da brdice： Pakistan got rid of Sri Lanka’s batting luminaries without too muchtrouble, but found Chamara Kapugedera and Thilan Samaraweera impossible todislodge as the home side eased to a comfortable six-wicket victory
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran01-Aug-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outAn unbeaten 95-run partnership between Chamara Kapugedera and Thilan Samaraweera took Sri Lanka to victory•Associated Press
Pakistan got rid of Sri Lanka’s batting luminaries without too muchtrouble, but found Chamara Kapugedera and Thilan Samaraweera impossible todislodge as the home side eased to a comfortable six-wicket victory and a2-0 lead in the series. The bowlers had done the hard work earlier,dismissing Pakistan in just 47 overs, and Kapugedera’s sixth ODIhalf-century offered a gentle reminder that there’s more to Sri Lanka’sbatting than the big three in the top order.The bowlers, with Thilan Thushara taking 3 for 33, had reduced Pakistan to87 for 7, but two doughty tailend partnerships lifted them to 168.Mohammad Aamer top-scored with 24, but it was extras that was the largestcontributor (26) as Sri Lanka got a little sloppy in the final stages.They didn’t start well with the bat either, and when Mahela Jayawardenepulled Shahid Afridi to short midwicket, the scoreboard showed 74 for 4.With the game in the balance, Kapugedera and Samaraweera batted with greatcomposure and class to see it home. Samaraweera square-drove superbly,while Kapugedera drove and pulled with immense power. One pull off Afridiwent for six, and he then crashed Umar Gul through cover to get to hishalf-century. By the end, it was just a procession.Sanath Jayasuriya had provided the early impetus, blazing away as only hecan, but the loss of two wickets in an over, one of them to a sillyrun-out, pushed Sri Lanka back. There was another fine spell from the17-year-old Aamer, leaving Jayasuriya to target Abdul Razzaq. He was firstflayed over cover, and then two short deliveries were summarily dismissedwith short-arm pulls. Upul Tharanga was far from comfortable though, andwhen Aamer tempted him into a half-hearted drive, Nasir Jamshed held on atslip.Jayasuriya then survived a strong shout for leg-before from Aamer, beforeGul was greeted with a miscued pull for four. With Kumar Sangakkarastruggling though, the run rate dropped, and a moment of madness betweentwo experienced pros gave Pakistan a route back into the game. Jayasuriyapushed one to mid-off and half-set off, but when he stopped, Sangakkarawas still haring down without looking. Two balls later, Jayasuriya carvedone to deep point, where Umar Akmal held his nerve to hold a difficultcatch.Umar had shown glimpses of class with the bat as well, but like several ofhis team-mates, he couldn’t build on a start. Pakistan had made two changesfrom the side that lost by 36 runs two days earlier, but they starteddisastrously. Jamshed, who had come in along with Umar at the expense ofMohammad Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq, sparred at a Nuwan Kulasekara deliverythat was moving away from him, and Jayawardene took a smart catch over hishead at second slip.Kamran Akmal eased a couple of lovely drives in front of the wicket, butany thought of consolidation disappeared as two wickets fell with thescore on 21. First, Kamran edged one that slanted across him forSamaraweera to take an excellent tumbling catch at first slip, and thenShoaib Malik was unfortunate to be given out leg-before after being struckhigh on the pad. Two wickets for Thushara, and Sri Lanka right on top.On a green-tinged pitch where the ball darted around, Younis Khan was inall sorts of strife against Lasith Malinga and it was left to Umar tohighlight his potential with a couple of fluent drives on either side ofthe wicket. But soon after drinks, Sri Lanka struck again, with Umarflailing at a wide one from Angelo Mathews. Sangakkara held on to thatchance, and when Thushara came back for a sixth over and had Fawad Alamtop-edging a cut behind, Pakistan were once again facing acute battingembarrassment.Younis found it tough to turn the strike over, facing 73 balls for his 23,and his dismissal was as tame as the innings itself, chipping MuttiahMuralitharan to midwicket. Afridi was held back, but it didn’t prove asuccessful gambit as a big heave off Murali went only as far as deepsquare leg.Razzaq and Gul kept the bowlers at bay for 10 overs without making a bigdent on the scoreboard, but again, Sri Lanka shut off the escape route.This time, it was brilliant fielding, with Malinga Bandara, the substitutefielder, catching Gul short with a direct hit from gully. Razzaq thenslapped Sanath Jayasuriya to long-on, and it was left to Aamer, who showedimpressive commitment once again, and Saeed Ajmal to steer the side past150. Even in bowler-friendly conditions, it was nowhere near enough.