Sri Lanka turned the screws on Pakistan in the first Test in Galle after battering the tourists with both bat and ball on the third day.
Sri Lanka bowled Pakistan out for 100 in the first-innings after making 472, with off-spinner Suraj Randiv grabbing four for 13 and left-armer Rangana Herath taking three for 30. The hosts surprisingly declined to enforce a follow-on despite a substantial lead of 372 and made 137 for five in their second knock when captain Mahela Jayawardene declared in the final hour.
Pakistan, set an improbable victory target of 510 runs, were then reduced to 36 for three by stumps after Nuwan Kulasekara dismissed stand-in captain Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar.
Herath had Azhar Ali, leaving nightwatchman Saeed Ajmal (11) and Younus Khan (0) at the crease. The hosts, overwhelming favourites to go 1-0 up in the three-match series, have two days to force a result on the spin-friendly pitch despite forecasts of wet weather.
The Test has been marred by at least 10 contentious decisions by umpires Steve Davis of Australia and Ian Gould of England, with six of them going against the tourists. But the Decision Review System (DRS), which allows reviews by the television umpire, is not being used in this series.
Whatmore furious
Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore said he was surprised the DRS was not available when it was used for Sri Lanka’s two home Tests against England in March and April. “They had it for England, so why not here?” Whatmore, who guided Sri Lanka to the World Cup title in 1996, asked reporters. “It does not seem right to me that you have it for one series and not for another.
“The DRS should be made compulsory. That will go a long way in helping a lot of things — anything that will help make correct decisions.”
Asked if Pakistan will make an official complaint, Whatmore said he would not make a public comment on it. “Whatever I need to say will be done through official channels.”
Earlier, Pakistan, who barely managed to surpass their lowest total against Sri Lanka of 90, were bundled out at the stroke of lunch after resuming the day at 48 for five.
The tourists were dealt a cruel blow within the first 30 minutes of play when Younus was given out leg-before for 29 by umpire Davis. Television replays showed a clear inside-edge off the bat on to the pad and a surprised Younus, who had scored 14 of the first 17 runs of the day, stood his ground before walking off.
There was little resistance offered by the tail as Pakistan were bundled out, conceding a hefty first-innings lead.
Published in The Express Tribune, 25th, 2012.
COMMENTS (6)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1714024018-0/ModiLara-(1)1714024018-0-270x192.webp)
@malik I agree with you. It was an strategic decision taken by BCCI to make sure pakistani team suffers.
@hussain ifzal: ha ha ha and there are people in pak who still call mohd.haffeez a proffesor
Pak team is losing because:
1.) Blatant umpiring errors: many decisions have gone against Pakistan and if DRS was in place, we should be winning this test, instead of losing this. Of course, we all know how BCCI is against DRS. Since, SL doesn't want to antagonize BCCI, they have dumped DRS. As a result, it is the Pak cricket that is suffering.
2.) We are not playing a quality leg-spinner like Afridi. In ODIs, most batsmen have found Afridi to be unplayable. He should have been in the team; he would have taken a few wickets and added precious runs.
3.) Mohd Hafeez is a walking wicket. Azhar Ali should be asked to open the innings or bring in Fawad Alam or Imran Farhat.
4.) Mohd Sami is a much improved bowler; he should be played instead of inexperienced Junaid.
Pakistan cricket is at its lowest ebb. We have some terribly overrated players like Mohd Hafeez.Can somebody tell why he is in the test team,he does not deserve to be in the team as a batsman.He has scored only one 50 in the last 12 innings.He cannot be in the team as a bowler in the presence of Saeed& Rahman.It is pathetic that he is the captain of the team.He has to also justify his inclusion in one day and T20 teams.What a horrible decision to make him the caption in the presence of Afridi,a 32 year old who has a strike rate of 80 does not deserve to be even in the T20 team.I hope better sense prevails over the selectors before they pick the team for T20 World Cup.
Do they look professional from any angle?The kids in my street plays well by these heavily payed useless players.Its all because of the corruption in our cricket.Players like Junaid who played well in past series are thrown away with the reason "injured".