Pakistan batting line-up crumbled against the weaker Sri Lankan bowling in the first Test match on Monday, despite restricting the opposition to a low total of 136.
After a commendable display in the first innings, Pakistani batsmen were not shy of disappointing the nation in the second innings to hand the Sri Lankan team a victory.
The match began with Sri Lanka winning the toss and deciding to bat first and put 419 on the scoreboard. The standout player was LD Chandimal who returned to pavilion not-out on 155.
Pakistan chased down the lead with style and swagger; a good opening partnership with solid middle and lower order performances enabled Pakistan to register a 3 run lead. Star performances came from Shan Masood, Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail — who scored 59, 85 and 76 respectively.
Yasir Shah delivered a remarkable five-wicket haul and restricted the Sri Lankan team to a total of 136.
It seemed as if Pakistan had already won, given how confidently the batsmen performed in the first innings. But that wasn’t to be.
Although Pakistan’s ability to choke in a winnable situations is truly commendable, but it is becoming rather gruesome sight for fans who travel from different countries to watch them disappoint so often.
Sri Lankan bowlers dismissed both the openers and the middle-order batsmen very cheaply and moved into a commanding position; Sami Aslam was sent back to pavilion after scoring 2 runs, Azhar Ali 0, Shaan Masood 7, Babar Azam 3 and Asad Shafiq for 20.
It seemed like a classic case of Pakistan-chase where the national team would deliver a heartbreak-like performance to begin with but in the end, would emerge victorious but that was not the case.
After the departure of the Pakistani skipper for 19, Haris Sohail took charge and managed to take Pakistan to a total of 98 before being caught LBW by Perera for 34 runs in the 38th over.
The tumbling of wickets in quick succession proved too devastating for the tail enders and they, too, could not hold on for long.
This is the first time since 20 years that Pakistan has been unable to chase a score under 150 runs since October 1997
The criticism might be unfair but it most certainly isn’t in this scenario.
For Sri Lanka, the star was Rangana Herath, who managed to secure 5 wickets in the first innings and 6 in the following; finishing with a phenomenal figures of 11 for 136 runs.
1st Innings:
2nd Innings:
Pictures: Cricinfo