Pakistan had much to celebrate on Saturday (August 26) as they not only defeated Afghanistan by 59 runs in the final match to win the ODI series 3-0, but also displaced Australia to move to the top of the ICC Men's ODI rankings.
Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead after a thrilling 1-wicket win in the previous encounter, Pakistan made four changes as captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat first.
The pitch in Colombo wasn't as conducive for batting as in Hambantota, as Pakistan lost openers Fakhar Zaman (27) and Imam-ul-Haq (13) cheaply, which meant that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had to bat patiently to rebuild the innings.
Babar scored 60, while Rizwan made 67 as the duo added 110 runs for the third wicket to build a solid foundation for the batters down the order but a mini-collapse saw Pakistan slump to 189/6. Agha Salman (38*) and Mohammad Nawaz (30) put on a vital 61-run stand as Pakistan finished their innings at 268/8. Gulbadin Naib was the best of the Afghan bowlers picking up 2/36 on his comeback.
Afghanistan needed a good start to have any real chance of chasing the target but in-form batters Rahmanullah Gurbaz (5) and Ibrahim Zadran (0) had an off-day and that gave Pakistan the chance to control the proceedings and build pressure.
Afghanistan were reeling at 97/7 in the 33rd over with the match gone from their grasp, but Shahidullah (37) and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman put up a strong fight to save some face for the side. Mujeeb struck the fastest ODI half-century by an Afghan batter, off just 26 balls, before he was dismissed hit-wicket for 64 off 37 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes.
Afghanistan were eventually bowled out for 209, as Pakistan won by 59 runs to sweep the series 3-0. Shadab Khan (3/42) was the most successful bowler, while Shaheen Afridi, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Nawaz took two wickets each.
With this win, Pakistan became the new no.1 ODI team in the world, going ahead of Australia on decimal points with both teams having 118 points each.
Pakistan cricket fraternity was expectedly jubilant as they congratulated Babar Azam and his team for their fabulous achievement ahead of the Asia Cup, which starts on August 30.
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