At 67 for 4, with both Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf back in thepavilion, Pakistan were in danger of subsiding to another defeat, but twocentury partnerships utterly transformed the game in the final twosessions on the third day

The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran22-Jul-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outShoaib Malik put recent indifferent form behind him with a beautifully paced hundred and was involved in two century stands•Associated PressAt 67 for 4, with both Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf back in thepavilion, Pakistan were in danger of subsiding to another defeat, but twocentury partnerships utterly transformed the game in the final twosessions on the third day. The common factor was Shoaib Malik, the formercaptain, who put recent indifferent form behind him with a beautifullypaced hundred. Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal were perfect foils, scoringhalf-centuries, and by stumps, the Pakistan lead had swelled to 366.Sri Lanka had started the final session promisingly, with the runs dryingup and Misbah perishing to an indiscreet shot. Having given Angelo Mathewsthe charge, he was surprised by the extra bounce and the thin edge waseasily taken by Kumar Sangakkara. With the lead then at 252 and the secondnew ball looming, it was Sri Lanka’s big chance to wrest back theinitiative. Instead, Malik and Akmal took it away with some wonderfullypositive batting, as a tiring attack started to leak runs.Throughout the series, Sri Lanka had sparked collapses with the second newball, but after tea at the SSC, there was only a torrent of runs. Akmalset the tone with a lovely drive and a powerful pull off Nuwan Kulasekara,and Malik joined in with booming drives through midwicket and cover offThilan Thushara. When Chaminda Vaas came on for perhaps his final spell ininternational cricket, Akmal responded with a mighty heave over long-off,and Sri Lanka’s woes were compounded when Sangakkara muffed a stumpingchance off Rangana Herath when Malik was on 91.Having breathed a sigh of relief, Malik didn’t look back. A four and a sixdown the ground off Herath took him to his hundred from just 178 balls,and when Akmal brought up his half-century moments later, there was plentyfor the dressing room to smile about.The game had turned after lunch though, with Malik and Misbahconsolidating against bowling that was steady without being undulythreatening. Both rotated the strike cleverly, and as the afternoonsession drew to a close, the big strokes were unveiled. Herath, the pickof the bowlers, was pulled for four and then straight-driven for six,before a glance to fine leg off Thushara took Misbah to his thirdhalf-century in Tests. Malik, who had been the most positive of thebatsmen in the first innings, also smashed Herath for a straight six, andwhen Misbah ended the session with a sweet on-drive off Angelo Mathews,Pakistan were right on top.It was a far cry from the morning when a poor shot, an ordinary umpiringdecision and a beautiful delivery boosted Sri Lankan hopes as Pakistanstruggled to 86 for 4. They had started the day on 16 for 1, and there wasto be no period of consolidation. Fawad Alam once again got a start, butthe shot that cost him his wicket would hardly have thrilled his captainat the other end. The ball was short and at the body, and Fawad’s attemptto work it wristily through midwicket merely lobbed back to Thushara offthe top edge.Mohammad Yousuf got going with a vicious slash behind point, and there wasa lovely pull too from Younis Khan off Thushara, but by and large, runswere very hard to come by. The pair were finally starting to show signs ofsettling when Ian Gould intervened to send Younis on his way. The deliveryfrom Kulasekara nipped back, but there was a hint of inside edge before itstruck him very high on the pad.The other half of Pakistan’s experienced combo didn’t make it to luncheither. Yousuf had struggled against Herath for much of the series, and hewas undone by a magnificent delivery that pitched on his pads beforeleaping up and turning wickedly enough to take the edge. It was the sixthtime that Herath had dismissed him, and it left Sri Lanka to contemplate agood morning’s work. What followed wasn’t quite according to the homescript. Pakistan weren’t going to complain though.Given that no team has made more than 352 to win a Test in Sri Lanka, itis safe to say that Sri Lanka face a steep-mountain climb to achieve aseries whitewash.