Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
Pakistan v Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
After Sri Lanka shocked the world by chasing 322 in the Champions Trophy v India (the same team that thrashed an awful Pakistan just days earlier), you would’ve been forgiven for thinking Sri Lanka turned a corner and Pakistan would continue to struggle.
In fact, had you said Pakistan would win the Champions Trophy, en route to 7 straight ODI wins, you would have been accused of having rocks in your head.
But here we are. That’s the beauty of International Cricket. That’s the beauty of Pakistan.
Pakistan wrapped up the series in emphatic fashion in Abu Dhabi, and consigned Sri Lanka to their 10th straight ODI defeat. In all honesty, what challenge were Sri Lanka going to mount in the 3rd ODI, after losing in such a manner in the 2nd ODI? The Lions have no confidence at the moment.
In saying this, Sri Lanka made a good start, but the Pakistan bowlers, after the introduction of the incredible Hasan Ali, started to put the squeeze on the Sri Lanka batsmen. From overs 10-25, Sri Lanka went from 53-0 to 101-1, scoring at just 3.20 per over in this period.
Tweet at 12 overs:
After that, it was curtains. Sri Lanka lost 9-106 in the remaining 23.2 overs to effectively surrender the series. Afterwards, Imam Ul-Haq, nephew of the great Inzamam, showed us all why he deserved an opportunity, despite murmurs about Inzamam being chief of selectors. His hundred on debut was a great innings, and showed that Ahmed Shehzad’s time is probably up.
It was another great day for Pakistan, and another miserable one for Sri Lanka.
Here are some great stats from Pakistan’s win:
- Beauty from Hammad Ammad @dot7HS on Twitter: Pakistan have now played 4 consecutive ODIs with at least one batsman scoring a century, their joint-longest streak since 1992.
- Hasan Ali became the fastest Pakistan bowler to reach 50 ODI wickets, taking just 24 matches to reach the milestone. He overtook Waqar Younis (27 matches). Saqlain Mushtaq achieved the feat in 28 matches.
- In 2017, Hasan Ali has taken 40 wickets at an average of 17.77. What’s so impressive is that he has done a lot of bowling on flat batting pitches. Incredible prospect.
- Hasan Ali has taken the most wickets between overs 11 and 40 this year (23 wkts, 4.34 econ. 18 avg) which has contributed significantly to Pakistan’s ODI success in 2017.
- Youngster Imam Ul Haq became the first Pakistan player in 22 years to score a century on ODI debut. Saleem Elahi was the first, also against Sri Lanka, way back in 1995.
- Sri Lanka’s worst run of losses in ODIs is 14 from 1987-1988. Sri Lanka currently sit at 10 straight losses.