Peshawar, March 7: Pakistan rallied back in to the match through their
bowlers after some spineless batting resulted in the loss of their
last seven wickets for 45 runs on an eventful third day of the second
cricket Test against Sri Lanka at the
Samiul Hasan08-Mar-2000Pakistan’s bowlers make up for batting failurePeshawar, March 7: Pakistan rallied back in to the match through their
bowlers after some spineless batting resulted in the loss of their
last seven wickets for 45 runs on an eventful third day of the second
cricket Test against Sri Lanka at the Arbab Niaz Stadium here on
Tuesday.Pakistan’s middle and lower order batting collapsed so abysmally that
a promising score of 154 for three just after lunch became 199 all out
in reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings 268.The fall of 14 wickets during the day’s play has made this Test evenly
poised.Waqar Younis took two for 22 and received excellent support from
Shoaib Akhtar, Arshad Khan and Aamir Sohail, who picked up one wicket
apiece, as the tourists finished the day at 129 for five.Sri Lanka have a cushion of 198 runs lead going into the penultimate
day but Pakistan can feel satisfied with their performance in the
post-tea session in which they dismissed the five frontline
batsmen. They just need to break the partnership between Russel Arnold
and Aravinda de Silva which will expose the lower-middle-order and an
opportunity to fold the innings earlier than many would have expected
when Sri Lanka started their innings after an early tea.But some horrendous and reckless stroke selection by the Pakistani
batsmen nearly put the crucial match beyond their reach when they were
bowled out for 199 after being 153 for three at lunch. The saddest
part is that none of the batsmen could blame either the pitch or
bowling for their downfall.Saeed Anwar, who top scored with 74, laid the foundation when he
showed a rush of blood against Sanath Jayasuriya to be caught by
Muttiah Muralitharan at mid-on. Two balls earlier, Saeed had hit his
counterpart for a huge six. That shot that brought his dismissal was
totally uncalled for from someone as experienced as Saeed who is also
the captain of the team and is supposed to lead by example.Yousuf Youhana chased an outgoing delivery to be caught by Romesh
Kaluwitharana. And Shahid Afridi disappointed his fans with yet
another display of immaturity and impatience to hit right into the
hands of Russel Arnold at cover at a time when Pakistan had just lost
Younis Khan because of an error of judgement by English umpire John
Hampshire.Younis was declared caught bat and pad after Muralitharan and close-in
fielders had appealed for a leg before.That decision was the turning point of the day’s play as it changed
the complexion of the game. Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was batting with
Younis at that time, helplessly saw wickets fall from the other end
until Pakistan were dismissed 29 minutes before tea.But Inzamam continued his love affair with this ground by stroking his
fourth half century in his five visits.Inzamam, who reached 90s against Sri Lanka, West Indies and Australia
here in the last five years, batted brilliantly for his 58 that
spanned over 214 minutes. He faced 163 balls and struck seven
boundaries and a sweetly time six off Pramodya Wickremasinghe off his
toes.Inzamam needed the luck he required when Tillekeratne Dilshan dropped
a regulation catch at cover when the strongly-built batsman was two
and Pakistan 89 for two.The later order batsmen – Abdur Razzaq, Waqar Younis and Arshad Khan –
tried to use their pads more than the bat and paid the price when all
of them fell to Muralitharan who finished as picked of the Sri Lankan
bowlers with four for 77, including three in nine deliveries.Saeed Anwar’s irresponsible shot though took a gloss of a fine
innings, it doesn’t truly reflect the amount of hard work the
left-hander did to graft his innings. He received 191 balls in his
four hours of batting. He clobbered nine boundaries and a six.When the stumps were drawn three over before schedule because of
fading light on a day which saw 14 wickets falling, Sri Lanka’s last
recognized pair of Russel Arnold and Aravinda de Silva were at the
crease.Arnold was looking confident and as solid as a rock while scoring
63. He has been batting for eight minutes over three hours during
which he has faced 116 balls and belted 10 excellent boundaries mostly
on the on-side.De Silva, who could only come into bat at No 7 after spending the day
in the dressing room because of a twisted ankle, was seven not out.After Waqar Younis provided Pakistan the much needed early
breakthrough by trapping Sanath Jayasuriya in front of the wickets, he
returned for his second spell and picked up Mahela Jayawardena in a
similar fashion.Jayawardena’s dismissal saw Sri Lanka lose Tillekeratne Dilshan and
Romesh Kaluwitharana in a space of five balls.Arshad Khan, who bowled too many lose deliveries, was rewarded with
the prized scalp of last innings top scorer Marvan Atapattu (29).Aamir Sohail, who had given Saeed Anwar vital breakthroughs, didn’t
disappoint his opening partner by having Dilshan caught smartly by
debutant Atiq-uz-Zaman behind the wickets.
