9 September 2017 11:03 pm Views - 3202
Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera finished with five wickets to help Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 68 runs in the second Test in Dubai on Tuesday and claim the series 2-0. Perera had figures of 5-98 as Pakistan, chasing a tough 317 to win, were bowled out for 248 in the second hour of fifth and final day at Dubai stadium.
Asad Shafiq fought hard during his 112-run knock - his 11th Test hundred - and together with his skipper Sarfraz Ahmed (68) added 173 for the sixth wicket. But once their partnership was broken Sri Lanka, having already won the first Test by 21 runs in Abu Dhabi, quickly closed in on the victory.
This is Pakistan's first series defeat at their adopted home of United Arab Emirates (UAE) in seven years. They had won five of the previous nine, with four drawn.
This is also Pakistan's first 'home' defeat since losing to South Africa 1-0 in 2007, a series held on their grounds, and only the second whitewash in their history. Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal, whose team lost to India 3-0 in August, hailed "a team performance".
"They put their heart and soul in the practice sessions," he said. "It was a tough series against India but we learnt a lot from it. The boys executed the game plan really well in this series. We knew when we came today that Dilruwan and Rangana (Herath) would do the job."
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz was left to rue a tough series. "We came close in both matches, but we haven't played good cricket and that's why we have lost the series," he said. Shafiq was the ninth man out when he edged paceman Suranga Lakmal to slip where Kusal Mendis took a low diving catch to end all Pakistan's hopes of an upset win. Shafiq's 253-minute knock had 10 boundaries but he again failed to help Pakistan cross the line, just like his 137 in the lost cause against Australia at Brisbane last year.
Pakistan had looked to the overnight partnership of Shafiq and Sarfraz to guide them to the winning target after resuming at 198-5, needing another 119 for victory. Both had lucky escapes but Perera finally broke the resistance when Ahmed was caught off a miscued sweep at deep fine leg by Nuwan Pradeep. Shafiq brought up his hundred with a paddled sweep single off Perera and was reprived on the same score when Dimuth Karunaratne dropped a low catch of the same bowler.
Perera then completed his five-wicket haul when he trapped Mohammad Amir - unable to bowl in the second innings with a shin injury - leg before for four, bringing Sri Lanka within three wickets of victory. Yasir Shah was cleaned up by Herath while the victory was brought up when Herath had number 10 Wahab Riaz caught gleefully by Chandimal for one. Sri Lanka had gained a decisive 220-run lead by scoring 482 in the first innings on the back of Karunaratne's career best 196 and then bowled Pakistan out for 262.
Sri Lanka 1st innings 482 (D. Karunaratne 196, D. Chandimal 62, D. Perera 58, N. Dickwella 52; Y. Shah 6-184)
Pakistan 1st innings 262 (A. Ali 59, H. Sohail 56)
Sri Lanka 2nd innings 96 (W. Riaz 4-41)
Pakistan 2nd innings (Overnight: 248-10; Target: 317 runs)
Shan Masood c Dickwella b D. Perera 21
Sami Aslam c K. Mendis b Gamage 1
Azhar Ali c K. Silva b Pradeep 17
Haris Sohail c Dickwella b D. Perera 10
Asad Shafiq c K. Mendis b Lakmal 112
Babar Azam c K. Silva b D. Perera 0
Sarfraz Ahmed c Pradeep b D. Perera 68
Mohammad Amir lbw b D. Perera 4
Yasir Shah st Dickwella b Herath 5
Wahab Riaz c Chandimal b Herath 1
Mohammad Abbas not out 3
Extras (lb-1 nb-5) 6
Total (all out, 90.2 overs) 248
Fall of wickets: 1-5 S. Aslam,2-36 Az. Ali,3-49 H. Sohail,4-52 S. Masood,5-52 B. Azam,6-225 S. Ahmed,7-230 M. Amir,8-244 Y. Shah,9-244 A. Shafiq,10-248 W. Riaz
Bowling
Suranga Lakmal 14 - 4 - 35 - 1
Lahiru Gamage 16 - 5 - 29 - 1(nb-3)
Rangana Herath 22.2 - 3 - 57 - 2
Nuwan Pradeep 11 - 3 - 21 - 1(nb-1)
Dilruwan Perera 26 - 1 - 98 - 5
Kusal Mendis 1 - 0 - 7 - 0(nb-1)
Shafiq and Sarfraz halt Sri Lanka as Pakistan set up intriguing final day
Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed hit battling half-centuries on day four to thwart Sri Lanka and set up an enthralling finish to the second and final Test in Dubai.
Shafiq scored an unbeaten 86 while skipper Sarfraz was 57 not out as they lifted Pakistan from a perilous position at 52-5 to 198-5 at close, after being set a daunting target of 317.
The pair added 146 for the unbroken sixth-wicket stand to leave Pakistan needing another 119 runs with five wickets in hand to level the series after Sri Lanka won a nail-biting first Test in Abu Dhabi by 21 runs.
Shafiq and Ahmed batted confidently to raise hopes of Pakistan maintaining their unbeaten record in nine Test series in the UAE - their adopted home since 2009.
Earlier in the day, paceman Wahab Riaz grabbed 4-41 and left-arm spinner Haris Sohail took three wickets in a single over to dismiss Sri Lanka for 96 in their second innings, after they resumed on 34-5.
However, Pakistan made a disastrous start to their chase when opener Sami Aslam fell for one, caught in the slips off Lahiru Gamage.
Masood and Azhar Ali (17) added 31 for the second wicket before the batting collapse began with Ali caught off fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep for 17.
It was off-spinner Dilruwan Perera who ripped apart Pakistan with a triple strike in the second session. He dismissed Haris Sohail (10), Shan Masood (21) and Babar Azam (nought) to leave Pakistan in tatters at 52-5.
Dilruwan Perera celebrates with teammates after dismissing Shan Masood
He could have claimed the wickets of both Shafiq, on 26, and Ahmed, on 22, but both were dropped by Kusal Mendis at short leg off successive balls, leaving Sri Lanka to rue the missed chances.
Shafiq brought up his 19th Test fifty with a well-timed cover drive off fast bowler Suranga Lakmal, his first 50-plus score in 12 innings.
Sarfraz then followed suit, smashing part-timer Kusal Mendis for his fourth boundary to complete his 14th Test half-century as Pakistan set up an intriguing finish to the day-night Test.
Sri Lanka 1st innings 482 (D. Karunaratne 196, D. Chandimal 62, D. Perera 58, N. Dickwella 52; Y. Shah 6-184)
Pakistan 1st innings 262 (A. Ali 59, H. Sohail 56)
Sri Lanka 2nd innings (Overnight: 34-5)
Dimuth Karunaratne b Riaz 7
Kaushal Silva c S. Ahmed b Abbas 3
Sadheera Samarawickreme c S. Ahmed b Riaz 13
Kusal Mendis c S. Ahmed b Sohail 29
Suranga Lakmal lbw b Shah 1
Dinesh Chandimal lbw b Riaz 0
Niroshan Dickwella c S. Ahmed b Riaz 21
Dilruwan Perera lbw b Shah 0
Rangana Herath c B. Azam b Sohail 17
Lahiru Gamage not out 1
Nuwan Pradeep lbw b Sohail 0
Extras (lb-1 nb-3) 4
Total (all out, 26 overs) 96
Fall of wickets: 1-3 K. Silva,2-22 D. Karunaratne,3-26 S. Samarawickreme,4-33 S. Lakmal,5-34 D. Chandimal,6-59 N. Dickwella,7-60 D. Perera,8-95 R. Herath,9-96 K. Mendis,10-96 N. Pradeep
Bowling
Mohammad Abbas 4 - 2 - 6 - 1
Yasir Shah 12 - 2 - 47 - 2
Wahab Riaz 9 - 0 - 41 - 4(nb-3)
Haris Sohail 1 - 0 - 1 - 3
Pakistan 2nd innings (Target: 317 runs)
Shan Masood c Dickwella b D. Perera 21
Sami Aslam c K. Mendis b Gamage 1
Azhar Ali c K. Silva b Pradeep 17
Haris Sohail c Dickwella b D. Perera 10
Asad Shafiq not out 86
Babar Azam c K. Silva b D. Perera 0
Sarfraz Ahmed not out 57
Extras (lb-1 nb-5) 6
Total (for 5 wickets, 73 overs) 198
Fall of wickets: 1-5 S. Aslam,2-36 Az. Ali,3-49 H. Sohail,4-52 S. Masood,5-52 B. Azam
To bat: M. Amir, Y. Shah, W. Riaz, M. Abbas
Bowling
Suranga Lakmal 11 - 4 - 28 - 0
Lahiru Gamage 13 - 4 - 27 - 1(nb-3)
Rangana Herath 19 - 2 - 53 - 0
Nuwan Pradeep 8 - 3 - 6 - 1(nb-1)
Dilruwan Perera 21 - 1 - 76 - 3
Kusal Mendis 1 - 0 - 7 - 0(nb-1)
Wahab wobbles Sri Lanka but still a big chase likely
Paceman Wahab Riaz took three wickets in a fiery spell but Sri Lanka were still in the driving seat after the third day of the second day-night Test in Dubai on Sunday.
Wahab grabbed 3-10 to derail Sri Lanka's second innings – they were 5-34 at the close – but the visitors were still in a strong position with an overall lead of 254 with five wickets intact.
Wahab dismissed Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal lbw for nought in the last over before stumps to give Pakistan a faint hope of upsetting the tables, but it will be an uphill task for their faltering batsmen to improve in the second innings.
Pakistan were dismissed for 262 in their first innings, conceding a big 220-run lead following Sri Lanka's first innings 482. It was paceman Mohammad Abbas who started the Sri Lankan slide, having opener Kaushal Silva caught behind for three before Wahab dismissed first-innings centurion Dimuth Karunaratne for seven.
He then had debutant Sadeera Samarawickrama out for 13 in a hostile spell of 3.3 overs. Leg-spinner Yasir Shah had nightwatchman Suranga Lakmal out for one as Pakistan started to stage a fightback. At stumps, Kusal Mendis was unbeaten on eight.
Sri Lankan spinners Dilruwan Perera (3-72) and Rangana Herath (3-84) had bundled Pakistan out just after dinner to put Sri Lanka in sight of a series win, after the visitors won the first Test by 21 runs in Abu Dhabi.
Only Azhar Ali (59) and Haris Sohail (56) offered some resistance as the Pakistani batsmen once again flopped on a batting friendly Dubai Stadium pitch, losing their last six wickets for 82. It was 21 runs short of the follow-on mark but Sri Lanka did not enforce it. Azhar and Sohail lifted Pakistan from a precarious 4-109 during a battling fifth-wicket stand of 71, but once Azhar was gone the innings unfolded.
Herath trapped Azhar lbw and reviewed it to overturn a not-out decision, triggering the collapse. Azhar hit six boundaries in his patient knock.
Sohail was the eighth wicket to fall, trapped in front by Perera to end any hopes of Pakistan reaching a respectable total. He smashed four fours and two sixes. Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed made 14 before he miscued a sweep and was caught off Perera.
When Pakistan resumed at 0-51, paceman Lahiru Gamage took his first wicket in Test cricket, bowling Shan Masood through the gate after the opener had made 16. Sami Aslam was trapped lbw by Perera for 39 to leave Pakistan two down with 65 runs on the board. Asad Shafiq fell for 12 when he edged Lakmal to slip to continue his wretched form in the series. Babar Azam made eight. Lakmal finished with 2-41 while Gamage had figures of 2-38.
Pakistan 1st innings (Overnight: 51-0)
Shan Masood b Gamage 16
Sami Aslam lbw b D. Perera 39
Azhar Ali lbw b Herath 59
Asad Shafiq c K. Mendis b Lakmal 12
Babar Azam c Samarawickreme b Herath 8
Haris Sohail lbw b D. Perera 56
Sarfraz Ahmed c K. Mendis b D. Perera 14
Mohammad Amir lbw b Herath 7
Yasir Shah b Lakmal 24
Wahab Riaz c Samarawickreme b Gamage 16
Mohammad Abbas not out 1
Extras (b-4 lb-2 nb-4) 10
Total (all out, 90.3 overs) 262
Fall of wickets: 1-61 S. Masood,2-65 S. Aslam,3-92 A. Shafiq,4-109 B. Azam,5-180 Az. Ali,6-199 S. Ahmed,7-214 M. Amir,8-220 H. Sohail,9-250 W. Riaz,10-262 Y. Shah
Bowling
Suranga Lakmal 17.3 - 5 - 41 - 2
Nuwan Pradeep 9 - 2 - 21 - 0
Lahiru Gamage 15 - 2 - 38 - 2(nb-4)
Dilruwan Perera 26 - 3 - 72 - 3
Rangana Herath 23 - 3 - 84 - 3
Sri Lanka 2nd innings
Dimuth Karunaratne b Riaz 7
Kaushal Silva c S. Ahmed b Abbas 3
Sadheera Samarawickreme c S. Ahmed b Riaz 13
Kusal Mendis not out 8
Suranga Lakmal lbw b Shah 1
Dinesh Chandimal lbw b Riaz 0
Extras (lb-1 nb-1) 2
Total (for 5 wickets, 14.3 overs) 34
Fall of wickets: 1-3 K. Silva,2-22 D. Karunaratne,3-26 S. Samarawickreme,4-33 S. Lakmal,5-34 D. Chandimal
To bat: N. Dickwella, D. Perera, R. Herath, L. Gamage, N. Pradeep
Bowling
Mohammad Abbas 4 - 2 - 6 - 1
Yasir Shah 7 - 2 - 17 - 1
Wahab Riaz 3.3 - 0 - 10 - 3(nb-1)