Sri Lanka win to level series against Pakistan
Sri Lanka came out in full force and grabbed victory right under Pakistan’s nose. The hosts won the second test at Colombo by 7 wickets, thereby leveling the 3 test series against Pakistan.
The test started with Pakistan scoring a paltry 138 thanks to PHT Kaushal and Dhammika Prasad scalping 5 and 3 wickets respectively. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 315 with good contributions by Silva(80) and captain Mathews(77*).
In reply, Pakistan made 319 all out, with Azhar Ali getting a patient century(117), thereby giving the home team a target of 152. Sri Lanka chased down the target quite aggressively knowing that rains may falter their chances of winning.
Their chase saw contributions from Karunaratne(50), Vithanage(34) and Mathews(43*). Dhammika Prasad was declared the man of the match for taking 7 wickets in the match and also contributing 35 runs with the bat.
SRI LANKA’S VALIANT EFFORT
Angelo Mathews, the captain, was quite pleased with how his team played. He said their only aim was to play positively. Mathews said, “It was a pretty pleasing performance from the team. Boys have shown a lot of character after the defeat at Galle and it was brilliant to win this Test.
“We wanted to bat positively and we wanted to go out there and take on their bowlers. As I said, we just wanted to play positively. We decided that we will go for the kill and it doesn't matter even if we lose the last Test. We want to win the series 2-1.”
As they lost the previous Test, there was added pressure on the team. Speaking about Kaushal Silva, who has turned out to one of Sri Lanka’s biggest plus points, Mathews said, “He (Kaushal Silva) is in good nick, he is hanging in and plays the anchor role and the rest of the boys are playing around him.”
Sri Lanka made a decision to promote Vithanage to the top of the order on Day 5 because they needed to amass runs quickly and economically. Vithanage lived up to expectations, knocking off 34 runs off 23 balls. But Pakistan came back, as they got two important wickets in quick succession – Vithanage and Sangakkara.
Despite the rain scare, Sri Lankan batsmen continued to do their job. Karunaratne and Mathews got quick runs and it looked like Sri Lanka would cruise to victory quite comfortably. Karunaratne made an efficient half century but was then dismissed, Mathews stayed on to become the anchor.
PAKISTAN LACKED IN THE BATTING DEPARTMENT
Pakistan’s batting efforts were led by Azhar Ali. It was his ninth Test century. Five of his nine centuries have been scored against Sri Lanka. None of the other batsmen were able to stay at the crease long enough to be able to lend a real hand, apart from Ahmed Shehzad, who scored a 69, and Younis Khan, who somehow compiled a 40.
The pacers made the job easy for Pakistani batsmen, even on a fourth-day track. Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha Chameera did a lot of damage. Pakistan was dismissed at a solid 329.
Sri Lanka replied in a calm and efficient manner. Silva stood his place and scored a steady 80. At first it seemed that Pakistan would hold their at one point, the score was 202 for 6. Mathews became the stout anchor that saved the Lankan boat. Mathews himself scored a tough 77. Yasir Shah meanwhile created another record – he became the joint fastest Asian bowler to take 50 wickets.
All in all, Sri Lanka played good cricket, with not only the Pakistani spinners, but the rain too doing their best to undermine them. They played well from the start, restricting Pakistan for a meagre 138. Pakistan’s poor batting added to their cause.
Misbah admitted this, saying, “The session from lunch to tea (on the first day) really dented us. Fourth day we lost a lot of wickets and that was the main difference. We were really doing well constantly putting up big scores. Hard to believe and hard to accept that we didn't bat well in the first innings. Whenever you want to win the Test match, first innings should be played well.”
Experienced players who were expected to lead the team let it down. Azhar Ali spent a lot of time but never looked settled at the crease.
Younis seemed a little jittery, perhaps because it was his 100th Test. Misbah-ul-Haq could not help the team much. He said, “He (Azhar) scored a double ton in Bangladesh and Yasir is improving himself every game”. Tharindu Kaushal played extremely well and had a magnificent five wicket haul.
PRASAD’S MATCH WINNING PERFORMANCE
Dhammika Prasad was quite excited on winning the match as well as being the man of the match. He said, “It was great. We came out as underdogs and unfortunately we lost the first game. Really happy with our performance. I just tried to bowl in good areas and we bowled according to the plans that we made before.
“I'm glad that I have executed it very well. We have to bowl in the good area that's what we have talked before the game. That's the difference between Galle and this Test match. As I said, first match I didn't bat well and I was under pressure when I came out to bat here.”
Dispelling any notions that Mathews is a very demanding captain, Prasad said, “No, he gave me the confidence to bat freely.”
ALL EYES ON THE THIRD TEST
But the true test for Sri Lanka lies in the third and final match because they will not have their star player Sangakkara with them. Pakistan too has a huge loss in the form of an injured Wahab.
Asked if the team will miss Wahab, Misbah said, “It totally depends on what conditions we get there and we have Rahat Ali as his backup. But Wahab is a big loss. We have bowlers to come and strengthen the team.”
It will be interesting to see which team makes the best out of what they have.