Hasan Ali was the last of the Pakistan pacers to be brought into the attack in the 13th over. That was a period when the Sri Lankans had settled nicely with 66 runs on the board.
Hasan did not start well conceding eight runs in his first over. But in the second over, he unleashed a scorcher to send back the well-entrenched Kusal Mendis, who had hit a brilliant 89 against India.
Mendis was shaping up for an encore scoring 27 off 29 balls but Hasan curtailed his stay with a length delivery bowled from wide of the crease that moved in a shade to hit the off-stump.
The batsman was trying to work the ball away to the leg side but was beaten by the late movement. Sri Lanka were hit hard as they lost another wicket in the next over and the momentum was back with Pakistan.
Pakistan bowlers were on fire after the 32nd over and they were getting wickets as well. But the danger man Niroshan Dickwella was still in the middle. It took a moment of brilliance behind the wicket to send the Sri Lankan opener packing.
Playing away from his body to a Mohammad Amir delivery, he got a thick inside edge and Sarfraz Ahmed showed amazing reflexes to dive to his right and pluck the catch inches from the ground.
He had already committed himself to collect the ball to his left but the edge flew off to the other side yet Sarfraz swerved and snapped it superbly.
Dickwella’s dismissal dented Sri Lanka badly and they struggled to put up a good total on the board.
Sri Lanka had tilted the scales in their favour by claiming seven wickets for 162 to make a strong defence of their modest total. But Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed in the company of Mohammad Amir stood defiantly by compiling the runs.
When the eighth wicket duo had raised 31 runs, Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews in a last throw of the dice went to his most experienced bowler Lasith Malinga.
The experienced pacer nearly got the breakthrough but Thisara Perera, fielding at mid-on, put down the easiest of chances. Sarfraz tried to chip a slower delivery over the mid-on fielder but ended up presenting an easy catch to him and to Sri Lanka’s horror, Perera shelled it.
Sarfraz was on 38 then and Pakistan’s score read 194-7. The Sri Lankans were in disarray thereafter as Sarfraz was dropped again in Malinga’s next over by the diving substitute fielder Seekkuge Prasanna at deep square leg. Unlike the Perera miss, this was a difficult chance.
There were a couple of misfields too as the Sri Lankans floundered when it mattered the most.
Disappointing loss. At the end forget @OfficialSLC batting or bowling the fielding let the team down badly. It was there to be won.
— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) June 12, 2017
