Tag PakvSL-2012

Pakistan won many matches last season but so far on this Sri Lankan tour, they're yet to turn up. After losing the ODI series, they had a terrible first day of test series and today wasn't any better either..

The start of the second day was a time when both teams needed to push it a little further. Pakistan had kept the pressure on since the first ball and got the deserving wicket of the Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene. Ajmal, who had got the two wickets yesterday, was ecstatic. With Samaraweera up next, Pakistan would need to take the fresh batsman out fast if they wanted to put some real heat on Lanka.

Ajmal, still riding his high after the captain’s wicket, almost got a hat-trick a couple of overs later, taking Samaraweera and fresh batsman Angelo Mathews’ wickets in two consecutive balls. He couldn’t finish the triplet but nevertheless, the Lankans had finally gotten a taste of the pressure.

Prasanna Jayawardene and Sangakkara took their team into lunch with a considerably slow pace after losing those quick wickets. Sri Lanka were 366 for 5. After the break, the pressure would shift regularly between the two teams, but Lanka pushed on and in the 130th over, Sangakkara got his 15th 150 and 400 runs for the team with one single.

After Prasanna Jayawardene fell (disappointingly, at 48), there was not much the Lankan batsmen could offer as support to Sangakkara, who looked determined to reach his double ton. He dragged his team up to 472 while his partners fell like dominoes. He was at 199 when #11 batsman Pradeep threw his wicket away. A furious Sangakkara became only the second cricketer to be unbeaten at 199. first was Andy Flower of Zimbabwe.

Ajmal and Hafeez had somehow managed to stop the game from completely spiraling out of control. It was a good 5-Wicket haul by Ajmal.

Not much time was left for the day to end and only 24 overs were played. Call it poor form or just plain bad luck, nothing was going well for Pakistan. Their batting top-order collapsed once again, with Kulasekara and Randiv narrowly missing hat-tricks as the hosts belittled their opponents with the best form they have shown in years. By closing time, Pakistan might have literally been praying not to lose anymore wickets as play was stopped with the men in green stopping at 48 for 5.

No one knows what’s going on in the visitors’ heads, because every time they show a ray of light, they go down a lot lower. They will really need to do something about this to avoid an implosion in the team and of course, to avoid a follow-on tomorrow. The Lankans have the game right where they want and will pile on the pressure as the match continues tomorrow, with day 3.