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Madushanka skittles Pakistan for 110, secures Sri L’ankas entry into final
Published
4 hours ago
on
2026/10/27
Dilshan Madushanka sent back Fakhar Zaman with a short ball (Cricinfo)
Dilshan Madushanka’s career-best ODI figures of 5 for 34 set up a dominant eight-wicket win in Lahore, as Sri Lanka snapped a five-game losing streak against Pakistan, and with it, secure a final clash with the same opponents. The result left England mathematically eliminated from final contention, rendering their match against Sri Lanka on Thursday a dead rubber.
Having skittled Pakistan out for just 110, Sri Lanka knocked off the target in 18.1 overs – the match itself lasted a total of 43.4 overs and finished not long after the floodlights had been fired up. This was Pakistan’s second lowest total on home turf, and their third-lowest against Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka are also responsible for their lowest total at home.
Kamindu Mendis finished unbeaten on 62 off 60 as he spearheaded the chase, while Pavan Rathnayake cut one away in front of square to wrap up the win; he finished on 23 off 26. Fortune too was certainly in Sri Lanka’s favour, with Kamindu being dropped behind the stumps early by Saad Baig. Later, he holed out at deep backward square leg trying to reach his fifty, only for the fielder to tread on the boundary skirting after completing the catch.
That said, the two wickets to fall in the Lankan innings were largely against the run of play, as Pakistan struggled for penetration on a pretty placid surface. Avishka Fernando pulled a short one from Shaheen Afridi straight to midwicket, while Kusal Mendis made it two unlucky dismissals in two after a bizarre passage of play that saw his back foot defence off Arafat Minhas bounce forward before hitting the back of the bat at the top of the follow through and trickle back on to the stumps. Kusal walked off with a bemused grin on his face, but it’s a dismissal he would not have minded all that much considering the stellar performance his side had put forward.
For Pakistan, Babar Azam top scored with 29 off 33, but only three other batters managed double digits as Sri Lanka’s bowlers ran through the Pakistan batting. Sahan Arachchige, who has had a quiet series thus far, finally sunk his teeth into the contest picking up two wickets, while there was a wicket each for Asitha Fernando, Eshan Malinga and Dunith Wellalage.
But it was the lively Madushanka who caused all manner of trouble for the hosts, extracting menacing bounce on an otherwise decent batting track, despite clocking speeds in the mid-130s. It was just his second five-for in ODIs, his last coming against India in the 2023 World Cup. There he was among the tournaments top wicket-takers but injuries derailed his progress in the years since, so Sri Lanka will be pleased to see him returning close to his best in a World Cup year.
Fakhar Zaman was his first victim, a short one that reared up and saw the left-handed opener only able to fend to the onrushing point fielder. The left-arm seamer repeated the trick in his second spell, this time causing Arafat Minhas all sorts of discomfort with a spritely bouncer that popped up generously off the shoulder of the bat for Kusal Mendis to gobble up eagerly.
That second one brought to an end a burgeoning 27-run seventh wicket stand which would end up being the highest of the innings and had been shaping up to somewhat consolidate Pakistan’s flagging innings. That partnership between Minhas and Hasan Nawaz saw the last two recognised batters in the middle.
Madushanka’s intervention left Nawaz alone to battle it out with the tail, but if the fans at the Gaddafi Stadium had been holding out for a potential repeat of the Pink Sunday heroics, Nawaz proceeded to summarily chip a lofted drive straight to long-off. Pakistan at that point had lost eight wickets with just 91 runs on the board.
The soft nature of these dismissals were a common theme across the innings. Baig fell driving straight to short cover, Salman Ali Agha feathered an attempted dab through to the keeper, and Shadab Khan gloved an attempted sweep that limply dropped into Kusal’s gloves.
Shadab, who had been reprieved on Sunday by a review that he was on the verge of not even taking, swiftly put his hands up asking for this one to be checked. Except that Pakistan were out of reviews.
Those reviews had come at the fall of Maaz Sadaqat and Babar; the former courtesy a searing inswinger from Asitha, the latter after Malinga nipped one back in from outside off. Both reviews produced three reds, and only served to rubber-stamp the dreadful day Pakistan were having out in the middle. Incidentally, Shadab’s review to would have been burned had it transpired.
Madushanka picked up his fourth of the day when he had Haris Rauf edging behind, as Kamindu held on excellently at first slip, low to his right. It was the cherry on top of an exceptional Sri Lankan performance in the field, one that had seen players throw themselves about from the very start of the innings.
A pair of late blows from Shaheen Afridi gave the home crowd something to cheer about, but he eventually became Madushanka’s final scalp, top-edging a hook down to fine leg.
It was a game in which Sri Lanka were in control from start to finish, and one Pakistan would do well to take note of ahead of their rematch in the final.
(Cricinfo)
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Win-from-anywhere Pakistan face 430-conquerors Sri Lanka at high-scoring Lahore
Published
10 hours ago
on
2026/10/27
Sri Lanka went down to Pakistan by 37 runs in the ODI tri-series opener (Cricinfo)
Tuesday’s face-off between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Lahore is a rare occurrence: it is not often that two sides so defined by chaos and inconsistency peak simultaneously – at least not in a positive direction – and yet, following their respective fate-defying triumphs over England, a genuinely intriguing encounter packed with subplots is upon us.
Sri Lanka arrive in Lahore – home to their finest night ever – hoping to perhaps summon the spirit of that evening in 1996 to build on Thursday’s astonishing display in Rawalpindi, where they produced a batting performance to rival any in their history.
But while a storied past inspires them, more recent travails loom in the background, threatening to derail these hard-earned gains. To put it simply: we have been here before.
At the start of the year, a comprehensive defeat of Australia sparked a false dawn. Their 2022 Asia Cup final triumph – against Tuesday’s opponents, no less – flattered to deceive, as did their rollercoaster run to the 2023 Asia Cup final. That is without even mentioning the fleeting euphoria that accompanies any white-ball victory over India. Each of those historic highs has been met with a bruising comedown. Right now, the gnawing voice at the back of every Sri Lankan supporter’s mind is howling: do not get your hopes up.
Even so, a successful chase of over 400 is a siren call few can resist. Sri Lanka arrive with a golden opportunity to cement a new foundation.
Standing in their way, however, is a Pakistan side that has clawed out of seemingly bottomless holes of late. In the tournament opener against Sri Lanka, the visitors had the chase in hand before a late bowling rally sealed the points. Then, twice against England, they stood on the absolute precipice of defeat, only to pull off increasingly absurd rearguards. First, it was Arafat Minhas instigating an unchacharacteristic English collapse; next, it was Shadab Khan’s quite implausible lower order heroics.
The clear through-line across these matches – aside from Pakistan’s undeniable flair for the dramatic – is their uncanny knack for getting into trouble in the first place. But an elite ability to wriggle out of a tight spot is a skill in itself, and it provides a formidable platform to build upon.
Those of English persuasion will also be watching intently. England’s now-microscopic hopes of qualifying for the tri-series final rest entirely on this never-say-die Pakistan outfit coming away victorious. A win for the hosts would mark their fifth consecutive ODI victory – a streak they haven’t managed since the tail-end of 2024.
Pakistan, though, have secured qualification for the final and could rest key personnel to test the bench. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will simply be eager to carry on where they left off.
While his team-mates have played high-scoring cameos and centuries, Babar Azam has looked uncharacteristically subdued, scoring 89 runs so far. Babar, though, favours Sri Lanka as opponents, with four of his 20 ODI centuries coming against them – he has more only against West Indies, five. He also has a love-hate relationship with the Gaddafi Stadium. His first four ODIs at the venue brought two fifties and two centuries. But in five matches since, he has passed 20 just once with a top score of 40. With the pressure off and a final berth secure, all Pakistan will want now is for Babar to rediscover some of that old magic.
While Sri Lanka’s win against England will go down in the history books, it was far from a perfect showing – as would be the case when a side concedes 400-plus runs. Taking the brunt of the punishment were the seamers, with Eshan Malinga in particular on the end of some tap with figures of 0 for 91. But his 4 for 46 in the opening game had showcased his ability on pitches offering very little assistance. With Sri Lanka’s batting an inconsistent beast, how Malinga manages the death overs against a deep Pakistani batting order will go a long way in deciding this contest.
Saim Ayub’s poor run of form has seen him return to domestic cricket, being replaced with Sahibzada Farhan, while Mzaz Sadaqat too has been drafted in. Sadaqat will likely slot in for Ayub, with Farhan’s return from Nepal leaving his immediate inclusion in some doubt. Naseem Shah, who was kept out as a precaution last time out because of a dislocated finger, could make his way back into the XI.
Pakistan (probable): Maaz Sadaqat, Fakhar Zaman/Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Saad Baig (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Razaullah/Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
Sri Lanka might be reticent to change a winning formula, but Sahan Arachchige’s place in the XI looks most under threat. However, with only Kamil Mishara and Lahiru Udara – two top-order batters – in the squad as potential replacements, any move to bring either in would likely see Kamindu Mendis moved into the middle order.
Sri Lanka (probable): Avishka Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka
(Cricinfo)
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Showers in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Published
16 hours ago
on
2026/10/27
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 27 October 2026
Issued at 5.30 a.m. on 27 October 2026 by the Department of Meteorology
The Severe Cyclonic Storm “Arnab” over the West central Bay of Bengal intensified into a ‘Very Severe Cyclonic Storm’ and lay centered at 02.30 a.m. today, the 27th October, 2026 over the near latitude 15.9°N and longitude 85.4°E about 890 km to the north-east of Kankasanthurai.
It is very likely to continue to move west-northwestwards till 05.30 p.m. of 27th October and thereafter, it is very likely to move northwestwards and cross the Indian land through Andhra Pradesh coast as a very severe cyclonic storm by 11.30 a.m. of 28th October, 2026.
Although this system is not expected to have a direct impact on Sri Lanka, the showery condition over the southwestern parts of the island is expected continue today, as the wind flow associated with the system extends across the island.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts and, fairly heavy showers above 75 mm are likely at some places in these areas.
Showers or thunder showers will occur at a few places after 1.00 p.m. in the Eastern province.
Strong winds of about (40-50) kmph can be expected at times over the Western slopes of the Central hills, Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Trincomalee and Hambantota Districts.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.