Matthews' brilliance steal series for Sri Lanka

Another sorry tale for Pakistan that lead to an exciting 2 wicket win for Srilanka. The match was built around  a brilliant innings from Angelo Mathews who stole the show with a match winning fifty. With 15 needed of the last over, chances were tilted towards Pakistan but Mohammad Sami bowled a disastrous 2nd ball of the over (the first ball being a wide and 2 being taken of the legitimate first ball) that was taken for six straight over the head of the bowler.

Pakistan selection came under scrutiny when they left out ace off-spinner Saeed Ajmal out for Mohammad Sami and that came out to be the difference in the end. While poor ground-fielding produced the reprieves towards the end of the innings, it combined with poor catching in the first half. Misfields and a ball kicked for four in the outfield preceded a straightforward catch dropped off Kumar Sangakkara on 25 by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. The run that lapse conceded brought about a half-century stand between Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal. It had helped Sri Lanka recover from two early blows inflicted by Tanvir, who castled Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga. Even though Sarfraz reacted sharply to run out Sangakkara for 36, the Pakistani heads continued to sink in their hands as the fielding woes didn't stop.

Pakistan replaced an experienced Younis Khan with Imran Farhat, who opened the batting and delivered to make a fluent fifty, with shots relying heavily on wristwork and backed up with flourish. He built a solid partnership with Ali, who then formed a steady association with Asad Shafiq. Each of the three batsmen, however, gave their wickets away - Farhat and Ali were caught off avoidable shots while a moment's hesitation for a single accounted for Shafiq.

Umar Akmal gave the innings impetus with his attacking, unbeaten 55. He thrice flicked Lasith Malinga past short fine, struck Perera for two sixes and promised to take Pakistan past 260. At 220 for 6 in the 44th over, that was well within reach. Akmal was picking Malinga's slower ones, but that changed soon as the seamer got his yorkers on the mark. Akmal made room, moved across, swung hard, tried to scoop, but Malinga had the better of the contest at the death. His thrift ensured Akmal managed only nine runs off his last 19 balls, and Pakistan just 27 off the last six overs. It would hurt Pakistan in the end, but not as much as their fielding. 

There had been several mini-conferences between overs, parallel discussions between fielders, all summing up Pakistan's struggle to close the lid despite climbing to positions of advantage. The run-outs of Thisara Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne deprived Mathews of two capable partners, but Pakistan were in for a surprise soon when Mathews ceded floor to Mendis, who kickstarted the counterattack.

Just when the required-rate had gone past nine an over in the 44th, Mendis smashed Sohail Tanvir's slower ball for six over long-on before driving and glancing Umar Gul for two boundaries. Tanvir eventually got rid of Mendis, but Kulasekara hung on, even collecting a fortuitous boundary past third man off Sami. The pair of Kulasekara and Mathews knocked off six singles in the penultimate over, leading up to Mathews' final surge in the 50th that included another missed run-out.  

STATS FROM THE MATCH

• Sri Lanka's two-wicket win is their narrowest margin of victory against Pakistan (in terms of wickets). It also equals their closest win in terms of the number of balls remaining (two balls).
• The target of 248 is also the highest chased by Sri Lanka in ODIs against Pakistan at the Premadasa stadium. Overall, it is the third-highest target chased by any team at the venue.
• The series win is Sri Lanka's third in their last four series (bilateral series) against Pakistan. Their previous two series wins were 2-1 in Pakistan (2009) and 3-2 in Sri Lanka (2009).
• Angelo Mathews' 80 is the highest score in a chase by a Sri Lankan batsman against Pakistan at the Premadasa stadium and the third-highest for them against Pakistan at the venue.
• Mathews' strike rate of 105.26 is the highest for a Sri Lankan for a fifty-plus score against Pakistan at the venue.
• Umar Akmal's half-century is his 15th in ODIs and fifth against Sri Lanka. He averages 51.27 against Sri Lanka while his overall average is 38.48.
• This is the fifth occasion that Mahela Jayawardene has been dismissed for a first-ball duck.
• Mohammad Sami conceded 75 runs off 9.4 overs. This is fourth-highest on the list of most runs conceded by a Pakistan bowler against Sri Lanka and the highest by a Pakistan bowler in Sri Lanka.