At Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, August 7. Pakistan won by 19 runs. Toss: Sri Lanka.

Salim Malik scored an unbeaten 93 from 94 balls to set up the victory which apparently ended Sri Lanka's unbeaten record in their last six home limited-overs series, dating back to 1985–86. Reviving memories of his 72 in 35 balls in Calcutta in 1986–87, he took Pakistan to 237 from a modest 45-over score of 166 for five. He turned the tide with a sustained display of big hitting, clobbering Muralitharan for three sixes and a four in one over, which yielded 27 runs. When Sri Lanka replied, Wasim Akram took two wickets in his third over. The home team never really recovered, though Jayasuriya made his third successive fifty and Kalpage and Vaas kept faint hope alive with a ninth-wicket stand of 76.

Man of the Match: Salim Malik.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd