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Some insipid Pakistan fielding threatened to squander their strong position set up by two early blows in the Sri Lankan chase, but the fall of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene just before the halfway mark ensured the visitors stood an excellent chance of leveling the series.
Sangakkara had been dropped on 35 by Umar Gul in the fourth ODI; he went on to make 97, and Sri Lanka eventually won. Today, it was the wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed who faltered, failing to hold on to a straightforward chance off Sangakkara when on 25. The run conceded off that spilt catch brought up the half-century stand between the pair.
Pakistan's bowlers, at the start of the chase, were a touch indisciplined with both Gul and Sohail Tanvir bowling wides down the leg side, though Sri Lanka's batsmen adopted a cautious approach. Tillakaratne Dilshan got going with a firmly driven boundary down the ground, but was cleaned up when Tanvir went round the wicket and angled one in to knock back leg stump, after he'd bowled in the channel outside off earlier in the over. Eleven dot balls later, he went over the wicket to Upul Tharanga, who defended inside the line while playing for the angle against a delivery that went on straight to remove off stump.
With two new batsmen out in the middle, the pressure was on Sri Lanka but Pakistan didn't do a good job of keeping it on. A straight drive from Sangakkara was misfielded by Tanvir at mid-on, resulting in a boundary. He was the culprit once again in the 16th over, the start of the bowling Powerplay, kicking away a ball to the ropes while trying to field in the deep before Sarfraz topped all that with his reprieve of Sangakkara. In the interim, Sangakkara and Chandimal picked off singles and gradually built up momentum.
But, Pakistan, who had their heads in their hands as the halfway mark approached, were soon smiling again. Sangakkara defended a topspinner from Shahid Afridi and set off, not realising soon enough that Sarfraz had quickly gathered the ball on the bounce to run him out - the umpires, however, ruled him out stumped. Jayawardene loosely pushed at his first ball, lobbing a simple return catch to Afridi. Two wickets in two deliveries and the overall significance of those lapses in the field may just have lessened considerably.
50 overs Pakistan 247 for 7 (Farhat 56, Akmal 55*, Mendis 2-30) v Sri Lanka
Imran Farhat made a fluent 56 © AFP
Pakistan got most things right in their effort to cast aside the memory of their batting debacle in the previous ODI, putting up 247, a score Misbah-ul-Haq, at the toss, believed was competitive on this Premadasa track. Down 1-2 in this series, Pakistan's batsmen produced a collective display: they were led by Imran Farhat's fluent half-century at the start, solid batting from Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, and a typically attacking knock from Umar Akmal in the latter stages.
While their performance was a significant improvement, Pakistan could have done better, but three batsmen threw their wickets away after looking set for a sizeable score. Farhat, who replaced a "rested" Younis Khan, was among them and in his first ODI in four months, he confidently set about steering Pakistan towards a healthy position.
A batsman who relies heavily on wrist work and follows up his shots with ample flourish, Farhat got going with a couple of meaty drives off Lasith Malinga - through extra cover and then square, past point. Nuwan Kulasekara was slashed as well and when he attempted to dart the ball back in, Farhat flicked him through square leg and then down to the fine-leg boundary. He was iffy when Kulasekara first went round the wicket and nipped it away, but counterattacked. In the 11th over, Farhat carted him over mid-on, pulled over midwicket and smacked through point for three fours.
As the field was pushed back, both Farhat and Ali - continuing his good form - showed adeptness at picking the singles, at one stage taking 12 in 12 balls. Ali looked equally assured, cashing in on a couple of pitched-up deliveries to drive them in the V and dispatching the short ones through point. The flow was broken when Farhat, at the onset of the bowling Powerplay in the 19th over, threw away his wicket by pulling Thisara Perera down deep midwicket's throat. Ali undermined a steadily progressing stand with Shafiq, driving the legspinner Jeevan Mendis straight to extra cover. That brought Misbah to the crease, and the scoring-rate consequently dipped as he took time to get set.
Shafiq, a strong bottom-hand player, drove well down the pitch and took the lead in the stand with his captain but a moment's indecision in the 33rd over ended his stay, run out by an under-arm throw by Lahiru Thirimanne. Misbah continued to play a complementary role, for Akmal's entry infused the innings with some urgency to check Sri Lanka's brief comeback. He walked down, then across, to Angelo Mathews to clip him to the fine-leg boundary, an area he exploited thrice against Malinga in the batting Powerplay that was taken in the 36th over. Perera, who grabbed six wickets including a hat-trick on Saturday, didn't get his attempted yorkers right; the resulting length balls were launched for two sixes by Akmal over the midwicket boundary.
Having reached 220 in 44 overs, another 50 runs seemed gettable. Akmal was picking Malinga's slower ones and Shahid Afridi had warmed up with a boundary, but Sri Lanka pulled it back. Malinga was accurate with his yorkers and Kulasekara had Afridi caught off a full toss. Akmal made room, moved across, swung hard, tried to scoop, but Malinga had the better of the contest at the death. His thrift ensured Akmal managed only nine runs off his last 19 balls, and Pakistan just 27 off the last six overs. Will a bowling attack, without Saeed Ajmal, ensure that doesn't make a difference in the outcome?
Sangakkara had been dropped on 35 by Umar Gul in the fourth ODI; he went on to make 97, and Sri Lanka eventually won. Today, it was the wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed who faltered, failing to hold on to a straightforward chance off Sangakkara when on 25. The run conceded off that spilt catch brought up the half-century stand between the pair.
Pakistan's bowlers, at the start of the chase, were a touch indisciplined with both Gul and Sohail Tanvir bowling wides down the leg side, though Sri Lanka's batsmen adopted a cautious approach. Tillakaratne Dilshan got going with a firmly driven boundary down the ground, but was cleaned up when Tanvir went round the wicket and angled one in to knock back leg stump, after he'd bowled in the channel outside off earlier in the over. Eleven dot balls later, he went over the wicket to Upul Tharanga, who defended inside the line while playing for the angle against a delivery that went on straight to remove off stump.
With two new batsmen out in the middle, the pressure was on Sri Lanka but Pakistan didn't do a good job of keeping it on. A straight drive from Sangakkara was misfielded by Tanvir at mid-on, resulting in a boundary. He was the culprit once again in the 16th over, the start of the bowling Powerplay, kicking away a ball to the ropes while trying to field in the deep before Sarfraz topped all that with his reprieve of Sangakkara. In the interim, Sangakkara and Chandimal picked off singles and gradually built up momentum.
But, Pakistan, who had their heads in their hands as the halfway mark approached, were soon smiling again. Sangakkara defended a topspinner from Shahid Afridi and set off, not realising soon enough that Sarfraz had quickly gathered the ball on the bounce to run him out - the umpires, however, ruled him out stumped. Jayawardene loosely pushed at his first ball, lobbing a simple return catch to Afridi. Two wickets in two deliveries and the overall significance of those lapses in the field may just have lessened considerably.
50 overs Pakistan 247 for 7 (Farhat 56, Akmal 55*, Mendis 2-30) v Sri Lanka
Imran Farhat made a fluent 56 © AFP
Pakistan got most things right in their effort to cast aside the memory of their batting debacle in the previous ODI, putting up 247, a score Misbah-ul-Haq, at the toss, believed was competitive on this Premadasa track. Down 1-2 in this series, Pakistan's batsmen produced a collective display: they were led by Imran Farhat's fluent half-century at the start, solid batting from Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, and a typically attacking knock from Umar Akmal in the latter stages.
While their performance was a significant improvement, Pakistan could have done better, but three batsmen threw their wickets away after looking set for a sizeable score. Farhat, who replaced a "rested" Younis Khan, was among them and in his first ODI in four months, he confidently set about steering Pakistan towards a healthy position.
A batsman who relies heavily on wrist work and follows up his shots with ample flourish, Farhat got going with a couple of meaty drives off Lasith Malinga - through extra cover and then square, past point. Nuwan Kulasekara was slashed as well and when he attempted to dart the ball back in, Farhat flicked him through square leg and then down to the fine-leg boundary. He was iffy when Kulasekara first went round the wicket and nipped it away, but counterattacked. In the 11th over, Farhat carted him over mid-on, pulled over midwicket and smacked through point for three fours.
As the field was pushed back, both Farhat and Ali - continuing his good form - showed adeptness at picking the singles, at one stage taking 12 in 12 balls. Ali looked equally assured, cashing in on a couple of pitched-up deliveries to drive them in the V and dispatching the short ones through point. The flow was broken when Farhat, at the onset of the bowling Powerplay in the 19th over, threw away his wicket by pulling Thisara Perera down deep midwicket's throat. Ali undermined a steadily progressing stand with Shafiq, driving the legspinner Jeevan Mendis straight to extra cover. That brought Misbah to the crease, and the scoring-rate consequently dipped as he took time to get set.
Shafiq, a strong bottom-hand player, drove well down the pitch and took the lead in the stand with his captain but a moment's indecision in the 33rd over ended his stay, run out by an under-arm throw by Lahiru Thirimanne. Misbah continued to play a complementary role, for Akmal's entry infused the innings with some urgency to check Sri Lanka's brief comeback. He walked down, then across, to Angelo Mathews to clip him to the fine-leg boundary, an area he exploited thrice against Malinga in the batting Powerplay that was taken in the 36th over. Perera, who grabbed six wickets including a hat-trick on Saturday, didn't get his attempted yorkers right; the resulting length balls were launched for two sixes by Akmal over the midwicket boundary.
Having reached 220 in 44 overs, another 50 runs seemed gettable. Akmal was picking Malinga's slower ones and Shahid Afridi had warmed up with a boundary, but Sri Lanka pulled it back. Malinga was accurate with his yorkers and Kulasekara had Afridi caught off a full toss. Akmal made room, moved across, swung hard, tried to scoop, but Malinga had the better of the contest at the death. His thrift ensured Akmal managed only nine runs off his last 19 balls, and Pakistan just 27 off the last six overs. Will a bowling attack, without Saeed Ajmal, ensure that doesn't make a difference in the outcome?