Statistics
Best performances - Batsmen
- Productive Shot
- off side drive on front foot
- 15 runs
- 1x4 - 0x6
Scorer: S Balasubramanian | Commentator: Sidharth Monga
That concludes our coverage for this game. do join us for the second game on Saturday. Cheers
"That run-out is part of the game, but the good thing is we have won the game" says Misbah-ul-Haq. "The conditions were really difficult for batting, but the way Hafeez and Umar played it was really handy. Lot of moisture in the wicket. Covers were on. I think a difficult decision for any captain to decide what to do. It was a good toss to lose. We have got world-class spinners, and whenever the fats bowlers get the conditions, they come good. We have to improve in these conditions - windy and open ground. Difficult to judge, so we have to work hard."
"It was important we put up a decent score," says Mahela Jayawardene. "190-200 would have been a decent score. But credit to Pakistan, they came strong at us. We faced two new balls in Australia as well, but they have got a quality attack, and we need to make sure we are careful."
Umar Gul is the Man of the Match. He says: "I am happy with my performance. I am coming back after a long time. My body needs to bowl as much as possible. I was talking with my colleagues that this is my lucky ground. I have taken wickets before too. It (extras and dropped catches) happened, but in the next match we will try to cut it down."
Comprehensive win for Pakistan. Handshakes all around. The tone of the match was set from the moment Dilshan got off to a poor start, playing shots that were not on even before he had got his eye in. After that Pakistan bowled brilliantly, and their charge was only interrupted by rain and Thirimanne. Gul and Sami took three each. Tanvir was unlucky he didn't get about as many himself. Hafeez took two too, and Pakistan faced a modest chase. We all know, though, that no chase is modest with Pakistan, especially with the ball jagging around as it did. After two early wickets, though, Hafeez and Misbah stabilised them, and their 51-run stand was enough to settle their nerves. Do stay back for the quotes from the presentation
Two men on the fence still
Well we have a long-on in place with one run needed. That's an MS Dhoni moment
Afridi is the new batsman. How many balls will this take?
Misbah-ul-Haq run out 30 (118m 79b 4x4 0x6) SR: 37.97
Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, has said his team's batsmen need to prepare better to take on Pakistan's pace attack
Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has said losing the toss worked to his team's advantage during its win over Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Pallekele
Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, expects offspinner Saeed Ajmal and allrounder Shahid Afridi to be Pakistan's key players in the five-ODI series
Pakistan's excellent record in Sri Lanka backed up by their superior all-round strength clearly makes them the favourites in the ODI series
It turned out to be a good toss to lose for Pakistan, as their seamers, led by Umar Gul, set up a comfortable six-wicket win by keeping Sri Lanka to a paltry 135