Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 5th ODI at Sharjah, Oct 23 2017 - Match Result

5.35pm That was not a good game of cricket for everyone but Pakistan. Usman Khan started off very well, getting late, late movement to rip through Sri Lanka's clueless top order. When that happened, there weren't too many doubts about the result, just the manner. And Pakistan finished the match before the innings break, an indicator of the degree of defeat inflicted on Sri Lanka, who have slipped, stumbled, stuttered and slumped to their third 5-0 ODI whitewash of 2017. It was all decided far too early on this Monday evening.

Sarfraz is pleased, a rare smile beaming on his face as the Pakistan players walk around Sharjah. Imam and Fakhar did their jobs nicely to ensure this game didn't suffer any type of Pakistan batting collapse.

Sri Lanka need something, quickly. They now go to India after the T20 series here, of course, for some ODIs there against a really tough opponent, and if they can find some discipline or some talent or some skill or something, they stand a chance. But if they don't, this may not be their last whitewash in the coming months.

Presentation time.

Usman Khan is the Player of the Match: "Wasn't easy, but the team atmosphere is confident. Learning a lot from our bowling coach. Was focusing on what was working for me."

Hasan Ali is the Player of the Series: "Focusing on the basics: body language, attitude, plans against the batsmen. Conditions here are tough. If you bowl in one place, it's easy for batsmen to play, but I use the bouncer to push the batsmen back."

Sarfraz Ahmed: "Lots of happiness when you give an opportuinity to someone and they perform. Usman finished the match in the first five overs. We're going from strength to strength, we have lots of options. I want our batting to perform more, if we score 270-280, our bowling is strong."

Upul Tharanga: "We're not playing to our strengths, to our capability. We didn't mass 200 four times. Couldn't handle the pressure, has no answers to Usman's first spell. They were straight, always trying to get wickets (Pakistan's bowlers)."

Usman Fida: "26.2 & 20.2 overs bowled per side and the day & night match finished in a day. No need for night"

Kumar: "Before this match: Siriwardana - 4 matches, 18 runs, 0 wickets. Dhananjaya - 4 matches, 70 runs, 2 wickes. Guess which one they dropped"

ahamsha: "Whom would you drop from this bowling line up to accommodate Mohammed Amir & Junaid Khan? Must be a difficult but a pleasant problem for the Team"