![Kusal Mendis clean bowled by Arafat Minhas [Source: screengrab/x]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1793102375330_Kusal_Mendis.jpg?type=hq)
Kusal Mendis clean bowled by Arafat Minhas [Source: screengrab/x]
Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis belted a couple of confident boundaries to get going against Pakistan in match number five of the Pakistan ODI tri-series 2026. Chasing just 111 runs to win, the skipper raced to 8* off just five deliveries while batting at number three.
However, Mendis failed to make the most of his confident start as he got clean bowled by Pakistan spinner Arafat Minhas under the most bizarre circumstances at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Kusal Mendis hits the ball onto the stumps
Batting at number three and arriving to the crease at 50-1 in 6.5 overs, Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis raced to 8* off five balls with a couple of confident boundaries.
However, in the fifth ball of the ninth over of the Sri Lanka innings as bowled by Pakistan spinner Arafat Minhas, Kusal attempted to hit the ball on the up before deciding to defend it into the ground instead.
The ball bounced back up and hit the back of Kusal’s bat as it ricocheted into the stumps. Hitting the ball twice, the top-order batter got clean bowled by Minhas in one of the most bizarre dismissals ever seen in modern-day cricket.
Anyways, the innings also marked Kusal Mendis’ third successive failure in the ongoing Pakistan ODI tri-series 2026. He started off the series with a sluggish 18 off 34 balls as Sri Lanka bundled out for just 268 in a failed chase of 306. A couple of days later, he got run out without facing a delivery against England in the historic Rawalpindi ODI.
The Sri Lanka captain has now aggregated just 26 runs in three innings of the series at a dismal batting average of 8.67.
Kusal Mendis leads Sri Lanka into the tri-series final
Kusal Mendis may have endured an unusual day with the bat, but the Sri Lanka skipper successfully guided his side to a remarkable one-sided win against hitherto unbeaten Pakistan in their must-win game.
Chasing just 111 runs, Sri Lanka mowed down Pakistan’s total with wickets and time to spare to get to four points in three games. They will now take on hosts Pakistan in the final later this week on October 31, i.e., soon after facing England in a dead-rubber at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
