Abu Dhabi: Pakistan are in serious danger of losing a Test series for the first time in the UAE. They just have two days to get their batting worries sorted against Sri Lanka, who will now be a rejuvenated side after their sensational win on Monday.
Sri Lanka had come to the series bruised but battle-hardened, and it had to do a lot with the way they were tested in the gruelling series against India. Skipper Dinesh Chandimal led from the front with the bat and his epic first innings effort of 155 was one of the cornerstones that played a huge part in Sri Lanka’s 21-run win. He also needs a lot of credit for the way he marshalled his bowling resources, especially in the intense last two sessions. The visitors had very little chance after starting the day struggling at 66 for four and none would have expected them to recover.
Their only chance was to get to the three-figure mark and hope that his frontline spinner Rangana Herath created some magic and indeed the latter ended up creating havoc in the Pakistani camp.
“It was a tough time, especially last evening (Day 4). We were surprised to be four down for 40, or 35 but we thought before play started today, that 160-plus would be a winning total. [Niroshan] Dickwella was outstanding in the second innings to get us to the 140 mark. We all knew the legend Rangana would come into play and finally he did his best,” said Chandimal, who minced no words in saying that he would like to have the veteran Herath around as long as he himself was playing.
If not for long, Chandimal and team Lanka would indeed like to have Herath delivering a similar show in the next match that could put them well on the road to Test revival.
Pakistan, on the other hand, will be pondering where they went wrong despite dominating for a better part of the Test match. Coach Mickey Arthur and selectors were so close to patting each other on some controversial selections that almost paid off until the stunning collapse.
They are again back to the drawing board, doing some soul-searching to try and figure out what’s causing this recurring illness which is much more than mere pressure. Arthur, like his predecessors, didn’t have an affirmative answer. He, however, revealed that the team still had to do a lot of homework against Herath. “On the last day, he [Herath] was always going to be a factor and you´ve got to give him more respect. But I would probably have liked to see our batsmen take him on. I would have liked batsmen to attack him, once you take him on and that goes for any bowler, the game sort of settles down.”
Skipper Sarfraz Ahmad, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq had been in such situations before and for long enough to brace the challenge showing some teeth. Their response, however, was way below par than that of newcomer Haris Sohail. The youngster, in both innings, showed better nerve than senior pros; giving firm evidence that he is keen to be there for long and is ready to grind it out on the big stage. His role with bat and ball provided some cheer in a disappointing end for Pakistan.
There was no question about Yasir Shah not coming good on these spin-friendly tracks but he was clearly over-burdened to deliver. There is no need for three pacers on these slow wickets and Mohammad Amir too can’t take any claim for another run in the second Test with his below-par performance, as he went wicket-less.
The Pakistan think-tank might only be inclined to have Amir in the second Test in the hope that the pink ball might reverse-swing more under lights. The openers, Sami Aslam and Shan Masood, with their individual 50s added 114 for the opening wicket in the first innings but their failure in the second has cast doubts on Pakistan team’s vulnerability at the top.
However, with Arthur assuring that the combination will not be tampered with for the Dubai Test, it should be reason enough to ease the pressure off the Pakistan openers.
