75 overs Pakistan 96 for 4 (Umar 50*, Razzaq 10*, Malinga 2-22) need 140 runs to beat Sri Lanka 235 for 7 (Tharanga 77, Jayawardene 50, Ajmal 3-61)
Pakistan's outlook for a 2-0 lead was unpredictable rather than outright poor after the first half of their chase, with their most obdurate batsmen - Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Mohammad Hafeez - out of the equation. Malinga accounted for two of the three in a bristling opening over, when he became the fastest Sri Lankan - in more ways than one - to reach 150 ODI wickets. His support seamers then effected two more telling breaches to leave the chase in the twitchy hands of Umar Akmal and Adul Razzaq, with the high priest of volatility, Shahid Afridi, and the tail to follow. With the required-rate still under six, the chase could end with time to spare, one way or the other.
Malinga's first ball was sprayed on that pads, and Mohammad Hafeez duly whipped it for four, but the radar was turned on immediately. Two balls later Malinga zipped one away off the seam, and Hafeez nicked behind as he tried to cover the line without getting across. Younis Khan then fiddled at the sort of ball he had avoided so assiduously in the Tests, and Kumar Sangakkara veritably flew to his right, to grab the edge in front of first slip. Thisara Perera backed up Malinga with equally felicitous seam-work, and pinned Imran Farhat on the crease with one that nipped in from off stump. Farhat left Pakistan in more trouble than they needed at 11 for 3, using up their only review on his way out.
There are few batsmen in world cricket better-equipped that Misbah to handle a crisis during a middling chase. The assurance with which he left his second ball, a searching indipper that slid half a foot away from off stump, was just what Pakistan needed then. Umar interspersed Misbah's defiance with a streak of breath-taking strokes, starting with a flick and a drive off Malinga. Dilhara Fernando hurried him into a pull against an effort ball, but the chance slipped past Angelo Mathews' acrobatic effort at short cover. Umar went into his shell briefly, but counter-punched with two punchy fours in Fernando's fifth over. Pakistan seemed to have restored parity when Umar heaved the first ball of Fernando's next over for a six. But Sri Lanka edged ahead in the same over, with Misbah walking into an inswinger to be struck in front. Umar, however, went past a menacing half-century to set up an interesting finish.
50 overs Sri Lanka 235 for 7 (Tharanga 77, Jayawardene 50, Ajmal 3-61) v Pakistan
Sri Lanka's best batsman did not make an appearance until the 27th over of their innings, a period in which they meandered aimlessly, but Mahela Jayawardene altered the script significantly to leave them with a defendable score on a difficult track. Jayawardene nearly missed the game due to a knee ailment, but his presence allowed the innings to find its feet and avert the tailspin it encountered in the first match. The revival during his 20-over stay was gradual rather than stunning, and Sri Lanka will wonder if they left it for too late.
Until his arrival, Pakistan's talented bowling unit stuck to their plans for the second game running, pushing Sri Lanka into an uncomfortable corner. The score was still in double-figures when Dinesh Chandimal gift-wrapped his wicket to Saeed Ajmal in the 27th over to become the third Sri Lankan batsman to fall. Upul Tharanga had pottered around to 37 off 69, and the innings was spiralling out of control. Jayawardene, however, shifted gears seamlessly, and carried Tharanga along with him.
The rule-change that made the batting Powerplay compulsory on or before the 36th over worked in Sri Lanka's favour. Jayawardene sensed release and launched Shahid Afridi, who had been unhittable until then, over extra-cover and the straight field for fours. Tharanga too came out of his shell, cutting Saeed Ajmal square, muscling him straight and punching into the covers for boundaries, as Pakistan's spin gambit in the Powerplay backfired. Umar Gul came on for damage control, but Jayawardene pounded him for two fours through the off side. Forty-eight runs came off the Powerplay, and Sri Lanka had finally found their voice in the Middle East.
However, they were unable to quite manage the flourish that the Powerplay had set them up for. Tharanga holed out in the 42nd over, and Angelo Mathews feathered Aizaz Cheema behind soon after. Bereft of accomplished company, Jayawardene left the late push for the very end of the innings. Ajmal took him out of the equation with 17 balls to play, but the two new inclusions in the Sri Lankan XI - Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis - looted 17 off Ajmal's 50th over to haul their side towards respectability.
The fightback seemed far away after Pakistan's dominance in the first quarter of the game, though, this time, Sri Lanka hung on to their wickets with a mix of gumption and fortune. Tillakaratne Dilshan relied on more of the latter, against an exemplary opening spell from Gul. Ten times in that period, Gul hit the seam at a lively pace outside the off stump and got the ball to jag away. Dilshan groped at nine of those with stationary feet and missed. Just to break the monotony, he managed to lay a soft edge on one of the legcutters. Just when Dilshan seemed to be getting a hang of things, Gul slipped in one that held its line. Dilshan shouldered arms, and the ball buzzed menacingly close to the stumps. Just when it seemed like he could get away with anything, Afridi slipped a patent faster one past a lazy cut to wreck his stumps.
Tharanga had two early escapes, dropped at cover by Imran Farhat and the keeper Sarfraz Ahmed, but fought along gamely. Kumar Sangakkara was not so lucky, lulled into pushing a slow leg-roller from Abdul Razzaq back at the bowler. After having the early luck go their way, Sri Lanka were suddenly reading from a script similar to the first game: the pitch was losing pace drastically, and Pakistan's all-sorts middle-overs specialists were tying them down. Tharanga and Chandimal played out two maidens as Sri Lanka focused on survival. Jayawardene too conceded a maiden early in his stay, but Sri Lanka took off thereafter, to steal 136 off the last 20 overs.
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