Clinical Pakistan outplays Sri Lanka in the 3rd ODI- Sri Lanka v Pakistan 3rd ODI match review

Clinical Pakistan outplays Sri Lanka in the 3rd ODI- Sri Lanka v Pakistan 3rd ODI match review: The belligerent Pakistani team triumphed to a massive victory of 135 runs in the 3rd ODI match against Sri Lanka at Colombo. Now, the 5 match ODI bilateral series is headed by the visiting Pakistan team 2-1. In reply to an improbable target of 317 runs, the home team got bundled out for 181 runs. The new majestic man of Pakistan cricket- Yasir Shah again turned out to be wrecking force behind Sri Lanka’s downfall as he accumulated 4 wickets in the match which also included the crucial grabs of Matthews, Tharanga and T Perera.

Earlier, the Pakistani side had racked up a gigantic total of 316 runs on the board as almost all their batters put up a wonderful show upfront. The Sri Lankan bowlers lacked the depth and firepower in their attack and when the most lethal weapon- Lasith Mailinga concedes 80 runs in his full quota, such a total becomes inevitable.

The newly formed opening pair of Azhar Ali and Ahmed Shehzad nurtured a perfect platform for the middle order as by the end of the first 15 overs, they had already put up 88 runs on the board. Shehzad played freely in his favourite long-on and mid wicket region while Azhar also complemented him well as he rotated the strike on his will at ease.

Malinga broke the stand in the 17th over when he deceived Shehzad with his short ball while a slight error in communication between Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali led to the latter’s downfall in the 24th over. But, by the time the Pakistani skipper departed he had already stitched his name in golden letters in his country’s history as the fastest batsman to reach 1,000 runs in 0DI’s.

Then, the newposter boy of Pakistan cricket- Sarfaraz Ahmed proved to be the catalyst of the innings with his enchanting 74 balls 77 run knock. Sarfaraz partnered Mohammad Hafeez for 72 runs 3rd wicket stand. The left arm spinner Pathirana got better of Hafeez in the 36th over when he got him out for 54 runs Then, Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz propelled the Pakistani hopes with their brisk partnership of 61 runs in 46 balls for the 4th wicket.

In the slog overs, the pair of Mohmmad Rizwan and Malik launched a demolishing barrage of stroke play and that included severe hammering of the world’s best death over bowler- Malinga in the final over he conceded as many as four boundaries. The home side had affected two run outs out of the four wickets which reflect their plight in the bowling department. At 316/4, Pakistan had already won one facet of the match but the final hammering on the nail was yet to be unleashed.

When the Sri Lankan openers stepped out to bat, they knew the task was stiff. Although, Sri Lankan openers Dilshan and M Perera started off steadily but they lost their openers in quick succession and were left reeling at 42-2. The lanky Pakistani pacer Anwar Ali got rid of the openers with his well crafted slower balls which was beyond the imagination of both Dilshan and then Perera.

Thirimanne was the lone Sri Lankan warrior as wickets kept tumbling on the other end. The new leg-spin sensation of the world- Yasir Shah continued his merry run with the ball as he first deceived Upul Tharanga with his flight in the 15th over and then Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Matthews played a rash shot in the 19th over when he stepped out to milk Shah out of the ground to only hand over a catch to Shoaib Malik on the long-off boundary. And then Imad Warsi and Rahat Ali grabbed the prized scalps of Chandimal and Thirimanne respectively to dash out even slight possibilities of a victory.

But, then a havoc incident occurred in the 33rd over of the match wherein there was an interruption in the match when some supporters on the ground hurled stones on a Pakistani player. Fortunately, after some time the match resumed with Pakistan only three wickets away from getting a 2-1 lead. Then, it was a matter of only few overs as the Pakistani team wrapped up the Sri Lankan innings on 181 runs and thereby inflicted their fourth biggest ODI win over the Sri Lankan side.

Man Of the Match– Sarfaraz Ahmed

Brief scores:

Pakistan– 316/4 (Sarfaraz Ahmed 77 runs, S Pathirana 1/49) won by 135 runs.

Sri Lanka– 181 All-out ( H Thrimanne 56 runs, Yasir Shah 4/29)