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Mohammad Hafeez had Kumar Sangakkara with his first ball © Getty Images
An unbeaten half-century by Tillakaratne Dilshan gave Sri Lanka the platform to make amends for a poor performance in the first ODI, after opting to bat first again. Sri Lanka had needed better contributions from their seniors, possibly for one of them to bat through and negate Pakistan's varied attack.
A drier pitch, devoid of the moisture present in the first game, made life easier for the batsmen, allowing them to play across the line with more freedom. Thursday's batting meltdown prompted a rethink with the batting order, starting with Mahela Jayawardene's position. Upul Tharanga returned to his familiar opening slot, while Jayawardene dropped down to add more stability to the middle order.
Two boundaries whipped off the pads early on gave Dilshan the confidence to settle in and take on a leadership role at the top of the order. After looking like a walking wicket in the first ODI, he was more sure of his off stump and was prepared to leave deliveries angling across him. Sohail Tanvir troubled him with a few that beat the bat, but he played out his spell and cashed in when debutant left-arm seamer Rahat Ali strayed too wide of the off stump. A sweep off Shahid Afridi brought up his fifty.
Tharanga set sail with a couple of effortless punches past the covers off Umar Gul. However, he faced only five balls off Tanvir, one of which found a thin outside edge to the keeper. Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara survived a few close calls with the running, but the pair managed to add a steady 47. It was a chance for Sangakkara to find form, but off Mohammad Hafeez's first ball, he lobbed a simple return catch, foxed by a delivery that stopped on him.
Dinesh Chandimal and Dilshan ensured the run-rate didn't drop after that dismissal, knocking away the singles and scoring boundaries when the spinners in particular erred in length.