Nissanka, spinners shine as Sri Lanka blunt Pakistan before Asia Cup final

DUBAI: Pathum Nissanka smashed a powerful 55 off 48 after spinners wreaked havoc on Pakistan’s batting line to claim a comprehensive five-wicket win over the Green Shirts on Thursday as the two side gear up for the Asia Cup final on Sunday.

Hasaranga de Silva remained impressive with the ball in the final encounter of the Super Four stage as he bagged three crucial wickets along with Maheesh Theekshana who claimed two, to restrict Pakistan to a paltry total of 121 after they were put to bat.

“I have come back strong with some good quality wickets, so happy. I tried bowling dot balls in first few overs, that’s why the three wickets came,” said Player of the match, Hasaranga in a post-match presentation.

Opener Nissanka starred with a blistering knock despite the initial blows early on in the chase as Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf took wickets each in the first two overs.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa combined excellently with Nissanaka as the two stood firm for a valiant 51-run partnership after Sri Lanka were restricted to 29/3 in the fifth over.

Rajapaksa scored 24 off 19 before he fell prey to Usman Qadir in the 12th over. Skipper Dasun Shanaka, then contributed with a quick 21 off 16 and took the side towards a comfortable position in the game before Hasnain dismissed him in the 17th over.

Hasaranga, on the other hand, blasted two boundaries in the same over to finish the proceedings.

For Pakistan, Hasnain and Rauf bagged two wickets each while Usman Qadir had a wicket to his credit.

Earlier, Pakistan went for a dismal start to their innings as opener Mohammad Rizwan fell cheaply on 14 in the fourth over. None of the batters impressed with skipper Babar Azam, top scoring for the side with his cautious knock of 30 off 29.

“Our batting wasn’t up to the mark after the powerplay. We couldn’t build on from there,” said skipper Babar after the match.

Despite a valiant knock by Nawaz, late in the order,  as he smashed 26 off 18, Pakistan lost the last five wickets for the addition of mere 31 runs.

For Sri Lanka, apart from Hasaranga and Theekshana, right-arm pacer Pramod Madushan claimed two wickets while Chamika Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva made a scalp apiece.

Nissanka, spinners shine as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by five wickets

Pathum Nissanka shone with a powerful knock of unbeaten 55 off 48 to steer Sri Lanka towards a comfortable win over Pakistan by five wickets in Asia Cup Super Four stage encounter 

SL 124/5 (17 Over)

16.2: Shanaka gone. Slower ball does the trick and once again two Pakistan fielders nearly collide while taking a catch.

Hasnain to bowl his third over

SL 107/4 (16 Over)

Hasan Ali back into attack

SL 103/4 (15 Over)

Haris Rauf replaces Nawaz

SL 92/4 (14 Over)

Usman Qadir continues to bowl his last over

SL 87/4 (13 Over)

Nawaz to bowl his final over

SL 83/4 (12 Over)

11.3: Bhanuka Rajapaksa gone. The wristspinner breaks the 51-run partnership. Tosses it up, just outside off. Rajapaksa tries the slog sweep against the googly, but he’s only got the elevation.

Usman Qadir continues

SL 73/3 (11 Over)

Nawaz continues with his third

SL 68/3 (10 Over)

Usman continues

SL 57/3 (9 Over)

Nawaz continues

SL 53/3 (8 Over)

Usman Qadir joins Nawaz from the other end

SL 45/3 (7 Over)

Nawaz comes into attack

SL 37/3 (6 Over) 

Hasan Ali continues

SL 29/3 (5 Over) 

4.6: Good length ball angling into middle stump and de Silva has to offer a shot before he expected it. Tries to punch it leg side but the ball hits the face of the bat and goes high up in the air for mid off to run in and take the catch. 147kph, de Silva was definitely surprised by how quickly it got to him

Haris Rauf to bowl his second

SL 22/2 (4 Over) 

Hasan Ali comes into attack

SL 7/2 (3 Over) 

Hasnain continues

SL 3/2 (2 Over) 

1.2: Gunathilaka tried to set the tone by hitting a cut square, but the extra bounce induces the edge and Rizwan snaps this up! And he’s displayed some mega air time diving to his left

Haris Rauf to bowl from the other end

SL 2/1 (1 Over) 

0.2: The aggressive Kusal Mendis pokes at a short-ish ball that was seaming away from him. Played away from his body, takes the edge, and it floats into the hands of first slip.

Mohammad Hasnain to open the bowling attack for Pakistan. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis to open Sri Lankan batting

PAKISTAN VS SRI LANKA (2nd INNING)

Spinners wreaked havoc on Pakistan batting line as Sri Lanka restricted the Green Shirts to 121 in the first innings of the Asia Cup 2022 Super Four encounter

PAK 121/9 (19 Over)

18.5: Mohammad Nawaz run out. Goes back and across, pulls this to deep midwicket, and risks a second. Nawaz dives in, but he falls short. Lovely throw on the top of the stumps

Madushanka continues to bowl the second last over

PAK 110/8 (18 Over)

17.5: Qadir tries the big slog sweep here but this is an offbreak that turns away from him outside off, and he gets a massive top edge to deep midwicket

Theekshana to bowl his last over

PAK 102/7 (17 Over)

Madushanka back into the attack

PAK 95/7 (16 Over)

15.6: Hasan shuffles across to try the big sweep, but is nowhere near the pitch, gets a massive top edge to be caught at deep square leg

Theekshana comes back to bowl 16th

PAK 91/6 (15 Over)

14.6: Hasaranga castles Asif Ali. He has picked the wrong’un, looks to play Hasaranga out, but the ball doesn’t turn as much and beats his outside edge to hit the off stumps

14.5: Hasaranga strikes right back. He shortens the length this time, Iftikhar still tries the slog-sweep, and might have connected still, but the ball stays low and deflects off his pad onto the wicket

Hasaranga to bowl his last

PAK 84/4 (14 Over)

13.3:  Khushdil skips down the wicket, but not quite to its pitch, and the ball turns too. Gets the toe end and skies it to long-on

Dhananjaya de Silva to bowl his final over

PAK 80/3 (13 Over)

Theekshana comes back to bowl his second

PAK 78/3 (12 Over)

Dhananjay de Silva back into the attack

PAK 74/3 (11 Over)

10.4: Babar sees the legbreak all right, goes down the track, swings across the line, but the ball just goes straight on to get him bowled

Hasaranga continues

PAK 66/2 (10 Over)

9.2: Fakhar picks the biggest part of the ground.  Seems like a decent hit, and perhaps would have been six from the other end. Here he finds deep this, Hasaranga, who times his leap to perfection

Chamika Karunaratne to bowl his first

PAK 62/1 (9 Over)

Hasaranga continues

PAK 60/1 (8 Over)

Dhananjaya to bowl the 8th

PAK 53-1 (7 Over)

Hasaranga comes into attack

PAK 49-1 (6 Over)

Madushan continues

PAK 34-1 (5 Over)

Dhananjaya de Silva joins the attack

PAK 34-1 (4 Over)

3.3: First wicket for Madushan. Wide length ball, gets some swing away, Rizwan has had enough half-hits, he is going for the big one, but the swing undoes him. Starts off thinking he will go over mid-off, but the swing means he is dragging it. All he manages is a top edge to short fine leg

Pramodh Madushan comes into attack

PAK 25-0 (3 Over)

Madushanaka continues

PAK 19-0 (2 Over)

Maheesh Theekshana to bowl from the other end

PAK 11-0 (1 Over)

Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam come out to open for Pakistan, Madushanka to bowl first over

PAKISTAN VS SRI LANKA (1ST INNING)

DUBAI: Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first against Pakistan in the Super Four stage encounter of Asia Cup 2022.

PLAYING XIs

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (C) , Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Pramodh Madushan

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches-21, Pakistan-13, Sri Lanka-8

Sri Lanka win toss, opt to bowl first against Pakistan in Asia Cup Super Four

DUBAI: Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first against Pakistan in the Super Four stage encounter of Asia Cup 2022. 

The two team will also lock horns in the final on Sunday.

PLAYING XIs

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Usman Qadir, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (C) , Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Parmodh Madushan

Pakistan Test team returns to the country after Sri Lanka tour

LAHORE: Pakistan Test team on Friday landed in the country via Dubai after the conclusion of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

According to the details, Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam, alongside Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Ali Agha, Azhar Ali, and Shan Masood reached Allama Iqbal International Airport here.

Pakistan speedster Hairs Rauf, leg-spinner Yasir Shah, and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, on the other hand, landed at Islamabad International Airport.

Whereas, former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Fawad Alam, and Saud Shakeel reached Jinnah Terminal, Karachi on Friday morning.

Pakistan right-arm pacer, Hasan Ali, however, will be staying in Dubai, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed.

It is pertinent to mention here that Sri Lanka thrashed Pakistan by 246 runs in the second Test to level the two-match Test series 1-1. Following a humiliating defeat in the last test of the series, the Green Shirts have slipped to fifth in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.

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Sri Lanka reclaim third spot as Pakistan slip to fifth in WTC standings

DUBAI: Sri Lanka have replaced Pakistan to regain the third spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings following their remarkable 246-run victory over the national team in the second Test at Galle on Thursday.

According to International Cricket Council’s (ICC) latest released WTC standings, Sri Lanka improved its position in the table to bolster its chances of appearing in the next year’s World Test Championship final between the top two teams in the standings.

Meanwhile, Pakistan slipped two places to fifth position from third after the crushing defeat in the second Test.

Following their incredible four-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first Test, Pakistan had earlier clinched the third spot.

The recent reshuffle in the WTC standings also witnessed West Indies dropping one spot to the sixth while India maintained its fourth position.

Whereas, South Africa continue to top the standings followed by Australia sitting in the second spot.

READ: Sri Lanka trounce Pakistan by 246 runs in second Test to level series 1-1

Sri Lanka trounce Pakistan by 246 runs in second Test to level series 1-1

GALLE: Sri Lanka redeemed in the second Test to level the series 1-1 as they defeated Pakistan by 246 runs on the final day, here on Thursday.

Spinner Prabath Jayasuriya stormed through the batting line as he bagged his fourth five-wicket haul in the six innings he played so far, aiding his side to knock down Pakistan for 261.

Set to chase a mammoth 508-run target, Pakistan displayed a dismal batting show in the second innings after they were bowled out for 231 in the first to put Sri Lanka ahead in the game.

While the team lost nine wickets on the final day to end the game in the second session, captain Babar Azam shone with his defiant knock of 81 off 146 before Jayasuriya dismissed him in a leg-before wicket.

Spinner Ramesh Mendis had the first breakthrough for Sri Lanka as he got rid of opener Imam-ul-Haq – one short of his half-century – early in the day.

Pakistan started the final day’s play with an overnight score of 89/1 and added only eight runs before Imam’s departure.

Wicket-keeper Batter Mohammad Rizwan then combined excellently with the skipper for a third-wicket partnership of 79 runs and taking the scoreboard from 97 to 176.

However, Jayasuriya dismantled the strong-looking partnership when he bowled out Rizwan after he played 37 run-knock off 69 balls, laced with six boundaries.

Following Rizwan’s dismissal, Pakistan lost two more wickets in quick succession as left-handed batter Fawad Alam fell cheaply on one after a disappointing run-out. Whereas, Agha Salman offered his wicket to Jayasuriya just before Lunch on a mere 4 runs.

However, Pakistan’s tailenders seemed completely helpless in front of Sri Lanka’s fierce spin attack as the team lost the last five wickets for a meagre addition of 41 runs.

Following Babar’s dismissal on a 205-run total after Lunch, Mohammad Nawaz fell in the next over for 12 by Mendis. Yasir Shah was on 27 off 24 before handing his wicket to Jayasuriya to complete his five-wicket haul.

Hasan Ali was bowled out on 11 off 10 while he attempted to sweep Mendis, whereas, Naseem Shah offered his wicket to the same bowler to wrap up Pakistan’s innings.

For Sri Lanka, besides Jayasuriya’s sublime run with the bowl, Mendis took four wickets to lead his team to a clinical win in the second Test

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Babar Azam rises to third in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings

DUBAI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam got the reward for his outstanding performance in the first Test against Sri Lanka as he moved a spot up to claim the third spot in the updated ICC Test Batting Rankings.

Babar, who dreamt of becoming the top-ranked across all three formats, moved a step closer to the rankings trilogy as he claimed the third position in the Test batting rankings.

The right-handed batter already holds the top spot in both ODIs and T20Is.

 

Whilst Babar aims to lead the charts in the supreme format of the game but still trails England’s Joe Root, who holds the top spot with 923 rating points; 49 points clear of Babar.

The Pakistan captain, who scored a gritty 119 runs in the first inning of the first Test against Sri Lanka, replaced veteran Australian batter Steve Smith at the third spot and moved 26 points ahead of him.

Babar is 11 ratings behind Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne, ranked second. He is also the only batter to feature inside the top three across all formats.

READ: Dhananjaya falls after century as Sri Lanka set Pakistan to chase 508

Babar, Imam stand firm before bad light forces early stumps on Day 4

GALLE: Pakistan captain Babar Azam and left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq appeared firm after an early dismissal of last match hero Abdullah Shafique as they took the visitors to 89/1 while chasing a mammoth 508 before the bad light forced early stumps on the fourth day.

Only six overs could be bowled in the final session of the fourth day as the bad light halted the action while Babar and Imam were carrying the run chase for Pakistan. The umpires, after multiple inspections, then called it a day as they removed the bails; indicating the early stumps.

Pakistan, who have a mountain to climb as they need to pull off the highest-ever run chase in Tests to seal the second Test, finished at 89/1; needing further 419 runs.

Left-handed opener Imam remained the top-scorer for the visitors with an unbeaten 46, while skipper Babar scored 26 not-out on 38 deliveries.

Set to chase a mammoth 508, the visitors had a rather unwanted start to their campaign as they lost their opener and last match hero Abdullah at a combined score of 42.

Pakistan openers appeared steady and were cruising at a decent pace before Sri Lanka top spinner Prabath Jayasuriya claimed his first wicket as he removed Abdullah for 16, who faced 51 deliveries and smashed three boundaries.

Pakistan’s dependable pair of Babar and Imam then took the responsibility and added 29 runs for the second wicket and made sure the touring side do not lose further wickets before the Tea break.

Imam remained unbeaten on 40, while Babar scored a quick 14 not-out on 18 deliveries.

After enjoying a delightful first session of the fourth day, Sri Lanka added a crucial 67 runs to their total to set a massive target for the visitors at the back of an astonishing century from de Silva.

The right-handed batter put on another valiant partnership for his team as he added 82 runs for the eighth wicket with the help of Ramesh Mendis, who chipped in with an unbeaten 45 off 55 balls, laced with five boundaries.

The Sri Lankan called off their innings after their top-scorer de Silva fell as a result of a mix-up between the wickets and a direct hit from Yasir. He scored 109 off 171 balls with the help of 16 boundaries.

For Pakistan, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Nawaz claimed two wickets each, while Yasir, Salman Ali Agha, and Nauman Ali made one scalp each.

Earlier, the home side, resuming at an overnight score of 176/5, enjoyed a delightful session as they added 121 runs for the loss of two wickets in the opening session of the fourth day.

Sri Lanka captain Karunaratne and all-rounder de Silva showed no signs of rusting as they carried the momentum to give their side a solid start at the commencement of the day.

The duo appeared solid and neutralized the threat posed by the Pakistan bowlers and added 67 runs before Nauman made his first scalp to remove Karunaratne, who scored 61 off 105 deliveries with the help of three boundaries.

Right-handed batter de Silva, on the other hand, looked unaffected from the dismissal as he joined hands with the tailender Dinuth Wellalage to put on an important 35-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

Wellalage displayed grit in the course of his outstanding 18-run knock but Nawaz removed him via a caught behind and caused the hosts to slip at 278/7.

Pakistan bowlers then remained unable to pounce on the breakthrough as the hosts added a further 19 runs before the Lunch break to finish at a commanding 297/7.

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Pakistan strike five wickets while Sri Lanka raise 323-run lead on Day 3

GALLE: Pakistan struck with five crucial wickets to derail Sri Lanka’s ascension in the second Test while the home team maintained a commanding lead of 323 runs over the visitors in the second innings on the third day, here on Tuesday. 

Pakistan bowlers rebounded in the second and the final sessions of the day to reduce the hosts to 176/5 before umpires called it a day due to bad light.

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and all-rounder Dhanjaya De Silva anchored the Sri Lankan innings in the last session after they were struggling at 117/5 following Dinesh Chandimal’s departure.

The pair cemented their position on the crease with a valiant sixth-wicket partnership of 59 runs and remained firm on the respective scores of 27 and 30, till the end of the day’s play.

Sri Lanka, however,  underwent a dismal start to their second inning as they lost both of their openers on a mere 47-run total.

Naseem Shah had the first breakthrough for Pakistan as he dismissed wicket-keeper batter Niroshan Dickwella on 15 while Osahada Fernando fell prey to Yasir Shah after he scored 19 runs.

Kusal Mendis followed the suit and went back to the pavilion after his 30-ball knock of 15 runs as left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz removed him in a leg-before wicket.

All-rounder Agha Salman, however, got rid of strong-looking Angelo Mathew on 35 after he raised a 41-run fifth-wicket partnership along with Dinesh Chadimal.

Naseem grabbed his second wicket when he dismissed in-form Chadimal in a caught-behind wicket to end his 21-run knock.

On the hand, Yasir, Salman and Nawaz struck out a batter each.

Earlier, in the first session, spinner Ramesh Mendis completed a five-wicket haul while Prabath Jayasuriya bagged three as Sri Lanka bowled out Pakistan for 231 in the first innings to bolster their position in the second Test.

Pakistan tail enders Yasir Shah and Hasan Ali put up a brief resistance to move the total to  223 from the overnight score of 191 before Sri Lankan spinners rebounded and picked three back-to-back wickets for just 8 more runs.

Yasir and Hasan managed an eighth-wicket partnership of 32 runs before Jayasuriya knocked down the latter on 21 runs to force the tail-enders to collapse.

Ramesh then sent Nauman Ali and Yasir back to the pavilion to pack up Pakistan’s innings with his third five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

The leg-spinner played a defiant knock of 97 balls for 26 runs before Ramesh removed him in a leg-before wicket.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan have a 1-0 lead in the series as they defeated the home side by four wickets in the first Test.

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Fawad Alam completes thousand runs in Test cricket

GALLE: Pakistan left-handed batter Fawad Alam has completed 1000 runs in the longest format of the game amid the second day’s play of the ongoing second Test.

Fawad, who came to bat in a challenging phase for his team as Pakistan were struggling at 65/3, having lost their top batters Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique, and Imam-ul-Haq, provided a moment to cherish for the visitors as he amassed a thousand-run mark in Test cricket.

The left-handed batter, however, could not stay for long at the crease to pull the visitors out of trouble as he could only score 24 runs off 69 balls before Ramesh Mendis trapped him in the legs briefly after Tea.

In the course of his brief inning, the southpaw amassed an important milestone for his career, that remained inconsistent as he was dropped from the side after playing a mere two Tests before making his way back into the team after a gap of 11 years.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan have scored 171/6 in 59 overs and are still trailed by 207 runs.

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