The duo of Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews, the Josephian mafia shone once again as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 77 runs in the 2nd ODI match at Hambanthota to level the 3-match series 1-1.
Thisara Perera excelled with the bat and the ball for the hosts as he pummelled 65 runs in 36 balls to help Sri Lanka go past 300 and captured 3 vital wickets while his skipper and college mate Angelo Mathews bettered his highest ODI score as he scored a valuable 93 runs to anchor the Lankan innings.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first on a dry Hambanthota surface and they brought in leg-spinner Seekuge Prasanna for the out-of-form Dinesh Chandimal. Sri Lanka lost TM Dilshan early on in their innings as he was controversially caught behind by Umar (need to explain controversy)Akmal off Junaid Khan in the 2nd over. Kumar Sangakkara and Upul Tharanga steadily put on 37 runs for the 2nd wicket before the great Lankan batsman pulled a short ball straight to Sohaib Maqsood giving Wahab his 2nd wicket. Tharanga’s weakness outside the off stump was once again showcased as he poked an out-swinging delivery of Riaz in the 11th over as Sri Lanka were 61 for 3 when Mahela Jayawardena and Angelo once again got together to reconstruct the innings.
Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene (C) is watched by Pakistani wicketkeeper Umar Akmal (L) as he plays a shot during the second One Day International (ODI) match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan
Mathews and Jayawardene proved their mettle as they built the innings perfectly scoring boundaries off the loose balls and taking the occasional singles to counter-attack the Pakistani bowlers. Effortless batting by both batsmen saw Sri Lanka reviving the innings as put on a brilliant 122-run stand for the 4th wicket before Mahela was bowled by Hafeez attempting a cut shot and his 74-ball knock of 67 was ended just before the batting power play was due. Sri Lanka lost pinch-hitter Seekuge Prasanna and Ashan Priyanjan in quick succession as both right-handers were trapped LBW by Hafeez as Pakistan came back to take control of the match restricting the Lankans to 194 for 6 with only 12 overs left of the innings.
Thisara Perera joined his skipper Mathews and the pair paced the final 10 overs in an extraordinary manner as they demolished the Pakistani bowlers. Mathews was conservative as he gave Perera the opportunity to free his arms and he did just the right thing by smashing a match-winning 65 runs in 36 deliveries as Sri Lanka rocketed to 310 for 9 in 50 overs. Unfortunately Angelo Mathews perished at 93 as he is still unable to score a three-figure knock in the ODI format despite regularly notching up big scores. Pakistan’s death bowling was futile as they leaked 80 runs in the final 6 overs.
A 300+ has never been chased in Sri Lanka and chasing a daunting target of 311 in 50 overs was always difficult for the Pakistani batsmen. Sharjeel Khan was the first to be dismissed as he lobbed an on-drive straight to Herath off Lasith Malinga for 9 in the 4th over. Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammed Hafeez batted with extreme ease as they punished the Lankan bowlers at their will putting on 98 runs in 87 balls for the 2nd wicket as Pakistan were on course for another record chase.
Sri Lanka’s cricketer Seekuge Prasanna delivers a ball during 2nd One Day International between Sri Lanka and Pakistan
Lankan spinners came to the party with the dismissal of Hafeez for 62 as they tightened the screws on the visitors. Dilshan chipped in with the wicket of daring Umar Akmal as Sri Lanka came back into the match. Sangakkara pulled off another fascinating catch like in the 1st ODI (need to explain here)as Shehzad’s lap sweep found the Lankan wicket-keeper’s gloves as Pakistan lost their 4th wicket when the score was 147. Misbah played a rash shot off Rangana Herath as the batting power-play back-fired on the Pakistanis as their skipper was dismissed for 36. Herath took the prized scalp of their 1st ODI match-winner Maqsood for 9 as Pakistan were in a spot of bother at 202/6. Mathews used all his 2 main spinners and 2 part-time spinners effectively to claim 5 wickets and bowl 28 overs.
Man of the Match Perera returned for his 2nd spell at the completion of the batting power-play and intelligently made Afridi loft an outside the off-stump delivery straight to the deep cover fielder Nuwan Kulasekara as Pakistan were going down the barrel in no time. In his next over, Perera dismissed Wahab Riaz and Fawad Alam in successive deliveries and Malinga fittingly bowled Junaid Khan in the 44th over of the innings as the innings was all wrapped-up with 37 balls to spare.
