Late wickets spoil Pakistan's day
Having decided to bowl first under overcast skies, Sri Lanka were indebted to Thilan Thushara for two breakthroughs in a morning session otherwise dominated by Pakistan
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran
20-Jul-2009
Pakistan 289 for 7 (Manzoor 93, Yousuf 90, Thushara 3 for 77) v Sri Lanka
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
For vast swathes of the 86 overs bowled in the day, Pakistan's batsmen
held sway, blunting a modest attack on a pitch that lost most of its
moisture and bite after the opening session. But with stumps beckoning,
the second new ball vindicated Kumar Sangakkara's decision to bowl first,
with three wickets in the space of eight balls reducing Pakistan to 289
for 7.
Pakistan's total total owed much to Khurram Manzoor and Mohammad Yousuf, who added 167
for the third wicket after Thilan Thushara had taken two wickets in an
over to stymie a promising start. Both Manzoor and Yousuf were dismissed
in the 90s, and it was left to Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq to shepherd
the side through to the close. They nearly managed to, until the new ball
turned out to be the big bad wolf.
Malik, short of runs and form in the series, had struck some pleasing
strokes on his way to 45, and the partnership with Misbah was worth 75
when Thushara arced one into his pads from outside off stump. Malik
missed, and that was that. Three balls later, Misbah lunged to drive Nuwan
Kulasekara, and the thin inside edge was neatly taken by Tillakaratne
Dilshan behind the stumps. When Umar Gul then chopped one back on to his
stumps, the reversal of fortune was complete.
It may have been the last bow for Chaminda Vaas, a veteran of 111 Tests
with 354 wickets to his name, but apart from that Thushara over in
mid-morning, there was little for Sri Lanka to celebrate after they sent
Pakistan in to bat under overcast Colombo skies. Fawad Alam, with a
century on debut last week, had just struck his first four of the innings,
when he edged one behind to Dilshan, and if Thushara was delighted with
that, he was positively delirious three balls later. Younis Khan cut one
back on to his stumps, and 34 for 0 had become 36 for 2.
As Yousuf walked out, wagers were probably placed on how quickly Rangana
Herath would be brought on. As it was, Sangakkara waited till the
17th over before throwing the ball to Sri Lanka's surprise spin weapon of
the series, but the impact wasn't what was desired. The first-session
damage would have been greater than 103 runs but for a sluggish outfield
that didn't give the batsmen full value for their strokes.
Once the nerves had settled, Yousuf lofted Herath over long-off for six,
and with Thushara then conceding 11 in an over, the runs started to
accumulate at a fair clip. Yousuf cut Herath for four, before driving
Angelo Mathews beautifully behind square, and it was Pakistan that went
into the lunch break with faith restored. After the slump that cost them
the series, though, complacency certainly wasn't on the menu.
A superb cut and a back-foot punch through cover took Manzoor to his
half-century from 85 balls, while Yousuf required 15 balls fewer for his.
The 100-run partnership arrived in 24.3 overs, and soon after, Manzoor
thumped Herath over his head for four, a stroke that he was to repeat
later in the session.
Sri Lanka's bowlers created few wicket-taking chances and struggled for
consistency, though Vaas did staunch the run flow in the second hour after
lunch. With Kulasekara short on pace, another edge fell short of slip and
went for four. And the hosts' woes were compounded when Vaas missed a
run-out chance with Manzoor on 65.
Manzoor was content to leave a lot of deliveries and the bowlers obliged
by bowling poor lines. By the tea interval, Sri Lanka had endured the first
barren session of the series. When Sangakkara gave the ball to Mahela
Jayawardene after tea, it appeared to illustrate Sri Lankan despair, but
once Vaas returned, the game changed.
A clearly nervous Manzoor poked at one that left him, and Yousuf was then
run out off an overthrow after taking the single that had seen him
complete 7000 runs. His 90 had spanned just 146 balls, and it was left to
the aggressive Malik and the more sedate Misbah to repair the damage. Once
again, though, wickets falling in a heap undid much of the day's good work.
Dileep Premachandran is an associate editor at Cricinfo