Sharjah, Oct. 23 (TNS): Pakistan won the fifth ODI by 9 wickets wiping off the 104-run target for the loss of Fakhar Zaman’s wicket for 48 with Imam-ul-Haq on 45 and Faheem Ashraf on 5 respectively for a 5-0 series triumph over Sri Lanka on Monday at the Sharjah Stadium.
Pakistan reached the target in 20.2 overs after Sri Lanka was all out just past the halfway mark in 26.2 overs with Man of the Match paceman Usman Khan claiming 5 wickets for 34 runs off 7 overs.
The top scorer for Sri Lanka was Thisara Perera who struck 25 off 29 balls having coming in as the eighth batter with the total on 63 for 7. His knock contained 3 boundaries and 3 sixes. The Man of the Series was Hasan Ali for a haul of 13 wickets.
Sri Lanka hit the trouble road losing 4 wickets in just 2.5 overs after being put in to bat by Pakistan against some lively bowling by paceman Usman Khan who had remarkable figures of 4 for 12 in 4 overs here at the Sharjah Stadium in the fifth and final ODI.
For Pakistan, their limited-overs upsurge continues apace. The Champions Trophy winners are nine wins from nine, closing in on their country’s record streak of 12.
For Sri Lanka, these are new levels of ignominy. Twelve losses on the run. A third 5-0 series whitewash in 2017, having won only four of 26 matches this year.
It was abysmal, but at least they saved on the electricity bill by getting beat before the Sharjah Cricket Stadium floodlights had had the chance to warm up.
This was Sri Lanka’s 13th lowest total ever in ODIs, and the latest in their litany of Sharjah shame. Of their 13 lowest scores in the format, five have been made at the UAE’s oldest venue.
In a year in which Sri Lanka have continued to sink further into the depths of ODI ineptitude, they surely hit rock bottom today. In a performance that put an exclamation mark on their run of 12 straight ODI losses, they illustrated why they have struggled so badly in the format.
