Highlights, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I at Lahore, Cricket result: Hosts complete 3-0 whitewash with 36-run victory

Shoaib Malik is also the Man of the Series.

Malik: Playing in front of the home crowd and winning the Man of the Match award is a dream come true for me.

Shoaib Malik is the Man of the Match for his blistering 51 off 24 balls.

Shoaib Malik is the Man of the Match for his blistering 51 off 24 balls.

Shoaib Malik is the Man of the Match for his blistering 51 off 24 balls.

A clean sweep to Pakistan! A 36 run victory in Lahore seals a 3-0 series win over Sri Lanka! #PAKvSL pic.twitter.com/8iKDMzvGH7

— ICC (@ICC) October 29, 2017

That was another comprehensive performance from Pakistan. Handshakes all around as the hosts celebrate a 8-0 limited overs clean sweep over Sri Lanka.

The visitors never really looked comfortable in the chase. Only Dasun Shanaka provided some hope with a promising half-century but with his dismissal, it was all over for the Lankans. Mohammad Amir made a successful comeback with excellent figures of 4-0-13-4.

There’s cheers and smiles all around the Pakistan camp and the crowd in Lahore is ecstatic.

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 36 runs to complete a 3-0 cleansweep in the T20I series after securing a 5-0 whitewash in the ODIs.

Now, Prasanna falls too as he looks to make room and swing his arms. Only, it takes the outside edge and Sarfraz Ahmed accepts the catch gleefully.

Amir has his fourth. Can he get a fifer?

Amir strikes again. Pathirana chips it in the air and Mohammad Hafeez takes a juggling catch.

After 19 overs,Sri Lanka 142/7 ( Seekkuge Prasanna 16 , Sachith Pathirana 14)

Best over of Sri Lanka’s innings but it came a bit too late. 19 runs off Hasan Ali’s final over. He finishes with figures of 4-0-39-1. A tad expensive tonight.

Prasanna really lays into another slower, short delviery from Hasan Ali and creams it over deep midwicket.

Prasanna gets the elevation and the distance off a Hasan Ali short ball. Futile runs considering the match situation but something to cheer for the fans.

After 18 overs,Sri Lanka 123/7 ( Seekkuge Prasanna 3 , Sachith Pathirana 8)

Fahim Ashraf, who has been mighty impressive today, comes back to bowl the 18th over. He concedes nine runs, including a boudnary.

Perera perishes trying to slog it out of the ground. Gets no timing whatsoever. The captain has to go.

Thisara Perera pulls it into the gap between deep mid-wicket and long-on.

After 16 overs,Sri Lanka 107/6 ( Thisara Perera (C) 4 , Seekkuge Prasanna 1)

Brilliant over from Amir. Just three runs off it. Sri Lanka require 74 runs from 24 balls.

Fan from Abu Dhabi tells Firstpost comparing experience of watching match in UAE versus Pakistan

Chaturanga makes room to drive it past covers and loses his stumps. Mohammad Amir on target.

Sri Lanka 106/6  (15.4 overs)

Seekkuge Prasanna comes to the crease

After 15 overs,Sri Lanka 104/5 ( Chaturanga de Silva 20 , Thisara Perera (C) 3)

Mohammad Hafeez is back into the attack. Sri Lanka can only milk five singles off it.

After 14 overs,Sri Lanka 99/5 ( Chaturanga de Silva 17 , Thisara Perera (C) 1)

Fahim Ashraf comes back and picks up the big fish. Sri Lanka lose half their side. Is this it for the Islanders?

Shanaka goes! He tries to smack it out of the park but the ball hits the outside half of the bat and Imad Wasim takes the catch. He goes for 54.

Sri Lankan skipper Thisara Perera is the new batsman

Shahryar, a fan at the Gaddafi Stadium, praises the security arrangements in a chat with Firstpost

After 12 overs,Sri Lanka 90/4 ( Dasun Shanaka 51 , Chaturanga de Silva 12)

Shabab Khan comes back into the attack and Shanaka takes two fours and a six off of him. He needs to keep this up if Sri Lanka must overcome Pakistan’s target.

That went a long, long way. Shanaka seems to have taken a liking to Shadab Khan. He hammers a flighted delivery way over the long on boundary to bring up his maiden fifty.

Shanaka gets back to back boundaries off Shadab Khan. He drills one back down the ground and slog sweeps the next to the deep midwicket boundary.

After 11 overs,Sri Lanka 73/4 ( Dasun Shanaka 36 , Chaturanga de Silva 10)

Hasan Ali comes into the attack. Shanaka and de Silva can only manage to milk six singles (plus one wide).

After 10 overs,Sri Lanka 66/4 ( Dasun Shanaka 33 , Chaturanga de Silva 7)

Imad Wasim comes back and will finish his quota and concedes seven runs. A decent spell from him. 4-0-30-1

After 9 overs,Sri Lanka 59/4 ( Dasun Shanaka 31 , Chaturanga de Silva 2)

Fahim Ashraf is bowling with some good pace and dismisses Udawatte. Another economical over the young righ-armer.

Faheem Ashraf hurries Udawatte on the pull shot and he miscues it straight to Babar Azam at mid-wicket. He’s out for 11 off 13.

Chaturanga de Silva comes to the crease

After 8 overs,Sri Lanka 55/3 ( Mahela Udawatte 10 , Dasun Shanaka 30)

Shadab Khan to bowl his leg-breaks. Shanaka takes him downtown for a couple of sixes. He has looked nice and positive against the spinners. Excellent over for Sri Lanka. They need to keep this up.

Shadab dares to toss it up again and Shanaka obliges him with a muscular hit down the ground.

Shanaka covers the line of leg spinner Shadab Khan and slog sweeps it over deep square leg.

After 7 overs,Sri Lanka 41/3 ( Mahela Udawatte 9 , Dasun Shanaka 17)

Fahim Ashraf is introduced into the attack. He keeps it nice and tidy and concedes just two singles in his first over.

After 6 overs, Sri Lanka 38/3 ( Mahela Udawatte 8 , Dasun Shanaka 15)

Just 38 off the powerplay. Poor start from Sri Lanka. Pakistan are right on top of this at the moment.

Full and wide from Amir and Shanaka drives easily past the covers for four.

After 5 overs,Sri Lanka 32/3 ( Mahela Udawatte 7 , Dasun Shanaka 10)

Better over for Sri Lanka. Two boundaries and a couple of singles off it.

Shanaka drives nonchalantly past the bowler and the fielder mid-off for four. He hardly looked to smash that.

After 4 overs,Sri Lanka 22/3 ( Mahela Udawatte 6 , Dasun Shanaka 1)

Mohammad Hafeez into the attack and strikes in his third ball. Sri Lanka have lost their top order within the first four overs.

That’s a soft dismissal. Gunathilaka tries to hit the ball a bit too hard and ends up miscuing it offering a return catch to Mohammad Hafeez. He goes for 9.

Dasun Shanaka is the new batsman

After 3 overs,Sri Lanka 16/2 ( Danushka Gunathilaka 9 , Mahela Udawatte 1)

Imad Wasim continues and bowls good, tight lines to keep Samarawickrama quiet. All he can do is smash it down the throat of the fielder at deep square leg.

Samarawickrama shuffles across to play a slog sweep but hits it straight to Babar Azam at deep square leg. He goes for 4.

After 2 overs,Pakistan 13/0 ( Fakhar Zaman 7 , Umar Amin 4)

Amir, playing his first match, after the Tests, doesn’t take long to find his rhythm. He’s troubling the batsmen with subtle movement. Sri Lanka lose their first wicket and already find themselves on the backfoot.

Mohammad Amir swings the ball back in and disturbs the woodwork in his very second ball. Munaweera has to go back for 1. 

Samarawickrama is the new batsman.

After 1 overs,Sri Lanka 10/0 ( Danushka Gunathilaka 9 , Dilshan Munaweera 1)

Imad Wasim begins proceedings for Pakistan while Gunathilaka and Munaweera open for Sri Lanka. A couple of miscues that evade the fielders in the deep and the last ball takes the outside edge for Sri Lanka’s first boundary.

Shoaib Malik’s late onslaught has Pakistan post an above-average total of 180. Fakhar Zaman and Umar Amin provided a decent start but when talisman came in after the fall of Amin, he blasted a 23-ball fifty in a 75-run partnership with Babar Azam. The Sri Lankans bowled one too many full-tosses and ended up paying for it.

Can the visitors end the series with a T20I victory in their kitty or will Pakistan complete a cleansweep?

Stay tuned to find out.

After 20 overs,Pakistan 180/3 ( Babar Azam 34 , Fahim Ashraf 13)

Sanjaya concedes 23 runs in the last over. It was a terrible over and he just couldn’t find the blockhole and ended up bowling a series of full-tosses. And the Paksitan batsmen, Malik and Ashraf made sure to capitalise on them.

Back to back sixes for Ashraf. More full-tosses from Sanjaya and the batsman powers it over the deep cover and deep mid-wicket fence.

And Malik goes the very next ball. He can’t get underneath this full-toss and miscues it straight to the fielder at deep midwicket,

Fahim Ashraf comes to the crease.

Shoaib Malik gets to his fifty in style smashing a full-toss over cow corner. It has been an incredible innings.

He’s on 51* off 23 balls.

After 19 overs,Pakistan 157/2 ( Babar Azam 33 , Shoaib Malik 43)

Thisara Perera keeps it full and concedes just the one boundary off the 19th over. He finishes a decent spell of 4-0-28-0.

Malik goes deep in the crease to convert a yorker length delivery into a full toss and slices it through point for four.

After 18 overs,Pakistan 147/2 ( Babar Azam 31 , Shoaib Malik 35)

It’s that man Malik again. Like he’s done so many times before, he’s providing the late boost Pakistan desperately needed.

13 runs off the 18th over. How much can Pakistan can get from here? 170 looks like a winning score on this pitch.

Poor fielding from Sri Lanka! Another full-toss from Shanaka but Malik hits it straight to the fielder at deep mid-wicket, who casually lets the ball go through his legs.

Shanaka bowls a wide full-toss and Shoaib Malik slashed it through the off-side for another boundary.

After 17 overs,Pakistan 134/2 ( Babar Azam 30 , Shoaib Malik 23)

Thisara Perera comes back and brings back some control after last over’s mayhem. But he bowls a wide off the last ball and the extra ball costs him.

A fan pours his heart out in a candid chat with Turja Sen at the Gaddafi Stadium

After 16 overs,Pakistan 124/2 ( Babar Azam 23 , Shoaib Malik 21)

Pakistan batsmen have not been able to time the ball well all innings but Malik takes 16 off Udana’s 3rd. Experience shows as he knew exactly where and what the left-arm pacer was going to bowl.

Malik causing some late-overs mayhem. Another full delivery and the Pakistan batsman dishes out similar treatment. This time over backward point.

Udana follows it up with a full and wide delivery and Malik dismisses it over covers.

Full ball from Udana and Malik gets right underneath the delivery and smashes it over long-off.

After 15 overs,Pakistan 108/2 ( Babar Azam 22 , Shoaib Malik 6)

Thisara Perera keeps chopping and changing as Sanjaya comes back into the attack. He bowls it full and often in the blockhole regularly. Five runs off the over.

After 14 overs,Pakistan 103/2 ( Babar Azam 19 , Shoaib Malik 4)

Excellent over from Perera. Just four off it. A bit of guile and aggression.

After 13 overs,Zimbabwe 33/3 ( Hamilton Masakadza 23 , Peter Moor 4)

Isuru Udana comes into the attack and strikes right away removing Umar Amin. Udana bowls good, tight lines to keep the batsmen quiet but Azam opens the face of the bat and caresses it past point for four.

Excellent catch from the Sri Lankan captain. Amin miscues a lofted drive and Perera takes a good running catch to dismiss the opener for 45. 

Shoaib Malik comes to the crease

After 11 overs,Pakistan 85/1 ( Umar Amin 42 , Babar Azam 8)

Chaturanga de Silva gets a harsh introduction to T20I cricket. But when you bowl short and so many long hops, you’re bound to get that sort of treatment. 14 runs off the over.

Poor ball and Amin makes the bowler pay with a pull to mid-wicket boundary. It almost carried all the way.

First six of the innings! Chaturanga de Silva, on debut, is greeted with a loft down the ground from Umar Amin.

After 10 overs,Pakistan 71/1 ( Umar Amin 30 , Babar Azam 6)

Munaweera comes back into the attack tio finish his quota. Pakistan are still not able to up the ante. Four singles and a couple off the over.

After 9 overs,Pakistan 65/1 ( Umar Amin 28 , Babar Azam 2)

Left-arm orthodox spinner Sachith Pathirana comes into the attack. He bowls the one poor delivery which is rightfully dealt with. Otherwise, it’s a pretty good first over from the debutant.

Short and sliding down leg from Pathirana and Amin sweeps ferociously for his second boundary past short fine leg.

After 8 overs,Pakistan 57/1 ( Umar Amin 22 , )

Pakistan’s openers are trying their best to smash Gunathilaka out of the attack but the pitch is not helping them in their efforts. It is a tad slow. When the off-spinner offers them a juicy full-toss, they don’t capitalise on that either. Zaman is dismissed in the final ball.

OUT! Munaweera bowls Zaman. But the Pakistan opener stands his ground for some odd reason. So, the umpires send it upstairs and footage shows it glances the off stump. And Zaman has to go for 31.

Babar Azam is the new batsman.

After 7 overs,Pakistan 52/0 ( Fakhar Zaman 29 , Umar Amin 19)

The captain Thisara Perera brings himself into the attack looking for a breakthrough. He doesn’t succeed of course but does keep the batsmen honest. 

Zaman misses a pull shot and is struck on the helmet but he gives the thumbs up to confirm he’s okay.

Five runs off the over.

After 6 overs,Pakistan 47/0 ( Fakhar Zaman 28 , Umar Amin 16)

One off-spinner comes in for another. Danushka Gunathilaka replaces Munaweera. Paksitan find it hard to put the pressure on him rightaway. But Zaman comes down the pitch off the last ball to rectify that in the last ball.

The last ball of the batting powerplay and Zaman smashes it past the bowler down the ground for four.

After 5 overs,Pakistan 37/0 ( Fakhar Zaman 23 , Umar Amin 12)

Isuru Udana comes into the attack replacing Sanjaya. The third ball goes for a boundary but he keeps the Pakistan openers quiet in the next three with a few variations.

Eight runs off the over.

Short and slow down leg from Isuru Udana and Zaman pulls it past short fine leg for another four.

After 4 overs,Pakistan 29/0 ( Fakhar Zaman 16 , Umar Amin 11)

Better over for the hosts as Amin and Zaman show a bit of aggression against Munaweera’s off breaks. Zaman sweeps the last ball over square leg but the fielder pulls it back in to save one. 10 runs off the over.

Umar Amin uses his feet agaisnt Munaweera and lofts the ball inside out beautifully over covers for four. Finally, something comes off the middle of the bat.

After 3 overs,Pakistan 19/0 ( Fakhar Zaman 12 , Umar Amin 5)

Sanjaya continues and pretty tidy stuff from the youngster. As the pressure builds on the Pakistan openers, Zaman clears his leg for another mistimed heave. But only 2 come off it.

After 2 overs,Pakistan 13/0 ( Fakhar Zaman 7 , Umar Amin 4)

Dilshan Munaweera to bowl his off-spin from the other end. A good tight over. Amin and Zaman are a bit tentative against him and milk three singles. But Amin looks to heave the last ball out of the ground but miscues it terribly just evading the fielder at extracover.

After 1 overs,Pakistan 8/0 ( Fakhar Zaman 5 , Umar Amin 1)

Zaman wastes no time and starts with a boundary. Sanjaya gets tidier as the over progresses. A huge appeal off the third ball but it was a bit too high. Then, he follows it up with a no ball. But Zaman doesn’t make use of the free-hit. And a dot to end the over. So, hot and cold first over.

Sanjaya to Zaman. Short and wide and the left-hander throws his hands at it. A thick edge and the ball runs away to the third man boundary.

The players are out on the field. Fakhar Zaman and Umar Amin will open the batting for Pakistan. Vikum Sanjaya will take the new ball.

Here we go!

We’re less than 10 minutes away from live action. 

Sri Lanka have lost seven straight limited overs fixtures (five ODIs and two T20Is) against Pakistan on this tour. Can they salvage some pride tonight? 

Pakistan, meanwhile, will look to end the series on a high after a disappointing Test series.

Pakistani security personnel escort a minibus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers to the Gaddafi stadium for the match.

Image courtesy: AP

Sri Lanka XI: Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Mahela Udawatte, Chaturanga de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera, Sachith Pathirana, Seekkuge Prasanna, Isuru Udana, Vikum Sanjaya

Chaturanga de Silva replaces Ashan Priyanjan

Pakistan XI: Umar Amin, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Fahim Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir

Umar Amin and Mohammad Amir replace Usman Khan and Ahmed Shehzad

TOSS: Thisara Perera wins the toss and Sri Lanka will bowl first

Sri Lanka’s cricketers arrived in Lahore under tight security. Hundreds of armed military and security officials lined the city streets as the team made its way from the airport to their hotel in a bullet-proof bus ahead of Sunday’s Twenty20 international at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Image courtesy: AP

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s live coverage of third and final T20I between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium.

Pakistan have already clinched the series following back-to-back wins in Abu Dhabi.

But today’s match will be the first between the two teams on Pakistan soil since gunmen opened fire on the visiting Sri Lankan team bus near the stadium eight years ago.

So, it should be a historic game on a historic day.

Stay tuned for further updates.