10.40pm And that is all from me, Sid R, Sanjay and Gopi for tonight. Do join us for the third ODI at Dambulla, and keep sending in your comments. Good night!
10.30pm Presentation time! Misbah-ul-Haq says Pakistan had the Sri Lankan innings in control but their death bowling once again let the batsmen off the hook. "We had them six down and just needed one more wicket but we couldn't get it." He says eight an over in the last 15 could have been achieved but "we kept on losing wickets." He says they are missing Ajmal. "Of course. On a wicket like this, he would have certainly made a big difference."
Thisara Perera is the Man of the Match. "Angie told me take your time, because we were six wickets down," he says, when asked about his approach when he came in to bat. On his bowling: "First over I don't know what happened. I knew after that I would come back strongly."
Angelo Mathews: "Winning the toss was crucial. It was getting slower and slower as the match went on. We bowled badly in the first 10 overs, but we pulled it back. Spinners came into the party and did a good job. Seekuge was absolutely brilliant." The form of Malinga and Kulasekara, he says, isn't a concern. "They are coming after a long break, and they will be back in the groove." Mahela wasn't on the field, and he says "he has a bit of a niggle, and hopefully he will be back for the next game."
Uwaisul Karnain: "Not only Mathews failing to reach triple figures, he also failing to grab the man of the match awards somehow!" This one looks like it's headed Thisara's way, doesn't it?
Aftab: "Pakistan need Umar Akmal in good form as number 4 is the main position in the team" Yup. He's also getting used to it, since he's only just moved to number four. He's been at six for a long time.
Nostradamus: "When nostradamus predicted that Thisara will take wickets today and Afridi would fail, Cricinfo did not bother to publish it, cuz Thisara's figures were 1-0-14-0... But see how it has come true.."
Asif Raza: "Only Misba ul Haq should be blamed for this match. His partnership with Shehzad was unrealistic. There was need to be aggressive after playing one or two overs slow. Being his huge fan, it is heart breaking."
Loads of comments saying Misbah is responsible for the defeat, but at the time he came in, Pakistan simply couldn't afford to lose any more wickets. The spinners were bowling extremely tight, and Sri Lanka's close-in fielding was fantastic, and it was just very difficult for him. He did get out at the wrong time, though, right when he and Fawad were putting the pressure back on Sri Lanka. He got a boundary earlier in the over, and perished going for another big shot. As it happens so often, the batting Powerplay worked against the batting team and inadvertently brought to the bowling team the benefits of attacking fields.
10.15pm And that's a massive win for Sri Lanka, both in terms of run-margin and the number of overs left, but those numbers will mask how much they will have worried at one stage. Pakistan got off to a spectacular start thanks to Mohammad Hafeez, who came out and timed everything in unearthly manner, but the spinners put the brakes on in quite spectacular fashion. Fawad Alam kept Pakistan's hopes up for a while, first alongside Misbah-ul-Haq and then, briefly, with Shahid Afridi, but they lost too many wickets trying to catch up with the escalating required rate.
Junaid Khan b Malinga 1 (9m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33
END OF OVER:43 | 2 Runs 2 Wkts | PAK: 231/9 (80 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 5.37, RRR: 11.42)
- Mohammad Irfan0 (3b)
- Junaid Khan0 (0b)
- Thisara Perera3-0-19-3
- Rangana Herath10-2-38-2
And here's Mohammad Irfan, to try and prevent the hat-trick
Fawad Alam c Mathews b Perera 30 (74m 40b 3x4 0x6) SR: 75
Junaid Khan comes in now, with a cap on backwards under his helmet. It's Fawad on strike though
Wahab Riaz c Herath b Perera 5 (8m 6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 83.33
END OF OVER:42 | 4 Runs | PAK: 229/7 (82 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 5.45, RRR: 10.25)
- Wahab Riaz3 (4b)
- Fawad Alam30 (39b)
- Rangana Herath10-2-38-2
- Thisara Perera2-0-17-1