Clinical Pakistan whitewash Sri Lanka 3-0 in ODI series

Rawalpindi: Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Wasim starred as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the third and final ODI on Sunday, claiming the series 3-0.

Rizwan scored an unbeaten 61 and opener Fakhar Zaman knocked 55 to guide Pakistan past their target of 212 in 44.4 overs.

Fast bowler Wasim earlier took 3-47, while pace partner Haris Rauf and spinner Faisal Akram took two apiece to bowl out Sri Lanka on a slow-paced Rawalpindi Stadium pitch.

This becomes Pakistan's fourth consecutive ODI series win over Sri Lanka, having beaten them in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Pakistan did lose opener Haseebullah Khan for a duck but Babar Azam joined Zaman to put 74 runs for the second wicket with both dominating the bowling.

Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay brought Sri Lanka back in the game by removing Zaman, Azam (34) and Salman Agha (six) in the space of 33 runs.

But Rizwan and Hussain Talat, who scored 42 not out, dove Pakistan past the target and to 215-4 during their unbroken 100-run stand for the fifth wicket. 

Zaman hit eight boundaries while the usually-swashbuckling Rizwan played an anchoring knock which featured just four hits to the rope.

Vandersay finished with 3-42 but did not get any support from the other bowlers.

For Pakistan skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi it was his second series win as captain after beating South Africa 2-1 earlier this month.

"I think winning a series gives great happiness," said Shaheen. "We bowled well in this series so it's nice for the future."

His Sri Lankan counterpart, Kusal Mendis, rued his own side's performance with the bat, however.

"The top five got good starts but did not go on long and we did not get a big total which cost us badly," said Mendis.

Sri Lanka lost the first two ODIs in Rawalpindi and started the final match on a bad note when skipper Charith Asalanka was ruled out with a fever.

Sadeera Samarawickrama, who top-scored with 48, added 43 for the third wicket with stand-in captain Kusal Mendis (34), but the innings then fell away badly. 

Pathum Nissanka scored 24 and Kamil Mishara made 29 but both openers were dismissed in quick succession by the combination of Rauf and Wasim.

Akram, playing his first international in a year, dismissed Kamindu Mendis for 10 and then Samarawickrama as the tourists slumped from 143-4 to 193-8.

Debutant Pavan Rathnayake hit a fighting 32 with a six and two boundaries before he was the last man to go, run-out trying to grab a quick second.

The three-match series was overshadowed by security fears following Tuesday's suicide bombing in Islamabad, which killed 12 people and wounded dozens.

The second ODI was delayed by a day after several Sri Lankan players considered abandoning the tour over safety concerns.

But the Pakistan Cricket Board and Sri Lanka Cricket managed to convince the players to stay with enhanced security measures.

The two sides will next engage in a T20 tri-series alongside Zimbabwe, beginning November 18.