🏏 Updates on the ODI in Lahore. Play starts 8am GMT 🏏 Eliminated England beat Sri Lanka | Email Tanya
5th over: Sri Lanka 20-0 (Avishka 7, Kamindu 12) A neat over by Shaheen, five dots and Kamindu tucks into a short one and dispatches it for four.
Apologies if you’ve tried to get through on email, the address was slightly wrong, should work now.
4th over: Sri Lanka 16-0 (Avishka 7, Kamindu 8) Shah, green paint across his cheek, hustles in. He donates a wide to a handful of singles than a beautifully timed nibble from Kamindu slides to the rope only to be cut off at the last by a sprinting Arafat Minhas.
3rd over: Sri Lanka 10-0 (Avishka 6, Kamindu 4) Shaheen, something less than a towel, more like an ironed pocket hankerchief, tucked into his waistband runs in. Kamindu launches into a pull but just collects a single, but Avishka collects the first boundary of the day to short fine leg.
2nd over: Sri Lanka 5-0 (Avishka 2, Kamindu 3) Pakistan’s James Dean, Naseem Shah, slides in at the other end. Shorter, skiddier. Sri Lanka’s eager beavers have to be content with knocking about a few singles.
Meanwhile, it is the first day of the season in the southern hemisphere where my nephew Winston made 71 for Avondale college to help win the game. A big auntie hug flying over the oceans.
1st over: Sri Lanka 2-0 (Avishka 2, Kamindu 0) The imposing figure of Shaheen Shah Afridi stands at the top of his mark, a still mountain before the dawn. He sprints in, elbows jutting, and his first ball is on the wide side of a yawn but the umpire ignores it. A scattering of a crowd are starting to settle in the green seats. And Sri Lanka get their first runs off the the last ball of a tidy over.
Apologies all, back online in time to see Pakistan strolling out to the middle.
The players are lined up neatly, starting with Sri Lanka.
Slight technical hitch here, as I’ve lost transmission, bear with me a minute.
Pakistan: Maaz Sadaqat, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saad Baig (wk), Salman Agha, Hasan Nawaz, Arafat Minhas, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
Sri Lanka: Kamindu Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (c, wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
A pleased Shaheen Shah Afridi announces one change – a poorly Shadab is replace by Faheem Ashraf. Sri Lanka, who lose a toss at last, also have one change, Maheesh Theekshana steps into Eshan Malinga’s boots.
Good morning! It’s final time in the triangular tournament world, where Pakistan and Sri Lanka are about to battle it out at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore. You may think there are more interesting things going on in Cape Town, but actually this competition has been a mini-classic, with Sri Lanka’s suddenly powerhouse batting stealing the sunshine, Pakistan finding their bowling boots and England repeatedly pulling defeat from behind victory’s left ear.
Pakistan lost their most recent match against Sri Lanka, but come off the back of four wins prior to that; Duckett and Dawson got the better of Sri Lanka in the consolation win on Thursday, but it was close, so fingers crossed for an evenly-matched belter.
