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Sri Lanka thwart Pakistan by 7 wickets in 3rd ODI at Dambulla to clinch series

Sri Lanka won the three match ODI series by 2-1 against Pakistan at Dambulla on Saturday.

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Sri lankan players celebrate after picking up a wicket © AFP (File Photo)
Sri lankan players celebrate after picking up a wicket © AFP (File Photo)

By Rajarshi Majumdar

Aug 30, 2014

Sri Lanka registered a massive victory over Pakistan by seven wickets and with 178 balls to spare in the final One-Day International (ODI) of the three-match series at Dambulla on Saturday. Pakistan never really looked in control at any point in this match. Sri lanka were allowed to get off to a flier. Both the Sri Lankan openers rampaged the Pakistani bowling attack. In spite of the inclusion of Saeed Ajmal, Pakistan suffered this embarrasing defeat. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews finished things of for Sri Lanka.

Upul Tharanga and Dilshan really took on the Pakistani pacers right from the onset. The body language of the Pakistani players did not look good from the moment when they stepped out on the field during the second innings. It looked like as if they had given up already. They succumbed to the pressure created by the Sri Lankan players from the very first ball of this match. The only aspect that could have saved Pakistan was the rains. There was a slight pause in the game because of the rains. But it did not last for long.

Saeed Ajmal could have bowled within the batting powerplay but unfortunately he was brought into the attack way too late. But it would not have mattered much as the Lankan batsmen were right on top. Wahab Riaz showed some promise but it was all for a lost cause. He picked up the wicket of kumar Sangakkara in the 10th over. Dilshan looked in good touch for the first time in the series as he got out way too cheaply in the first two ODIs. Jayawardene looked solid too alongside Dilshan.

Earlier in the day, a good all-round performance from Sri Lanka demolished Pakistan for 102 runs in 32.1 overs in the third and final One-Day International (ODI) at Dambulla on Saturday. The pitch looked like a belter initially but Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq misread the pitch and chose to bat. Angelo Mathews said during the toss that it did not matter to them whether they bat first or second they just needed to play cricket and so the did. Thisara Perera was outstanding right from the onset. He picked up four wickets and was equally good in the outfield. Pakistan kept on losing wickets at regular intervals.

The conditions looked a little overcast but it was a good pitch to bat on. There was a steep breeze blowing across the ground. The Lankan bowlers did an excellent job to hold on to their respective actions and pitch all the balls in good length areas. Dhammika Prasad generated some serious pace and bounce. He only gave away 25 runs in his first spell and picked up two wickets. Lasith Malinga was on song as well. He picked up the all important wicket of Mohammad Hafeez.

Fawad Alam fought a lone battle as he read the conditions well and kept on ticking the scoreboard but he never got the support from the other end that was required. The Lankans were brilliant on the field and never let anything slip. Malinga and Prasad set it up nicely for Sri Lanka initially. Pakistani batsmen were never comfortable with the short pitch deliveries and Sri Lankan exposed their weakness and ran through the bating line up.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 102 in 32.1 overs ( Ahmed Shehzad 10, Misbah-ul-Haq 18, Fawad Alam 38*; Dhammika Prasad 2 for 25, Thisara Perera 4 for 29) lost to Sri Lanka 104 for 3 in 18.2 (Tillakaratne Dilshan 50*, Mahela Jayawardene 26; Mohammad Irfan 1 for 37) by 7 wickets.

Man of the Match: Thisara Perera

Man of the Series: Thisara Perera

Photo Gallery of the match

Full Scorecard

Complete coverage of Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka 2014 here

(Rajarshi Majumdar is a reporter at CricketCountry. He played cricket for all age levels under the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for over 12 years. Apart from cricket he is an avid follower of football, supports Manchester United and a foodie at heart.)

 

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