Chandimal, Mendis edge home in thriller
Dinesh Chandimal chose a thriller to end his half-century drought, guiding Sri Lanka home in the last over in the company of Ajantha Mendis
Dinesh Chandimal chose a thriller to end his half-century drought, guiding Sri Lanka home in the last over in the company of Ajantha Mendis
Scorer: Gopi Rangarajan | Commentator: Rohan Sharma
Well that's it from the presentation ceremony. The Pakistan team are all smiles as they pose with the trophy. It was a terrific game that we had today, and I hope you all enjoyed it too. On behalf of the scorer, Gopi, this is Rohan Sharma saying good night and good luck!
Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka captain: We were just good enough to win the game. Once again, a little disappointed with the batsmen who got starts but didn't go from there. Mendis came to the party, along with Chandimal, and got us over the line. We are at full strength for the Tests. We have Rangana Herath coming back, along with Mahela Jayawardene, so look forward to the series.
Misbah-ul-Haq strides forward to take the Cool & Cool cup
Mohammed Hafeez, Man of the Series: Want to thank all the supporters and well-wishers. They have been in my heart. Sad not to finish the series in a positive way, but we couldn't do what we wanted to do. Congratulations to the Sri Lankans for their victory. I was working on my technique, thanks to my analyst, and worked on a couple of things in the nets. Things started to really come back for me and I hope to do very well in the Tests coming up.
Dinesh Chandimal, Man of the Match: I'm over the moon. When I went into bat with two wickets down, it was never going to be easy on a pitch like this. Credit goes to Mendis at the end to help us get through. Sometimes I was a bit nervous. I tried to play my normal game and it worked out for me fortunately.
Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan captain: Team is really in good confidence and good shape. We were struggling in our batting line-up over the last year, but this series the batsmen came up good and have good confidence for the Test series. Yeah of course some of the experienced players coming back has helped. Asad Shafiq will help in the balance of the side, while Hafeez can help with both the ball and bat, and be our fifth bowler in the series.
(Prior conversation with presenter, Danny Morrison): Disappointed. We really fought well, and one spell really brought it back, but it just slipped in the last three overs. The pitch was a bit slow, but still we were 20-25 runs short. Anything over 250 would have been a good total. The bowlers did well to pull back the game, but a few lapses in the field cost us ultimately. The team is in good shape, especially the batting. A lot of new guys are coming in. The team is in good form and has good confidence. We have got to keep our basics right and do well in the Test series.
We will be back shortly for quotes from the match presentation
And Sri Lanka do it. After seemingly cantering to a win, they lost their way in the middle overs, with Misbah rotating the bowlers expertly to keep just the right level of pressure on the batsmen. A few untimely wickets, and more importantly, the reduction of boundaries, helped them get very close, so a lot of credit should go to them in regards to how they performed. With this result, Sri Lanka deny Pakistan a 4-1 result, with the series ending up 3-2 in their favour. The crowd definitely got their money's worth today!
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Dinesh Chandimal chose a thriller to end his half-century drought, guiding Sri Lanka home in the last over in the company of Ajantha Mendis