Tillakaratne Dilshan took his chances and was successful again but Pakistan ought to have done their homework especially after the start he gave the Lankans in the first ODI. On the contrary, the Pakistani opening combination of Akhtar and Tanvir were fighting the enemy within – bowling no-balls and then trying to reduce the subsequent damage. While Dilshan went on the rampage, Pakistanis were lucky to get the big wickets of Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara - both had only themselves to blame. Jayasuriya was out hit-wicket while Sangakkara ran when there was no run. However, the bowling side could not stop the flow of runs. Dilshan either cut or pulled and occasionally tried his trademark smart strokes and on most occasions succeeded. But the Pakistani bowlers assisted him by feeding him with what he liked. He eventually fell for 76 in a similar manner to the first ODI – pulling one behind square. But as long as he succeeds more than fails, the Lankans wouldn’t be complaining.
At 165 for 3 in the 30th over, Pakistan had an opening to script yet another comeback with the struggling Mahela Jayawardene in next. But they were determined to let go of this opportunity as well. Earlier, Kamran Akmal had given a life to newcomer Thilina Kandamby putting down a tough chance of Shahid Afridi’s bowling. Kandamby went on to register a fluent half-century but more importantly allowed his skipper to find his groove. The two added some quick runs before Iftikhar Anjum, who impressed once again bowling a tight line and length, provided Pakistan with the breakthrough getting the wicket of Kandamby.
Jayawardene played a confident cameo before Umar Gul got into the act. He had the Lankan skipper caught behind. While Gul was impressive, he made the mistake of giving width to the batsmen in the end overs and Chamara Kapugedara took full advantage of it. Muralitharan too chipped in with a tennis-like hook if you can call it one. Gul ended with four wickets to go with his three in the first ODI but leaked runs at six and a half an over. This was particularly damaging as Tanvir and Akhtar fared worse going over seven.
Despite conceding 290, the Pakistanis would have been confident considering the assured manner in which they chased down 220 the previous day. But this was the bigger challenge and they were up against an upbeat side bolstered by tasting success with the bat. Nuwan Kulasekara, who has been the unsung hero of Sri Lankan cricket lately, came good again. He troubled batsmen with his incoming deliveries – trapping Khurram Manzoor leg before and having Younis Khan drag one back onto the stumps. Not long after Thilan Thushara had Misbah-ul-Haq caught behind of an unplayable outswinger. At 17 for 3, the match seemed headed for an early finish.
The in-form Salman Butt and skipper Shoaib Malik then came together and batted commendably well. They put on 108 at a brisk and gave their side a semblance of a chance. But both fell with the score on 125 and that was the beginning of the end for Pakistan. Malik was fooled by Murali doosra while Butt gifted his wicket away to Jayasuriya. Ajantha Mendis, who had a rare bad outing in the first match, then took the opportunity to get among the wickets. He picked up three in quick succession as the lower-order had no answer to his guile.
In the end, it was comprehensive win for Sri Lanka but one that could not have been possible without help from Pakistan. Where Lanka were bad, Pakistan were worse and that reflected in the result.
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