Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI at Lahore, , Jan 24 2009 - Match Result

Two comprehensive wins for Sri Lanka and they wrap up the series 2-1. Humiliation for Pakistan here; a capacity crowd in Lahore will return home disappointed after their home team capitulated in such a listless fashion. They succumbed to pace with Kulasekara and Thushara bowling them out of the game even before the 15th over. The spinners then cleaned up the tail to inflict a massive defeat for the hosts. A series win would have done wonders to Pakistan's confidence as they're hosting their first home series in a while. But the end result will sting them. They won the first match convincigly, but completely lost their way in the next two ODIs.

Their score of 75 is the lowest at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore.

Do accept our apologies for the momentary loss in commentary due to a technical problem here.

Just a few more minutes to go before the presentation. Just to give you guys an indication of how upset our Pakistani readers are. "Can we expect from Shoaib Malik and team management now to drop other seniors including, Misbah, Younis, Kamran and Afridi from the team immediately just like Tanvir and Akhtar were dropped this morning since they are all playing on their names and certainly not performing? "

The Prime Minister of Pakistan is also on the presentation podium. Wonder what he makes of his team's performance?

Tillakaratne Dilshan has deservedly won the Man-of-the-Match Award. He's also the Man of the Series with impressive performaces in each of the three games.

Dilshan: "It's a special feeling. The first few overs were difficult to deal with but as the pitch eased out w were able to score more freely. It's a great feeling to have helped my time to win the series."

Sarcastic cheers greet Shoaib Malik as he walks down to the podium.

Malik: "Credit to Sri Lanka for the way they played. We bowled well early on but faltered later. 310 was always going to be difficult to chase and the Sri Lankans bowled very well to beat us. Sohail Khan bowled well early on, but the key now is to learn from our mistakes. We are playing international cricket at home after a while, and it is important we hit the right areas when bowling on good pitches. Apologies to the Lahore crowd for disappointing them but I must thank them for turning up in such huge numbers."

Jayawardene: "After the first game we were disappointed but the guys showed a lot of character later on. We batted watchfully for the first few overs and cut loose later on. I can't say enough of the players: they deserve all the accolades. Dilshan made an excellent comeback and his experiment as an opener worked wonders. Hopefully, he be able to continue this form. Murali's done great as usual and he has a lot of good bowlers in the team around him. Hopefully he's get to the record sooner rather than later. We thank the support from the crowd, we've enjoyed touring Pakistan and we are looking forward to out return trip for the Test series."

The Prime Minister has a few words to say: "We thank the Sri Lankan team for showing solidairity with us. I pay tribute to the administration in Karach and Lahore to provide security to the teams. I also thank the people of Lahore, and will hope the Pakistani team will perform better in the future."

Well folks, the final match proved a bit of anti-climax. Pakistan have a lot of homework to do but nevertheless it was good to see international cricket return to the country. A win would have done wonders for the home team, but what's even more significant is that they are back playing on their turf once again. It's been an interesting series, with three comprehensive results. Kudos to Sri Lanka for fighting back so well. Pakistan too showed some bright signs: Sohail Khan bowled very well early on, and fellow fast bowlers Umar Gul and Ifikhar Anjum, despite a poor third ODI, were impressive in their first two games. Salman Butt batted well in Karachi, and Khurram Manzoor showed some positive signs in 80-odd in the first match.

That's all we have from here folks. Thats for tuning in and sending all your feedback. We do appreciate it. Until the next time, on behalf of everyone at Cricinfo, it's goodbye from Siddhartha Talya on the commentary, and Chaminda and Pradeep on the scoring duties. Adios!

Good chance for Murali here

Saeed Ajmal, who injured himself earlier today, makes his way in

Murali now has 499 wickets!

Murali into the attack. Coming from round the wicket