END OF OVER:
16 | 7 Runs | SL: 120/1 | RR: 7.50

  • Dimuth Karunaratne56 (45b)
  • Kusal Mendis11 (17b)
  • Mohammad Nabi3-0-20-0
  • Rashid Khan4-0-21-0

And with that it's a wrap from us, and an end to a hard fought series, even if this last game was more one-sided than anyone could have imagined. Up next for Sri Lanka are the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe starting in a little over a week, while Afghanistan will regroup ahead of a series against Bangladesh. But till then it's goodbye from us, on behalf of Shashwat and the rest of team, it's been a pleasure! Though don't go too far cos there's quite a bit of cricket left today, cos the small matter of the World Test Championship final will begin in less than an hour! So be sure to tune in for that.

Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka: "After going down 1-0 in the series it was very special to wrap it up today. Dimuth has been outstanding over the last few years, so he has a lot more to offer Sri Lanka Cricket. These couple of games we played as a group, and showed exactly what we could do. Especially Chameera and Kumara how they started today, especially how the wicket was. They showed a lot of character, and I hope they will carry this on to the qualifiers."

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi: "Today was a bad day for our batters, but it happens in cricket. It was a good batting wicket, but we lost early wickets because of bad shot selection. We need to improve in our batting, we have a series with Bangladesh so we will work harder. Ibrahim has been doing very well in the past year, so I hope he continues. The positives were definitely Ibrahim and some of the bowlers as well."

Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards go to Dushmantha Chameera: "Feel happy to be back after surgery. I worked hard on my fitness and bowling. First match there was a little bit of pressure having played after 10 months, but I was okay after the first over and got into my rhythm."

1.55pm Alright time for the presentations...

Palinda: "Afganistan performance in the world cup should closely monitor and decide the future of world cup supee leauge. Most of times their opponent was an associate nation while others have bilateral series with rankings higher up the order. I think selection for the world cup should be done based on rankings." Don't think it's as much a problem with the Super League as much as it is with the current state of the future tours program.

Lots of parallel thinking regarding the timing of this finish.

nuka: "Did SL team plan this .Prefect timing now we can switch to ICC World Test Championship Final. "

Shamil Akbar: "Both teams wanted to finish the game quickly, in time for the World Test Championship finals!"

HMasoom: "Sri Lankan batters were in hurry to watch WTC Final" Ha! And the Afghan batters too, perhaps!

Thanks Shashwat, anti-climactic indeed! Biggest takeaway for the hosts has to be that Chameera looked to be gearing up close to his best. Keeping him fit will be crucial to any Sri Lankan hopes in the coming months. For Afghanistan, they showed what they were capable of in that first game, but as with Sri Lanka, consistency is key at this level.

Here is Madushka to take you through the post-match presentation!

1:41pm Wow, that was anti-climactic, not in terms of the result today but considering how this occasion was set up, with the series being deadlocked. Afghanistan never turned up; Sri Lanka did.

Nissanka was the star of the show in the second innings, scoring a 32-ball fifty. Karunaratne was at his serene best at the other end, notching up his second successive ODI half-century. Earlier in the day, Chameera picked up a four-wicket haul. Hasaranga bagged three as well, with Kumara being just as impressive with the new ball.

All in all, this was the perfect display that Sri Lanka would have asked for - almost all of their components functioned optimally today. As for Afghanistan, this is a day they would want to forget very quickly.

15.6
5
Mohammad Nabi to Karunaratne, 5 runs, yes, he can, albeit with some help from the Afghanistan fielders! Sri Lanka win by nine wickets! Length delivery just outside off stump. Karunaratne plonks it into the off side. He then hesitates before eventually agreeing to the single. The fielder collects it and fires a throw at the bowler's end. No one is backing up, though, and the ball races away to the fence!

Just two runs needed now. Can Karunaratne finish it off this ball?

15.5
1
Mohammad Nabi to Mendis, 1 run, length delivery on off stump. Mendis goes back and knocks it down the ground for another single
15.4
0
Mohammad Nabi to Mendis, no run, full delivery on middle and leg stump. Mendis hangs back and prods it towards short mid wicket
15.3
0
Mohammad Nabi to Mendis, no run, back of a length delivery on off stump. Mendis goes back and defends into the on side
15.2
0
Mohammad Nabi to Mendis, no run, full delivery on leg stump. Mendis plays all over it as the ball goes past the bat and hits the pads. Nabi is convinced this is out and he somehow convinces his skipper to review too. At first glance, it looked to be going down leg. And that is exactly the case. Going well past leg stump, in fact!
15.1
1
Mohammad Nabi to Karunaratne, 1 run, length delivery just outside off stump. Karunaratne goes back and punches it to deep point for a single

END OF OVER:
15 | 4 Runs | SL: 113/1 (4 runs required from 35 overs, RR: 7.53, RRR: 0.11)

  • Dimuth Karunaratne50 (43b)
  • Kusal Mendis10 (13b)
  • Rashid Khan4-0-21-0
  • Mohammad Nabi2-0-13-0
14.6
1
Rashid Khan to Karunaratne, 1 run, length delivery on off stump that spins back. Karunaratne waits in his crease and works it into the leg side to get to his eighth ODI half-century and his second this series!
14.5
1
Rashid Khan to Mendis, 1 run, full delivery outside off stump. Mendis gets a good stride forward and drives it towards long off for one
14.4
1
Rashid Khan to Karunaratne, 1 run, full delivery outside off stump. Karunaratne stretches forward and knocks it down the ground for a single
14.3
0
Rashid Khan to Karunaratne, no run, full delivery down the leg side. Karunaratne glances it towards short fine leg
14.2
1
Rashid Khan to Mendis, 1 run, angled into the stumps. Mendis turns it into the leg side and saunters across to the other end
14.1
0
Rashid Khan to Mendis, no run, appeal! Googly on a length on middle and off stump that spins back sharply. Mendis is caught on the crease and plays all over it, getting pinged on the pads. The umpire says no but Afghanistan want to have another look. Oh, UltraEdge reckons Mendis has gotten a scratch to it. Mendis survives!

We have a review ongoing for an lbw. Googly on a length on middle and off stump that spins back sharply. Mendis is caught on the crease and plays all over it, getting pinged on the pads. The umpire says no but Afghanistan want to have another look. Oh, UltraEdge reckons Mendis has gotten a scratch to it. Mendis survives!

END OF OVER:
14 | 8 Runs | SL: 109/1 (8 runs required from 36 overs, RR: 7.78, RRR: 0.22)

  • Dimuth Karunaratne48 (40b)
  • Kusal Mendis8 (10b)
  • Mohammad Nabi2-0-13-0
  • Rashid Khan3-0-17-0
13.6
4
Mohammad Nabi to Karunaratne, FOUR, dragged down outside off stump. Karunaratne picks the length early, rocks back and pounds it over mid wicket for another boundary!
13.5
0
Mohammad Nabi to Karunaratne, no run, full delivery on leg stump. Karunaratne gets down on one knee and paddles it towards short fine leg
13.4
0
Mohammad Nabi to Karunaratne, no run, full delivery just outside off stump. Karunaratne lunges forward and pushes it towards short extra cover
13.3
2
Mohammad Nabi to Karunaratne, 2 runs, length delivery outside off stump. Karunaratne takes a step down the track and bunts it towards long off. The fielder is on his heels and Sri Lanka capitalise, haring back for the second
13.2
1
Mohammad Nabi to Mendis, 1 run, back of a length delivery outside leg stump. Mendis goes back and helps it behind square on the leg side for one more run
13.1
1
Mohammad Nabi to Karunaratne, 1 run, full delivery angled into the stumps. Karunaratne turns it into the on side for a single

END OF OVER:
13 | 2 Runs | SL: 101/1 (16 runs required from 37 overs, RR: 7.76, RRR: 0.43)

  • Dimuth Karunaratne41 (35b)
  • Kusal Mendis7 (9b)
  • Rashid Khan3-0-17-0
  • Mohammad Nabi1-0-5-0
12.6
1
Rashid Khan to Karunaratne, 1 run, full delivery just outside off. Karunaratne gets to the pitch of the ball and drives it towards long off for one
12.5
0
Rashid Khan to Karunaratne, no run, full delivery on off stump. Karunaratne presses forward and scuffs it back to the bowler
12.4
1
Rashid Khan to Mendis, 1 run, full toss on middle and off stump. Mendis eases it down the ground for a single
12.3
0
Rashid Khan to Mendis, no run, very full delivery on middle and off stump. Mendis digs it out towards short mid wicket