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Colombo Test ends in draw |
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05/07/12 Pakistan, Sri Lanka Test ended in a draw Wednesday in Colombo.
Sri Lanka ended the day on 86 for two, with Kumar Sangakkara at the crease for the second time in one day, after Pakistan declared their second innings on 100 for two, an over after tea.
Day five was more absorbing than one would have thought, given that the assumption at the start of the day was that things would boil down to a dull draw. But both sides did well to provide some entertainment, with Sangakkara scoring 192 and Junaid Khan taking a five-for on behalf of Pakistan.
The day began with Sri Lanka on 278 for five in their first innings, chasing Pakistan s total of 551. Sangakkara was already well set, and Angelo Mathews joined him in the middle on zero.
They set about frustrating the Pakistan bowlers in the morning session and lost no wickets, with Sanga going into lunch on 187, the highest Test score at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
After lunch, Pakistan came out with all guns blazing and removed all five remaining wickets within an hour. Mathews, who had batted superbly in the morning session, fell for 47, and Sangakkara again found himself short of a double century.
He holed out to Taufeeq Umar, who took an easy catch off Abdur Rehman.
The other three scalps were removed without a problem, and Sri Lanka ended with an oddly unbalanced scorecard sporting two massive tons (one to Tillakaratne Dilshan) and four ducks. Junaid claimed his five and Rehman took four wickets.
Pakistan then came out to play their second innings with a lead of 160, and quickly raced to a gap of over 250. By the time tea came around, most people assumed Pakistan would declare at the break, the lead on 259, and give the home side a session to bat.
But they played a few mind games instead and sent their batsmen out after the break to continue. They only played for one more over though, and scored a single to go to 100 for two before declaring for the second time in the match.
This left the Lankans chasing an ODI-like target of 261 in two hours, and while they started well and hit a few boundaries, it was never on the cards. When the game was called with 15 overs still to play, Sangakkara was on 24 not out, and he had moved into second place on the ICC Test batting rankings.
The third and final Test starts on 8 July at Pallekele, with Sri Lanka leading the series 1-0.
Kumar Sangakkara once again missed out on a double century as second Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan ended in a draw in Colombo.
Sangakkara s wicket came in amongst the collapse as he fell for 192 after coming down the pitch and flicking Rehman to Taufeeq Umar at square leg.
That dismissal came after he also missed out on a double century in the last Test match in Galle when he was left stranded on 199 not out.
Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq put on a fifty partnership for Pakistan s opening wicket before the latter lobbed to Dilshan at square leg off Suraj Randiv, who then accounted for Rehman after the lower order batsman had plundered three fours and three sixes to boost Pakistan s total.
The tourists went for tea on 99 for two and curiously added just one more run before opting to declare, with opener Taufeeq unbeaten on 42, and set Sri Lanka their - highly unlikely - victory target. |
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