Sri Lanka succumbed to their 11th straight defeat in ODIs as Pakistan chased down a target of 174 with 7 wickets in hand at Sharjah to take a 4-0 lead in the 5 match series.
Another day, another batting collapse. It has become a habit for the Lankans, a bad habit which they have failed to overcome in the last year or so. With only one batsman going pass the 30-run mark on a good batting deck, there is clearly something wrong in the batting department for the islanders.
With a target of just 174 runs to get, Pakistan had a nervous start. Lahiru Gamage was once again impressive but he was unlucky not to get more wickets under his name. The Pakistani openers failed but in-form Babar Azam steadied the ship to take the hosts home.
The right-hander looked untroubled right through and if there were more runs to get he would have surely gotten another ton under his name. Shoaib Malik also played vital role in taking Pakistan home.
The Sri Lankan bowling was on the mark throughout the most part of the innings. Akila Dhanajaya and Seekuge Prasanna bowled tight lines as did the seamers with the new ball. One would think if there was runs on the board, Lankans would have had sniff against the strong Pakistani side.
Early on in the game, Upul Tharanga won the toss for the third time this series. He made the right decision in batting first but he did not take part in run scoring as he was dismissed for a duck by debutant Usman Khan. Dickwella showed glimpses of his free-flowing batting but he also fell for a brisk 22.
Dinesh Chandimal timed the ball well but he gifted away his wicket after a confusion in the middle with Lahiru Thirimanne. The collapse began from there as Sadeera Samarawickrama went for duck in his debut match and the rest fell in quick succession.
The only resistance for the Lankans was from Thirimanne. He started off slowly but he stuck in the crease unlike the rest of the batters. He found good support from Akila Dhananjaya and Suranga Lakmal but it did not prove to be enough in the end.
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