Pakistan whitewash Sri Lanka 3-0 with six-wicket victory in final ODI

*Pakistan completed a 3-0 series whitewash over Sri Lanka by winning the third and final ODI by six wickets, thanks to fluent half-centuries from Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Chasing 212, Pakistan stumbled early as opener Haseebullah Khan was dismissed for a duck off eight balls by Maheesh Theekshana, leaving the team at 8-1 after four overs. The experienced duo of Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman then steadied the innings, forging a 74-run second-wicket partnership that helped Pakistan reach 82-2 in 15.2 overs. Fakhar continued his fine form, scoring 55 off 45 balls, including eight boundaries, to record his 19th ODI fifty before being dismissed by Jeffrey Vandersay. Mohammad Rizwan joined Babar Azam to accelerate the scoring, guiding Pakistan past 100 in the 20th over with 112 runs still needed from 30 overs. However, the 21st over proved costly as Vandersay dismissed Babar for 34 off 52 deliveries, leaving the team at 101-3. Vandersay struck again to remove Salman Ali Agha for six, putting Pakistan under pressure at 101-4. Rizwan and Hussain Talat then combined to rebuild the innings, steadily scoring and taking Pakistan past the 150-run mark. Their crucial 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket eased the pressure, pushing the team to 167-4 after 37 overs. Rizwan’s composed knock of 61* off 92 balls and Talat’s vital 42* saw the duo forge an unbeaten 100-run stand, taking Pakistan past the 200-run mark and successfully chasing down the target in the 45th over. Batting first, Sri Lanka got off to a steady start with openers Pathum Nissanka and Kamil Mishara putting together a solid partnership. However, the stand was broken early when Haris Rauf dismissed Nissanka for 24 off 27 balls, which included four boundaries, leaving the visitors at 55-1 in 8.1 overs. Mishara added 14 runs with stand-in captain Kusal Mendis before Mohammad Wasim Jr removed him for 29 off 30 deliveries, which included five fours. Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama then tried to stabilise the innings, adding 43 runs for the third wicket. Wasim Jr struck again to dismiss Mendis for 34 off 54 balls, leaving Sri Lanka at 112-3 in 24.1 overs. Spinner Faisal Akram quickly added to the pressure by removing Kamindu Mendis for 10 off nine balls in the next over. After a brief 20-run stand, Faheem Ashraf struck to dismiss Janith Liyanage for four off 13 balls, reducing the visitors to 143-5 in 30.3 overs. Samarawickrama kept the innings alive with crucial runs but fell short of a half-century, scoring 48 off 65 balls before Akram trapped him. Shaheen Afridi then removed Maheesh Theekshana for seven, leaving Sri Lanka at 180-7 in 38.5 overs. Mohammad Wasim Jr returned to claim his third wicket, dismissing Jeffrey Vandersay for four off 12 balls with a sharp yorker. Pavan Rathnayake scored valuable runs to take Sri Lanka past the 200-run mark, but Haris Rauf struck again, removing Pramod Madushan for seven, leaving the team at 210-9 in 44.5 overs. Rathnayake was the last man out, run out by Saim Ayub for 32 off 38 deliveries, which included two fours and a six. Wasim Jr finished with impressive figures of 3/47 in 10 overs, while Faisal Akram and Haris Rauf picked up two wickets each. Shaheen Afridi and Faheem Ashraf contributed one wicket apiece.