Afridi smashed 50 off 37 balls to take Pakistan to a score of 172 in their 20 overs and then returned with economical figures of 1-21 in 4 overs as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 120 with almost 2 overs to spare.

This was the first time that these two teams were playing in a twenty20 match since the final of the Twenty20 World Cup where Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets. Sri Lanka’s plans of avenging their defeat weren’t to be this time too as Afridi with help from Rana Naved and Saeed Ajmal made sure that Pakistan came out on top again.

Pakistan, who elected to bat after winning the toss, lost a wicket off the first ball when Kamran Akmal was bowled by Nuwan Kulasekara after attempting a big heave.

The other opener, Imran Nazir, cracked five fours and a six in his 40 off 28 balls to boost the total as Pakistan moved to 59-3 by the eighth over. Teenager Umar Akmal, who hit a 20-ball 30, put on 66 for the fourth wicket with Afridi.

Abdul Razzaq and Misbah-ul Haq added a quickfire 33 as Pakistan plundered 47 runs in the last five overs to leave Sri Lanka facing a daunting target of 8.7 runs an over.

Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals with skipper Kumar Sangakkara the only batsman to offer resistance against the fired-up Pakistanis with 38 off 31 balls. Rana Naved and Saeed Ajmal picked up three wickets each for Pakistan while Afridi himself bowled a tight spell giving away just 21 runs in his 4 overs and picking up the wicket of Kapugedara.

Afridi, who was man of the match in both the semi-final and final at the World Cup, once again won the award as Pakistan ended an otherwise dismal tour of Sri Lanka on a winning note.

Pakistan had faced a whitewash in the preceding Test series 2-0 and conceded the one-dayers 3-2 during the six-week tour. Afridi hit two sixes and four boundaries in his innings after taking over the Twenty20 team from Test and one-day skipper Younus Khan, who has retired from the shortest format of the game.

“I told the boys before the match that we were world champions and so we should go out there and play like champions,” the 29-year-old Afridi said. “I am an aggressive captain and I wanted the whole team to play aggressively. That is what we did and I must congratulate the whole team for a fantastic win.”

Sangakkara blamed the defeat on a poor all-round display.

“I think we gave Pakistan 20-25 extra runs,” he said. “We would have been happier chasing around 150 and although we got a good start, we fell away at the end.”

“We have to learn from this and improve the next time we get on the field.”

Sri Lanka will now take on New Zealand in a two-Test series starting in Galle on Tuesday.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan 172 for 5 (Afridi 50, Nazir 40, Thushara 2-37) beat Sri Lanka 120 (Sangakkara 38, Ajmal 3-18, Naved 3-19) by 52 runs

Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

Colombo: Half centuries by skipper Younis Khan and vice-captain Misbah ul Haq helped Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 132 runs in the fifth and final one dayer to end the series on a high.

Skipper Younis top scored for Pakistan with 76 and Misbah made an unbeaten 73 to steer Pakistan to a competitive 279-8 after they won the toss and elected to bat first.

Pakistan’s teenage pace sensation Mohammad Aamer with help from the experienced Rana Naved then rocked Sri Lanka’s top order to leave them tottering at 74-8. Aamer grabbed 4-28 while Rana Naved picked up 4-44 as Pakistan bowled out Sri Lanka for 147 in just the 35^th over to record their second successive win in the series after they won the 4^th ODI by 146 runs.

Sri Lanka, however, won the ODI series 3-2 to follow up the 2-0 test series win.

Half-centuries from Younis and Misbah helped Pakistan recover from the first-ball dismissal of Kamran Akmal, who was given out leg-before off Nuwan Kulasekara despite getting an edge on the bat.

Younis then put on 69 for the third wicket with veteran Mohammad Yousuf (43) and 83 for the fourth, with Misbah before being bowled by Dammika Prasad in the 37th over.

Misbah then took it on himself to keep the scoreboard moving after the captain’s dismissal, adding 60 for the seventh wicket with Rana Naved, to carry Pakistan past the 250-run mark.

Kulasekara was the most impressive bowler, with three for 46 from his 10 overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka never got going losing opener Upul Tharanga of the third ball of the innings as he edged a delivery by Mohammad Aamer to Umar Akmal to second slip.

Wickets kept tumbling regularly after that to reduce the hosts to 74-8, the only notable contribution in the top order coming from Mahela Jayawardene, who made 31 before being caught behind off Aamer.

Thilina Kandamby (42 not out) and Malinga Bandara (31) delayed the end by adding 71 for the eighth wicket, before Shahid Afridi claimed the last two wickets.

The rivals, who contested in the finals of the Twenty20 World Cup which Pakistan won, will now compete in a one-off Twenty20 international on Wednesday in the last match of the tour.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan 279 for 8 (Younis 76, Misbah 73*, Kulasekara 3-46) beat

Sri Lanka 147 (Kandamby 42*, Aamer 4-28, Naved 4-44) by 132 runs

Man of the Match: Naved-Ul-Hasan (Pakistan)

Man of the Series: Thilan Thushara (Sri Lanka)

Jayawardena made his first one-day century in as many as two years. The former captain made 123 and shared an opening stand of 202 with Upul Tharanga as the hosts easily overtook Pakistan’s 288-8 in the 47^th over of the high scoring encounter.

Earlier, after being put into bat by Sri Lanka, Pakistan put up a much improved batting performance led by the young Umar Akmal who made 66 off 65 balls. The 19-year-old brother of wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal propelled Pakistan to the highest total ever at the Rangiri International Stadium.

Kamran Akmal made 45 during a 71-run stand for the second wicket with skipper Younus Khan (44) after opener Nasir Jamshed had fallen in the second over.

Pakistan then suffered a middle order collapse as they lost three wickets for 27 runs before Shahid Afridi joined Umar at the crease and they added 41 for the sixth wicket.

Afridi had smashed 32 off 20 balls with five boundaries before he was bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan. The off-spinner, the world’s leading wicket-taker in both Test and one-day cricket, also bowled Umar soon after, on the delivery after being hit for a six.

Razzaq and Rana Naved chipped in with useful contributions down the order to take Pakistan to the highest total on this ground surpassing Sri Lanka’s 282 against India in 2002.

Both of them made 30 apiece for which Razzaq faced 26 balls while Naved faced 23. Razzaq hammered two sixes and a four, while Naved marked his return to official cricket after breaking links with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League, with two sixes.

For Sri Lanka, Angelo Matthews was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2-41 off his 10 overs.

But Jayawardena, opening the batting in place of Sanath Jayasuriya who was dropped for this game, and Tharanga, gave Sri Lanka the perfect start, putting up 202 for the first wicket in just 33 overs.

Jayawardene hit 14 boundaries and a six in his 11th one-day century and his first since making 107 for Asia against Africa in the Afro-Asia Cup in Chennai in June, 2007.

Left-handed Tharanga hit nine fours in his effort of 76, before both batsmen fell in successive overs. Sri Lanka lost a third wicket in the space of 10 runs as Thilan Samaraweera (0) gave Saeed Ajmal a return catch, but Thilina Kandamby (32) and captain Kumar Sangakkara (37 not out) steered Sri Lanka home.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 289 for 4 (Jayawardene 123, Tharanga 76, Ajmal 2-54) beat

Pakistan 288 for 8 (Umar Akmal 66, Kamran Akmal 45, Matthews 2-41, Muralitharan 2-64) by six wickets

Man of the Match: Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka)

Left arm seamer Thilan Thushara took 3-29 and Kulasekara took 2-30 as Pakistan struggled right from the beginning chasing 233 for a win and were bowled out for 196 in 44.4 overs. Pakistan, who have already lost the test series 2-0, were reeling at 134 for 8 before Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer provided some resistance and put on 62 for the 9^th wicket. Gul was the top scorer for Pakistan with 33 off 21 balls while Aamer made 23.

Earlier, Sri Lanka recovered themselves after a top order failure to post a fighting 232-9. The hosts, after being sent in to bat by Pakistan, collapsed to 131-6 by the 34^th over before Angelo Matthews (43), with the help of the lower order, led a late revival. The last four wickets added 101 runs for Sri Lanka with 54 runs coming off the batting power play.

Matthews was the highest scorer for Sri Lanka. He made 43 before giving a return catch of his own bowling to Mohammad Aamer. But surprisingly, Sri Lankan innings was provided a real boost by none other than Muttiah Muralitharan.

Muralitharan, who is known by one and all for his bowling prowess, showed that he is no mug with the bat making a superb 15-ball 32. He was finally bowled by Mohammad Aamer who made a thrilling debut to one day cricket. He ended with figures of 3-45. But Murali wasn’t done yet! He went on to take 2-46 when he bowled and was named the Man of the Match for his all-round performance.

In reply, Pakistan was struggling at 134-8 with all the top batsmen back in the pavilion. But Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer gave them a glimmer of hope by putting on 62 runs for the ninth wicket. The pair had taken the total to 196-8 when both batsmen fell in the space of two deliveries to hand Sri Lanka the lead in the five-match series. Aamir was run out by a direct throw from Mahela Jayawardene, before Gul was bowled by Malinga next ball.

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara praised the depth in his team, but conceded they had almost given it away during the stand between Gul and Aamir.

“We let it get away a bit at the end, perhaps we got a bit complacent,” said Sangakkara. “But it was a team effort all the way. I am proud to have such depth of talent and ability in the dressing room.”

Pakistan captain Younis Khan blamed the batting failure, saying the top order needed to stay at the wicket and forge partnerships.

“I thought we bowled very well and 232 should not have been a difficult total to chase, but the batting let us down,” said Younis. “I hope we learn from our mistakes and must bat better in the remaining matches. If Gul and Aamir can do it, there is no reason why the specialists can’t.”

The second match will be played at the same venue on Saturday.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 232 for 9 (Mathews 43, Murali 32, Aamer 3-45) beat

Pakistan 196 (Gul 33, Thushara 3-29, Kulasekara 2-30, Murali 2-46) by 36 runs.

Man of the Match: Muttiah Muralitharan.

Colombo: Sri Lanka resumed the final day of the 3^rd and final test of the series at 183 for 3 still needing more than 300 runs to win the game. Pakistan would have fancied their chances to get a consolation victory but in the end it was the placid pitch that played spoilsport as Sangakkara in the company of first Samaraweera and then Matthews made sure that Sri Lanka went through the day losing just one wicket and secured the series 2-0.

In the end, it could be said, that neither team wanted the win bad enough. Sri Lanka couldn’t summon enough courage to go after the target and Pakistan didn’t do anything to try and pick up some wickets. They were just going through the motions waiting for the batsmen to make mistakes. When play was called off with both the captain’s consent, there were still 15 overs to be bowled and Sri Lanka needed 101 runs to win, a target which could have been possible, if Sri Lanka had been a bit adventurous and gone for it. But Sangakkara who made his 19^th test century settled for a 2-0 series win.

Sangakkara resumed the day with 50 runs to his name and continued comfortable playing a masterful knock to take Sri Lanka to an easy draw and a series win. He ended with 130 not out off 303 balls. He was supported ably by Thilan Samarweera, who made a classy 73 off 143 balls, and then Angelo Matthews who finished with 64 not out of 148 balls. Samarweera was the only wicket to fall on a dull day of test cricket when he misjudged a doosra by Saeed Ajmal and edged it to the wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.

But the day belonged to the Sri Lankan skipper, Kumar Sangakkara. He has shown in the past that he is very much capable of playing fluently and counter-attacking the opponents but on this occasion he decided to occupy the crease and survive through the day. He made his 19^th test century and in the process also brought up his first series win as captain of Sri Lanka.

Pakistan was badly let down by their bowlers with none of them looking like picking up a wicket at any time of the day. Umar Gul, who Pakistan had high hopes from, disappointed badly bowling a lot of no-balls and then wasting the second new ball with some wayward bowling.

Kumar Sangakkara was named the Man of the Match while the fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara was named the Man of the Series.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan 299 and 425 for 9 dec drew with

Sri Lanka 233 and 391 for 4 (Sangakkara 130*, Mathews 64*)

Man of the Match: Kumar Sangakkara

Man of the Series: Nuwan Kulasekara

Colombo: Set a huge target of 492 for victory or more realistically 150 overs to bat out, Sri Lanka made an impressive start and was 183 for 3 at the end of Day 4. Kumar Sangakkara was at the crease on 50* and giving him company was the experienced Thilan Samaraweera. But Sri Lanka still has a huge task ahead on the final day especially with Mahela Jayawardena facing a rare failure at the SSC and Tillakaratne Dilshan unlikely to bat.

Malinda Warnapura and Tharanga Paranavitana gave Sri Lanka a steady start in the second innings putting together 83 for the first wicket before Warnapura became a victim of a bad decision by umpire Ian Gould. A Kaneria delivery turned and bounced and took Warnapura’s pads on its way to the leg slip but as soon as the fielders’ went up, so did Ian Gould’s finger.

Skipper Sangakkara was the next to come in. And he and Paranavitana played intelligently, turning the strike over regularly. As the partnership grew, you could tell that they were gaining in confidence. It was Shoaib Malik who got the breakthrough for Pakistan when he dismissed Paranavitana caught at short leg for 73. Then came the big wicket of Jayawardena when Kaneria produced a ripper to dismiss him. Kaneria produced a perfect leg-spinner, pitching on middle, turning and taking the outside edge with Akmal not making any mistake behind the stumps. Jayawardena went for 2.

Thilan Samaraweera was the next man in and he along with Sangakkara made sure that Sri Lanka doesn’t suffer any more blows. Both of them batted with determination and took Sri Lanka safely to close of play at 183 for 3 with Sangakkara unbeaten on 50 and Samaraweera on 20. During the course of his half century, Sangakkara also went past 7000 test runs, only the second Sri Lankan to do so and in only his 83^rd test.

Earlier, Pakistan declared their second innings at 425 for 9. Shoaib Malik continued his mammoth effort on the fourth day making 134 of 240 deliveries before eventually he fell to Herath. Starting the day at 300 for 5, Pakistan lost Akmal early when he edged a Kulasekara delivery to slip where Jayawardena took the catch. He made 74. Umar Gul then played a breezy knock of 46 of just 50 balls to take Pakistan past 400.

Chaminda Vaas came on to great cheers from the sparse crowd, but it had no impact on the proceedings, with Gul freeing his arms to deposit one into the grassy banks behind midwicket.

Gul was in a rampant mood, sweeping Herath for four and then top-edging Vaas for another, in between swiping two massive sixes over midwicket. Herath had the last word though, with another big heave smartly taken by Vaas running in from long leg. When Kaneria holed out soon after, he had five for the innings, but it was unlikely to be anything more than a consolation in a match that Pakistan had controlled from the opening session.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 233 and 183 for 3 (Paranavitana 73, Sangakkara 50*) need a further 309 runs to beat Pakistan 299 and 425 for 9 dec (Malik 134, Akmal 74, Herath 5-157)

Colombo: A beautifully paced century by Shoaib Malik and half centuries by Misbah Ul Haq and Kamran Akmal. Malik who has been going through a lean patch as far as runs are concerned reached his hundred of 178 balls and was unbeaten on 106 at the close of play on Day 3. His century took Pakistan to 300 for 5 by the end of Day 3 taking the total lead to 366.

Earlier, a poor shot, an ordinary umpiring decision and an unplayable delivery boosted Sri Lankan hopes of restricting Pakistan to a low score in the second innings as they slipped to 86 for 4 after starting the day on 16 for 1. Fawad Alam, the young opener, once again got a start but then threw it away by playing a bad shot giving a return catch to Thushara.

Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf put together a useful partnership and were looking good at the crease when a bad umpiring decision by Ian Gould sent Younis back to the pavilion. He was given lbw of Kulasekara when the replays showed that he had got an inside edge on to his pads.

Mohammad Yousuf was playing well at the other end before Sri Lanka introduced Herath into the attack. Yousuf has struggled against Herath throughout the series with the left arm spinner dismissing him 5 times before this innings and he made it 6 times when he bowled a peach of a delivery to Yousuf, which pitched on leg stump, spun and bounced and Yousuf couldn’t do anything else but edge it to Sangakkara. But what followed after that wasn’t what Sri Lanka had in mind.

Shoaib Malik and Misbah Ul Haq batted with ease especially Misbah who looked totally comfortable on a turning track. They added 119 for the 5^th wicket and took Pakistan to a position of safety after they were struggling early on. Both rotated the strike cleverly, and as the afternoon session drew to a close, the big strokes were unveiled. Herath, the pick of the bowlers, was pulled for four and then straight-driven for six, before a glance to fine leg off Thushara took Misbah to his third half-century in Tests. Malik, who had been the most positive of the batsmen in the first innings, also smashed Herath for a straight six, and when Misbah ended the session with a sweet on-drive off Angelo Mathews, Pakistan were right on top.

Misbah was eventually dismissed for a well made 65 as he edged one straight to Sangakkara of Matthews. Sri Lanka did have a window of opportunity there with Misbah gone and the second new ball just around the corner, they had a good chance to clean up the lower order. In fact throughout the series, Sri Lanka had sparked collapses with the second new ball, but after tea at the SSC, there was only a torrent of runs. Malik and Akmal took it away with some wonderfully positive batting, as a tiring attack started to leak runs.

Akmal set the tone with some lovely drives and a powerful pull off Nuwan Kulasekara, and Malik joined in with booming drives through midwicket and cover off Thilan Thushara. When Chaminda Vaas came on for probably his final spell in international cricket, Akmal responded with a mighty heave over long-off, and Sri Lanka’s problems were accentuated when Sangakkara messed up a stumping chance off Rangana Herath when Malik was on 91.

Malik made full use of that chance and reached his hundred of 178 balls with a four and a six down the ground of Herath. This was Malik’s 2^nd test century in his short test career of 26 tests. When Akmal brought up his half-century moments later, there was plenty for the dressing room to smile about.

By the end of the day, Malik was unbeaten on 106 of 186 balls and has shared an unbeaten partnership of 114 runs with Kamran Akmal who himself is batting on 60. Pakistan are already ahead by 366 runs and there is only one way this match seems to be going from here.  Pakistan has pretty much made sure that they don’t lose this game. The only two results possible are a Pakistan win or a draw but a draw is still far away with plenty of time to go in the test and the pitch deteriorating by the moment.

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan may have to sit out of the ODI series against Pakistan after fracturing his finger during the ongoing third test match.

Dilshan had fractured his right index finger while keeping wickets in the first innings of the ongoing third test against Pakistan and also required stitches above his left eye after being hit there will batting.

“We are monitoring Dilshan’s progress carefully, but at the moment he is doubtful for the first few one-dayers,” Sri Lankan team manager, Kuruppu told reporters on Tuesday.

Kuruppu also said that it was uncertain whether Dilshan would bat in Sri Lanka’s second innings.

“Our medical team will assess his condition before taking a final decision on his fitness and he will bat in the second innings only if it is really necessary.”

Sri Lanka’s ODI series against Pakistan starts on 30^th July and this may come as huge blow for Sri Lanka as Dilshan has been an integral part of Sri Lanka’s success in recent times.

Colombo: Danish Kaneria has just been a tourist on this trip for Pakistan so far. And it’s strange to believe that because he is by far their best spinner at the moment and he has proved his worth as soon as he got his first opportunity on this tour. Kaneria came back into the team with a bang giving a superb display of leg spin bowling and picking up 5-62 to hand Pakistan a lead of 66 runs in the first innings.

Pakistan started Day 2 at the overnight score of 289/7 but their tail could not provide any resistance and they were bowled out for 299.  Thushara putting in a brilliant performance with the ball for Sri Lanka and ending with figures of 5-83 while Manzoor and Mohammad Yousuf were the top scorers for Pakistan scoring 93 and 90 respectively.

In reply, Sri Lanka didn’t get off to a good start losing their first two wickets inside 6 overs. At 23-2, the two most experienced batsmen for Sri Lanka, Kumara Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena came together at the crease and took charge of the proceedings. They put on a partnership of 40 but Sri Lanka lost Sangakkara just before lunch lbw to Saeed Ajmal for 45 of just 56 balls.

In the meantime, Jayawardena continued his love affair with this ground where he had hit four successive test hundreds. He made his 14^th fifty-plus score on this ground – a record for a batsman at any venue. Mahela along with the young Angelo Matthews put together a partnership to rescue Sri Lanka from the depths of 82-4. But, with the Pakistan slow bowlers bowling beautifully, it was a real fight for survival as they troubled all the Sri Lankan batsmen.

Matthews did play his natural attacking game right from the outset. But at a personal score of 31 he was sucked into the trap by Danish Kaneria getting Matthews to edge a full turning leg-break.

The rest of the team couldn’t do much apart from Tillakratne Dilshan who made a gutsy 44. But the star of the show for Sri Lanka was Mahela Jayawardena who made a classy 79 and it was largely due to his knock that Sri Lanka got to 233. But after being treated for cramps, Jayawardena missed a straighter one by Danish Kaneria and was bowled neck and crop. For Pakistan, Danish Kaneria ended with figures of 5-62 with Saeed Ajmal providing good support and picking up 3-70.

By the end of the second day, Pakistan had lost one wicket in the second innings that of Khurram Manzoor who was bowled by Herath for 2. Fawad Alam and Younis Khan made sure that Pakistan didn’t lose any more wickets and ended the day at 16 for 1.

With the pitch starting to turn square, a lead of 66 runs may come in very handy for Pakistan. Even a target of 220 in the last innings on this pitch may turn out to be a match winning total.

Scores:

Pakistan 299 (Manzoor 93, Yousuf 90, Thushara 5-83) and 16 for 1 (Alam 14*, Younis 0*) lead

Sri Lanka 233 (Jayawardene 79, Dilshan 44, Kaneria 5-62, Ajmal 3-70) by 82 runs

“I’m officially retiring from Test after the third Test against Pakistan but will continue playing one-day and Twenty20 matches till the 2011 World Cup,” Vaas told reporters at the Sinhalese sports club.

Earlier this month, Sri Lanka Cricket’s chief selector, Asantha De Mel had said that Vaas had a discussion with him and that the pacer had made up his mind to quit the longer version of the game.

Vaas, however, rubbished all the rumors at that time and after being ignored for the first 2 tests against Pakistan, he was recalled for the third and final test of the series.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who had earlier announced that Vaas would get a farewell game, paid rich tribute to the pacer, who is the only third Sri Lankan after Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan to play more than 100 Tests.

“Vaasy is a true champion and probably the only Sri Lankan fast bowler who can be called a true legend of the game,” he said.

“Whoever replaces Vaasy in the bowling attack they will take years and years to reach the standards he has set — and maybe they never will,” Sangakkara said.

“He has got a great part to play in our one-day set-up until the World Cup in 2011 and maybe beyond it as long as he is fit,” he said.

Vaas made his test debut against Pakistan at Kandy in 1994 and has since then played in 110 tests, picking up 354 wickets at an average of 29.40. He has also proven himself as a capable batsman scoring 3085 test runs at an average of 24.48, including a century against Bangladesh.

Vaas has also been brilliant for Sri Lanka in the shorter version of the game. He has played 322 ODIs till date claiming 400 wickets at 27.53 besides scoring 2025 runs. He has also played six Twenty20 internationals.

Vaas, who is Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan, has always had the natural ability to swing the ball and showed throughout the career that only bowling fast isn’t sufficient to succeed at the International level. He has picked up heaps of wickets purely on the basis of swing and the skill with which he bowls.

Vaas has the distinction of taking the first ODI eight-for against Zimbabwe, which included a hat-trick and he had another hat-trick in Sri Lanka’s 2003 World Cup match against Bangladesh.

Called by many as the silent assassin because of his shy and reserved nature, he is one man who would be difficult for Sri Lanka to replace. There is no doubt that he is one of the finest fast bowlers of the current generation and he would definitely be missed by Sri Lanka and by world cricket as a whole.