da dobrowin： Having decided to bowl first under overcast skies, Sri Lanka were indebtedto Thilan Thushara for two breakthroughs in a morning session otherwisedominated by Pakistan
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran20-Jul-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Mohammad Yousuf played a composed innings but fell 10 runs short of his century•Associated Press
For vast swathes of the 86 overs bowled in the day, Pakistan’s batsmenheld sway, blunting a modest attack on a pitch that lost most of itsmoisture 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 289for 7.Pakistan’s total total owed much to Khurram Manzoor and Mohammad Yousuf, who added 167for the third wicket after Thilan Thushara had taken two wickets in anover to stymie a promising start. Both Manzoor and Yousuf were dismissedin the 90s, and it was left to Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq to shepherdthe side through to the close. They nearly managed to, until the new ballturned out to be the big bad wolf.Malik, short of runs and form in the series, had struck some pleasingstrokes on his way to 45, and the partnership with Misbah was worth 75when Thushara arced one into his pads from outside off stump. Malikmissed, and that was that. Three balls later, Misbah lunged to drive NuwanKulasekara, and the thin inside edge was neatly taken by TillakaratneDilshan behind the stumps. When Umar Gul then chopped one back on to hisstumps, the reversal of fortune was complete.It may have been the last bow for Chaminda Vaas, a veteran of 111 Testswith 354 wickets to his name, but apart from that Thushara over inmid-morning, there was little for Sri Lanka to celebrate after they sentPakistan in to bat under overcast Colombo skies. Fawad Alam, with acentury 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 withthat, he was positively delirious three balls later. Younis Khan cut oneback on to his stumps, and 34 for 0 had become 36 for 2.As Yousuf walked out, wagers were probably placed on how quickly RanganaHerath would be brought on. As it was, Sangakkara waited till the17th over before throwing the ball to Sri Lanka’s surprise spin weapon ofthe series, but the impact wasn’t what was desired. The first-sessiondamage would have been greater than 103 runs but for a sluggish outfieldthat 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 toaccumulate at a fair clip. Yousuf cut Herath for four, before drivingAngelo Mathews beautifully behind square, and it was Pakistan that wentinto the lunch break with faith restored. After the slump that cost themthe series, though, complacency certainly wasn’t on the menu.A superb cut and a back-foot punch through cover took Manzoor to hishalf-century from 85 balls, while Yousuf required 15 balls fewer for his.The 100-run partnership arrived in 24.3 overs, and soon after, Manzoorthumped Herath over his head for four, a stroke that he was to repeatlater in the session.Sri Lanka’s bowlers created few wicket-taking chances and struggled forconsistency, though Vaas did staunch the run flow in the second hour afterlunch. With Kulasekara short on pace, another edge fell short of slip andwent for four. And the hosts’ woes were compounded when Vaas missed arun-out chance with Manzoor on 65.Manzoor was content to leave a lot of deliveries and the bowlers obligedby bowling poor lines. By the tea interval, Sri Lanka had endured the firstbarren session of the series. When Sangakkara gave the ball to MahelaJayawardene after tea, it appeared to illustrate Sri Lankan despair, butonce Vaas returned, the game changed.A clearly nervous Manzoor poked at one that left him, and Yousuf was thenrun out off an overthrow after taking the single that had seen himcomplete 7000 runs. His 90 had spanned just 146 balls, and it was left tothe aggressive Malik and the more sedate Misbah to repair the damage. Onceagain, though, wickets falling in a heap undid much of the day’s good work.