Sri Lanka Force Decider With Crushing Karachi Win

2nd One Day International, Karachi National Stadium

Sri Lanka bounced back from their loss yesterday to beat Pakistan by 129 runs and level their three-match One Day International series at 1-1 with one match to play...

Sri Lanka showed drastic improvement with the bat as they reached 290 for eight as Tillakaratne Dilshan and Thilina Kandamby both hit half-centuriesafter Pakistan won the toss and chose to field. They were then too good for Pakistan with the ball, Muttiah Muralitharan picking up three wickets as Pakistan were bowled out for 161 in 34.5 overs...

Pakistan cruised to an eight-wicket win in the opening match when Sri Lanka were bowled out for 219 and the tourists responded to that loss by dropping Jehan Mubarak in favour of Kandamby as Pakistan unsurprisingly named the same side for the second of three matches...

Opener Dilshan hit 76 in 88 balls and although Pakistan hit back with the wickets of Sanath Jayasuriya (19) and Kumar Sangakkara (16), Sri Lanka kicked on with Kandamy making 59 and Chamara Kapugedera...

Jayasuriya was out when he hit his wicket, Umar Gul the bowler and Gul then ran out Sangakkara but a 99-run stand for the third wicket between Dilshan and Kandamby was key to Sri Lanka's chances. Dilshan smashed 11 fours while Kandamby managed four before he was caught by Shoaib Malik off of Iftikhar Anjum...

Shoaib Akhtar had earlier picked up his first wicket of the series when he had Dilshan caught by Misbah-ul-Haq...

Out of form captain Mahela Jayawardene dropped himself down to number five in the order and he made 24 from 34 balls before Kapugedera blasted two sixes in an unbeaten 44 in 39 balls to see off Pakistan's own late rally, led by Gul, who finished with four for 58 by also removing Jayawardene, Kapugedera and Thilan Thushara (8)...

Pakistan's win of yesterday was set up by a strong opening partnership between Salman Butt and Khurram Manzoor but today was a markedly different affair as Manzoor lasted all of two balls before he was trapped in front by Nuwan Kulasekera...

Kulasekera then had Younus Khan bowled for four and when Thushara induced Misbah-ul-Haq (1) to edge behind Pakistan were 17 for three...

They hit back, however, with Butt (62) and Shoaib Malik (52) putting together a 108-run partnership for the fourth wicket but they were both dismissed with the score on 125 as Sanath Jayasuriya got rid of Butt and Muralitharan struck to have Malik caught behind...

The rest of the middle order was then quickly blown away, perhaps a symptom of a lack of cricket against top level opposition in the last 12 months, as Ajantha Mendis (3-29) and Muralitharan ensured that the series would go down to the final match in Lahore on January 24th...