The bizarre dismissal of Wanindu Hasaranga in the third T20I against England at Old Trafford on Saturday has raised eyebrows among Sri Lankan cricket followers, with several former captains also expressing surprise at the manner in which the all-rounder departed.

Hasaranga was dismissed hit wicket after being deceived by a Jofra Archer slower ball. What made the dismissal all the more unusual was Hasaranga’s reaction. He immediately began walking back to the pavilion, while even Archer appeared surprised at what had happened.

It was another forgettable night in what turned out to be a miserable series for Sri Lanka. The tourists were swept 3-0 and more worryingly, hardly landed a punch throughout the three matches.

Questions are also being asked about the fitness levels within the squad, with several players, including Hasaranga, appearing overweight and short of peak physical condition.

The establishment, too, has come under scrutiny over its preparation for the tour. Several players were permitted to fly directly to London after completing commitments in the Caribbean Premier League, raising questions over whether sufficient emphasis had been placed on preparation and conditioning ahead of a demanding international assignment.

Captain Chamari Athapaththu hit six sixes in an unbeaten 50 ball 83 to lead Sri Lanka into the final of the Asian Games Women’s Cricket Competition in Japan yesterday. Her innings helped Sri Lanka equal their highest total in a successful chase, after fifties from Shawaal Zulfiqar and Ayesha Zafar had helped Pakistan set them a target of 178.

Chamari was quiet at the start of her innings and she could afford it because her opening partner Imesha Dulani gave Sri Lanka immediate impetus in their chase, hitting five fours in the first four overs before falling for a tone setting 21 ball 27. At that point, Chamari was batting on four off nine deliveries. By the end of the powerplay, she had moved to seven off 12and hadn’t hit a single boundary.

The change of gear took place in a 20 run eighth over, in which she tonked Momina Riasat for 6, 4, 6, 4. The second six was a fortuitous one, a slog-sweep that Fatima Sana caught at deep midwicket only to step on the rope while attempting to toss the ball back into the field of play. A clean catch would have sent Chamariu back for 18 off 19 balls.

Instead, the left-handed Chamari continued to take full toll of her match up against left-arm spin, hitting two fours and a six off Nashra Sandhu in the tenth over to bring the equation down to 90 off 60 balls.

It was still far from straightforward, but Sri Lanka were unstoppable, with Hasini Perera catching up with her captain’s rate of scoring by hitting Tuba Hassan for two sixes and a four in the 13th over. Hasini fell at the end of the 14th over for a 26 ball 42, having put on 95 with Chamari in 56 balls.

When Hasini fell, Sri Lanka needed 47 off 36 balls; Chamari and Harshitha Samarawickrama needed just 23 of those balls to finish the job.

Sent in to bat, Pakistan posted their highest ever T20I total against Sri Lanka, but they may have ended their innings feeling they had left a few runs out in the middle. Zulfiqar scored her second T20I half-century, but her 54 consumed as many as 50 balls. The impetus for Pakistan’s total came from Zafar, who came in at No. 4 and smacked 71 off just 40 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes.

Zafar and Zulfiqar put on 115 for the third wicket in 70 balls, and nearly all the heavy hitting came from one end, with Zulfiqar contributing 37 off 30 to the partnership.

England completed a 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka at Old Trafford with a ruthless chase of a 125 run target in only 9.4 overs, a result that also sent them back to the top of the T20I rankings.

Having already sealed the series with two one sided wins, England won the toss and chose to bowl. Sonny Baker got things going by removing Lahiru Udara early with a top edged pull that flew straight to the keeper. Will Jacks then struck twice inside the Powerplay, one of them thanks to a sharp catch by Harry Brook diving at short mid-wicket to send back Pathum Nissanka for 36.

Kamindu Mendis looked comfortable, striking three fours and two sixes on his way to 35, but he found little support as wickets kept tumbling around him. Charith Asalanka was run out in a mix up with Mendis and Eshan Malinga suffered the same fate later in the innings. Wanindu Hasaranga went one better and got himself out without any help from the fielders, losing control of his bat mid shot and knocking his own bails off for a hit wicket.

Sri Lanka lost their last six wickets for just 17 runs and were bowled out for 124 in 18.5 overs with Jamie Overton the pick of the bowlers for 1 for 15 and Baker, Jofra Archer and Jacks sharing two wickets apiece.

Come the chase, Jos Buttler and Aneurin Donald put on a brisk 22-run opening stand before Donald was stumped charging down the pitch for 13. Buttler then combined with Brook to add 85 runs for the second wicket off only 38 balls, adding 82 runs in the Powerplay and effectively putting the chase to bed inside the first six overs.

Brook eventually fell for 33, run out going for a single that was never really there, but by that stage the game was already decided. Buttler finished unbeaten on 62 off just 32 balls, closing out the match with a six to bring up the victory with 62 balls remaining, the joint fastest chase of a 120+ target in T20Is.

The win took England to 15 straight T20I victories over Sri Lanka, a run that now matches the record for the most consecutive wins by a full member side over a single opponent.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka 124 all out in 18.5 overs

(Pathum Nissanka 36, Kamindu Mendis 35; Sonny Baker 2/17, Jofra Archer 2/23, Will Jacks 2/31)

England 126/2 in 9.4 overs

(Jos Buttler 62*, Harry Brook 33; Tharindu Ratnayake 1/28)