The 4th match of the SL-Pak match saw a sensational 91st over where brilliance of a hard working cricketer and some abysmal batting by Pakistan lead a turnaround that was not anticipated after Pakistan was very much in control for the first 90 overs of the match. Thisara Parera bowled a sensational 41st over of the Pakistan innings to claim 4 wickets, including a hat-trick and run out, to put the match in the bag for Sri Lanka.
The highlights of the match, other than Thisara Parera's hat trick, includes two partnerships from wither sides. Fist one was the Sangakkara-Mahela 110 run partnership that allowed Sri Lanka a competitive total for the match and other partnership was between a lesser Known Azhar Ali and Misbah-Ul- Haq 112 run stand that kept Pakistan as favorites for the first 40 overs. As mentioned by Misbah in the post match presentation "We need a six an over, and everything was under control. I don't know what happened after that."
Coming back to Pakistan batting, they have shown in the last year that its difficult for them to chase anything over 220. Their youngsters are not responding to the pressure situations. Even the experienced players are not rising up to the occasion. Fielding is a problem for them. The good thing for them is that they have a world class bowling attack that can continue for next 5 years. But there is lot to work upon in other aspects of the game.
With a 2-1 lead in the series and one match to go, SL would be looking for a win to seal the series while Pakistan would be looking for a equaliser. The Sri Lankan fans will be happy to see their ace batsmen Sangakkara and Mahela regaining form.
The highlights of the match, other than Thisara Parera's hat trick, includes two partnerships from wither sides. Fist one was the Sangakkara-Mahela 110 run partnership that allowed Sri Lanka a competitive total for the match and other partnership was between a lesser Known Azhar Ali and Misbah-Ul- Haq 112 run stand that kept Pakistan as favorites for the first 40 overs. As mentioned by Misbah in the post match presentation "We need a six an over, and everything was under control. I don't know what happened after that."
Coming back to Pakistan batting, they have shown in the last year that its difficult for them to chase anything over 220. Their youngsters are not responding to the pressure situations. Even the experienced players are not rising up to the occasion. Fielding is a problem for them. The good thing for them is that they have a world class bowling attack that can continue for next 5 years. But there is lot to work upon in other aspects of the game.
With a 2-1 lead in the series and one match to go, SL would be looking for a win to seal the series while Pakistan would be looking for a equaliser. The Sri Lankan fans will be happy to see their ace batsmen Sangakkara and Mahela regaining form.
STATS FROM THE MATCH
- Thisara Perera's hat-trick was the seventh by a Sri Lankan bowler and the first by a Sri Lankan against Pakistan. Lasith Malinga and Chaminda Vaas have taken three and two hat-tricks respectively.
- In the Pakistan innings, six batsmen were dismissed for a duck. This is the third such occurrence (six ducks in an innings) for Pakistan after Birmingham (1987) and Cape Town (1993).
- From a position of 169 for 3, Pakistan lost their next six wickets for ten runs. The partnership aggregate between the fourth and ninth wickets (13 runs) is the lowest ever for Pakistan and the third-lowest overall.
- Sri Lanka now have an even win-loss record (6-6) at the Premadasa stadium against Pakistan. Against India, they have won 15 matches, the most against a particular opposition at the venue.
- The 110-run stand between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene for the fourth wicket is their 13th century partnership in ODIs. Among Sri Lankan pairs, only the Sanath Jayasuriya-Marvan Atapattu one is ahead (14 century stands).
- Sangakkara was dismissed in the nineties for the third time in ODIs. It is also the ninth time a Sri Lankan batsman has fallen in the nineties against Pakistan.
- Azhar Ali became only the ninth player overall and the second Pakistan batsman after Saeed Anwar to carry his bat through a completed innings.
- The 113-run stand between Azhar and Misbah-ul-Haq is joint-fifth on the list of top third-wicket stands for Pakistan against Sri Lanka.
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