Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to reach tri-series final, England eliminated

ARIF ALI / AFP

Sri Lanka reached the final of the one-day international Tri-series in Pakistan with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over the hosts in Lahore on Tuesday.

The result ensured England, who lost their first three matches, were knocked out of the tournament with a game to spare.

Pakistan were dismissed for 110. Sri Lanka's left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka starred with the ball, claiming a career-best 5-34 to earn the player-of-the-match award.

"We had a plan and followed it. Because of that, as a team, we were able to bowl them out for a low score," Madushanka said.

England had shown signs of progress in the format this year, winning a series in Sri Lanka before home victories over India in July and Sri Lanka.

Their campaign in Pakistan, however, unravelled in dramatic fashion.

England failed to defend 429 against Sri Lanka despite captain Harry Brook scoring the fastest double century in ODI history and suffered another painful loss when Pakistan snatched a one-wicket victory after Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf shared a record 89-run last-wicket partnership.

England's final match of the series against Sri Lanka on Thursday will now be a dead rubber.

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