Seamers Nuwan Kulasekara and Thilan Thushara turned in a stunning performance with the new ball as Sri Lanka secured a stunning 234-run victory over Pakistan to clinch the one-day series 2-1.
Nuwan Kulasekara and Thilan Thushara ended Pakistan's hopes of overhauling a target of 310 by claiming three wickets apiece in quick succession to leave Pakistan reeling at 22 for six in just under nine overs.
Muttiah Muralitharan then reached the 500-wicket mark in the one-day game with two tail-end wickets as Pakistan were skittled out for 75 runs in just 22.4 overs.
Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (137 not out) had put Sri Lanka in command with an unbeaten century, helping Sri Lanka amass 309 for five in their 50 overs.
Kulasekara and left-arm seamer Thushara then quickly hit stride and effectively ended the match as a contest even before Pakistan could get their chase off the ground.
Pakistan decided to tweak their fragile batting order, opening the innings with Younis Khan and dropping first match centurion Salman Butt down to three.
The move backfired as Younis (four) was trapped in front by Thushara with the last ball of his first over.
Kulasekara then swung into action, inducing an edge from Butt (zero) which was held by Thilina Kandamby at first slip.
They fell like nine pins
Wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal (nine) lasted a couple of overs before he was consumed by Thushara, while Farveez Maharoof took a fine reflex catch at short midwicket to send back opener Khurram Manzoor (three) off Kulasekara.
Misbah-ul Haq was dismissed for a seven-ball duck, caught behind off Thushara, while Shahid Afridi (zero) was bowled, shouldering arms to a delivery that nipped back.
Umar Gul (27) looked good during a 44-run stand with skipper Shoaib Malik (19) which helped Pakistan get past the 50-run mark, a feat which looked distinctly unlikely after the new-ball blitz.
Muralitharan enters the 500 wicket club
But the pair were dismissed off successive deliveries and Muralitharan cleaned up the tail to bring up victory.
Muralitharan needs only two more wickets to level Pakistan's Wasim Akram (502), the leading wicket-taker in ODIs.
Earlier, Dilshan gave Sri Lanka a solid start in the company of Sanath Jayasuriya (45), vindicating Mahela Jayawardene's decision to bat first under overcast skies.
Jayasuriya fell immediately after enforcing the batting power play at the start of the 16th over, but Dilshan consolidated the innings through a 108-run stand for the second wicket with Kumar Sangakkara (50).
Fast bowler Gul struck quick blows at the death, removing Jayawardene (18) and Chamara Kapugedera (nought) in the same over, but Sri Lanka powered on to 309 for five in 50 overs.
Did Malik miss Akhtar?
Pakistan dropped bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Sohail Tanvir and brought in inexperienced youngsters Sohail Khan and Saeed Ajmal.
Sohail shared new-ball duties with Gul - both started with maiden overs - and kept Sri Lanka on a tight leash with accurate first spells.
Gul's first six overs yielded just 16 runs, while Sohail conceded only 18 from the same number of overs, forcing the Sri Lanka openers into several false shots.
Ifthikar Anjum then proved expensive, however, and Jayasuriya broke the shackles to swing momentum Sri Lanka's way by hitting him for three boundaries and a six in his fourth over.
Jayasuriya flattered to deceive
But Jayasuriya fell victim to Gul in the next over, the left-hander miscuing a pull shot which went straight to Ajmal at mid-on.
Sangakkara and Dilshan started with a mix-up which almost cost another wicket, but settled down to plunder runs.
Another mix-up ended Sangakkara's innings, but Dilshan forged a half-century partnership with Thilina Kandamby (32) and went on to reach his second century in 155 ODIs with a single off Ajmal.
Dilshan's knock came off 139 deliveries and was punctuated by 10 boundaries. Gul finished with three wickets from nine overs, conceding 45 runs, while Ifthikar conceded 53 runs from five overs and was not used again..
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