SLNEWS
Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 4th ODI, Colombo
Perera hat-trick stuns Pakistan
The Report by Abhishek Purohit
June 16, 2012
Sri Lanka 243 for 8 (Sangakkara 97, Jayawardene 40, Hafeez 2-37, Tanvir 2-43) beat Pakistan 199 (Ali 81*, Misbah 57, Perera 4-42) by 44 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
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News : Jayawardene credits Malinga for turnaround
Features : One over, four wickets
Series/Tournaments:
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Pakistan have been abysmal chasers in recent years in ODI cricket. Three
hours of accumulation offered hope that tonight wouldn't end in another
failed pursuit. And then, as if all the accumulation had stretched
their patience too taut, the dam broke. From 166 for 2 chasing 244,
Pakistan disintegrated to 179 for 9. In less than four overs. Thisara Perera
followed up his 6 for 44 in the second ODI with a hat-trick. Pakistan
registered six ducks, and their 15th defeat in 18 chases of 240-plus in
the last three years.
In the end, the match was decided in the two batting Powerplays, with Sri Lanka surging in both. A cramping Azhar Ali,
who became the first player to carry his bat in ODIs in more than a
decade, and Misbah-ul-Haq had put on 113 for the third wicket, leaving
Pakistan with 78 to get from 76 deliveries. In the 37th over, the second
of the batting Powerplay, Misbah refused a tight single with Ali having
run more than half way up the pitch. The effort required to get back
worsened Ali's cramp, making it harder for him to accelerate, like Kumar Sangakkara had earlier after a similar slow fifty.
Three balls later, Misbah departed for an efficient 57, with Nuwan
Kulasekara taking a sharp low catch at mid-off off Lasith Malinga's
bowling. Umar Gul had put down a much easier chance at long-on off
Sangakkara, who went on to add 62 off 48. Malinga stepped it up after
Misbah's departure, pegging Umar Akmal back with three successive sharp
bouncers. Akmal drove at and edged his fourth, off Kulasekara, to the
wicketkeeper.
The fight had gone out of Pakistan. Younis Khan, held back till No. 6,
edged a rising Perera delivery to the keeper. Shahid Afridi either
explodes or implodes. He did the latter, punching his first ball to
extra cover. Sarfraz Ahmed obliged Perera with the hat-trick, guiding
him to slip. The persevering Ali was reduced to a spectator, all his
hard work undone in minutes of chaos.
Like Sri Lanka, Pakistan hadn't found run-scoring easy in the first half
of their chase, but Ali and Misbah kept the visitors going, taking
their team to 100 four overs earlier than Sri Lanka had.
Pakistan's top order continued its wobbly ways when Mohammad Hafeez
collected his fifth duck in his last 12 international innings, pulling
his fifth delivery from Malinga to long leg. Kulasekara kept Ali and
Asad Shafiq under pressure with a probing opening spell of five overs
for just 16 runs.
Still, like Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan had for Sri Lanka, Ali
and Shafiq ensured Pakistan weren't bogged down completely. It was the
left-arm spinner Sajeewa Weerakoon, bowling for the first time in
international cricket in his second ODI, who got the breakthrough with
his 10th delivery, trapping Shafiq in front on 25 with a slider. The
combination of Ali and Misbah was never going to blaze away, but it made
sure the asking-rate stayed below six, and under control, finding the
boundary just when required. Little did they know of the pandemonium
that was to ensue.
Not remotely on the same scale, but Pakistan had fallen apart in the
field too after being disciplined for more than three-fifths of Sri
Lanka's innings. Gul dropped Sangakkara off Afridi, when on 35 off 82
deliveries. Then came the batting Powerplay. Sangakkara carted 62 off
his last 48 deliveries, and Sri Lanka reached the kind of total Pakistan
have struggled to chase in recent years.
Till Sangakkara was put down in the 31st over, Sri Lanka had been tied
down, first by Pakistan's fast bowlers, and then by their spinners.
Sangakkara and Dilshan did add 55 for the second wicket, but they were
hard-earned runs, and Dilshan's departure immediately after the first
drinks break meant Sri Lanka had to continue with their cautious
approach. The absence of scoring opportunities consumed Dinesh Chandimal
as well, after which the expected rain came down to force a 70-minute
break.
Pakistan's spinners continued with the run-squeeze after the rain
interruption. The next few overs were quiet, but Sangakkara and Mahela
Jayawardene took complete charge in the batting Powerplay, which went
for 49. Gul, who was feeling some pain in his right index finger, was to
suffer the most. He had given just 16 off his first five overs; he
disappeared for 26 in two overs in the batting Powerplay. Sangakkara
stepped out to launch the first ball of Gul's second spell for a
straight six. When Gul overdid the bouncer in the next over, Sangakkara
pulled him for six more over fine leg.
Sangakkara dominated the 110-run fourth-wicket partnership with
Jayawardene, who played some innovative strokes. He was quick to
lap-sweep and sweep the spinners, and even reverse-pulled Saeed Ajmal
for four over point. Pakistan managed to dismiss the duo in the 44th and
45th overs to limit the damage, but most of it had already been
inflicted. Pakistan's self-destruction later sealed the issue.
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