilshan bowled really well in the powerplay. In some areas we have to improve still, but everybody - Asitha and Malinga did a really good job. Very happy (with) today's bowling. [Will the next game against England help you prepare for the final?] Definitely. We have to play (with) normal intensity. Maybe a couple of changes in the next match. Then we have to try (other) players before the World Cup. We have (only) a couple of matches. We come to the next match, and we try to win. [How are you trying to get rid of the bad luck following you around in the batting?] Yeah, today also unlucky, and I hope in the next game I will score runs.

<b>Shaheen Afridi | Pakistan captain:</b> Unfortunately, for the last three or four games, we are collapsing in the top-order. Our middle-order had a great tournament so far, but unfortunately, today was not their day. But I’m still proud of this team. We had those three games wins and then today has happened in the game. We should forget that and moving forward, we just focus on the final. [On addressing the top-order batters’ difficulties against short-pitched deliveries] Yeah, we have three days, so hopefully we practise on that, and in the final we come and we bat stronger. [On any tweaks for the final] This game, we need to forget quickly. And then, moving forward, the positives from the last three games, we should take that, and then moving forward for the final, we should be ready.