It
required Pakistan spirited performances by two young batsmen
to save itself from the humiliation of defeat against a Sri
Lankan line-up missing their captain Marvan Atapattu and ace
bowler Chaminda Vaas. Shoaib Malik struck his first test century
and Faisal Iqbal scored a resolute 60 as Pakistan saved the
test match, finishing at 377 for 4.
The
match started with an inspirational spell by Pakistani bowlers
as they held back Sri Lanka to five for 32. Mohammed Asif
was bang on target and Umar Gul supported him well as Pakistan
exploited the early morning conditions to the fullest. Asif
bowled probing lines outside off-stump and jagged the bowl
both ways from uncomfortable lengths. His early morning spell
had the batsmen dancing to his tunes as most of the top order
bats had little idea of how to face him. Gul was more forgiving,
spraying the ball early on but eventually settling into a
nice groove. But after the early morning session of wickets,
Inzamam reflected his laid back attitude by relaxing the pressure
after lunch, thereby allowing Sri Lanka to post a first innings
total of 185 runs.
Pakistan,
then, batted in the haphazard fashion they have been batting
recently. Batsmen threw away their wickets against an attack
that, except for Muttiah Muralitharan, can only be considered
half-decent at best. It is quite alarming to see Pakistan’s
batting deteriorate over the last couple of months, since
they were performing pretty steadily in the last season and
coming into the present season as well. The result was that
the visitors were bundled out for a paltry 176.
Sri
Lanka 2nd innings was a polished effort as they ended up on
446 for 5, on the back of a mammoth 185 by ‘keeper Kumar
Sangakarra. That target meant that Pakistan was always looking
for a draw and to do that, they had to bat more than a 100
overs. They lost two quick wickets yet again but Shoaib Malik
and Faisal Iqbal, both of whom are not certain starters in
the test line-up, thrived on the final day in extremely hot
and humid conditions. To overcome the Muralitharan-factor
required a lot of courage and composure, and the pair was
up for it.
Malik
cracked his maiden test ton on way to an unbeaten 148. His
innings was a classic test knock that highlighted his grit
and determination to do well for Pakistan in all forms of
the game. Faisal also showed once again that he has a matured
approach to his game. The way he used his feet against Muralitharan
was very enterprising. Some exciting aggression from Malik
in the final hour of play entertained an otherwise bored crowd.
Kumar Sangakkara was adjudged Man of the Match for his marathon
innings that took victory away from Pakistan’s hands.
The
next test match, for some inexplicable reason, will start
on Monday and Pakistan will have to bat with greater poise
if they want to harbour any hopes of winning the test match
and, thus, the series.
|
Rain washed
out the first day's play at SSC Colombo
Mohammed Asif
proved too hot to handle on the first morning
Kumar Sangakkara'
patient 185 put Sri Lanka into driving seat
Shoaib Malik's
gutsy batting in testing conditions saved Pakistan from defeat
|
