Madushanka's five-wicket haul powers Sri Lanka into tri-series final

Dilshan Madushanka's career-best figures of 5/34 wrecked Pakistan in Lahore as Sri Lanka reached the tri-series final with ease. Pakistan were defeated by Sri Lanka in just 26 overs for 110, and Madushanka and the rest of the attack put Pakistan under pressure right away. In reply, Sri Lanka rode on a brisk half-century from Kamindu Mendis to breeze past the target in just 18.1 overs. England has been eliminated from the tournament as a result, and Pakistan and Sri Lanka will meet again in the final.

After winning the toss, an unchanged Sri Lankan team bowled first without hesitation. However, after removing Saim Ayub from the squad, Pakistan were forced to make a top change. Maaz Sadaqat took his place, and Naseem Shah returned to the XI in place of Razaullah. Fakhar Zaman and Sadaqat each started with a boundary, but Sri Lanka struck very early in the game when Madushanka bowled short to get rid of the first player. At the other end, Asitha Fernando caught Sadaqat leg before wicket to further damage Pakistan. Babar Azam showed early promise.

Despite this, Babar continued to bat in a positive manner as boundaries kept coming off his bat. However, Madushanka added another wicket at the end of his first innings to keep the pressure on the home team. Any hopes of a comeback were up in smoke real quick when Pakistan lost Salman Agha and Babar off successive deliveries spread across two overs. The hosts needed another save from their lower order to put a fighting total on the board after being reduced to 61/5 in just 14 overs. However, Sri Lanka didn't allow Pakistan to recover like England did a couple of nights ago.

The man of the moment, Shadab Khan, attempted a sweep on Sahan Arachchige but only managed a top edge, leaving for 2. After that, Madushanka came back with his second spell to do more damage. Arafat Minhas was sent packing by yet another short ball, and Hasan Nawaz lost his wicket in the very next over when he mistimed a ball and was caught near long off. With almost half of the overs remaining in their innings, Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi became Madushanka's fourth and fifth victims, respectively. Pakistan lost the match.

In the subsequent over, Kamindu got going with a boundary after receiving a break in the first over. Avishka Fernando fetched a couple of boundaries off Shaheen but it was Kamindu who did the bulk of the damage in a bid to get things done quickly. Sri Lanka reached 50 in just 6.1 overs thanks to Kamindu's hat trick of boundaries in his first over, which also brought Haris Rauf into the attack.

Pakistan did strike twice in quick succession to get rid of Avishka and Kusal Mendis but by then, Sri Lanka needed less than 50 to clinch the game. When Kamindu hit a straight ball to the fielder at deep backward square leg, he had luck again. However, he stepped on the rope and gave up six runs, making it the batter's half-century. After the break for drinks, Sri Lanka knew it was only a matter of time before they crossed the finish line. The contest lasted less than 44 overs in total.