Perera hat trick hands Pakistan 44 run defeat in fourth ODI
The rain-hit match at Premadasa was moving in Pakistan's favour with opener Azhar Ali and captain Misbahul Haq shared a 113 run partnership, chasing Sri Lanka's 243 for the loss of eight wickets.
But after Haq was dismissed for 57, Pakistani batsmen found the going quite tough, and Perera too hot to handle as the team collapsed from 166 for three to 179-9.
Spinner Saeed Ajmal tried to offer support to Ali to the best of his ability. The pair added 20 more runs before Ajmal tried to lob one over mid-off and was caught by Thirimanne to bring the match to a close.
Azhar Ali remained not out, having made 81 runs.
Sangakkara had shared a 110 run partnership with captain Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 40 runs.
Off-spinners Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal, and paceman Sohail Tanvir each bagged two wickets for Pakistan in the day-night match.
Earlier, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene elected to bat after winning the toss against Pakistan in the fourth one-day international in Colombo on Saturday.
The five-match series is currently tied 1-1, with Pakistan winning the opening one-dayer by six wickets and Sri Lanka winning the second game by 76 runs in Pallekele.
The third match was abandoned due to rain in Colombo on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Sajeewa Weerakoon.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir.
Umpires: Ranmore Martinesz (SRI) and Paul Reiffel (AUS)
TV umpire: Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)
COMMENTS (20)
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Since many of our senior player or continously fail better to try our bench strength. Yonus ,shahid, Umer Akmel and Umer Gulneed complete rest.Hafeez should come down at #6.
Time has come to say Good bye to:
Mohammad Hafeez [6 ducks in a row - World record for an opener) Mohd. Younus Umar Akmal Afridi
They are un-reliable and burden on our Team. They must be replaced by young ones. Young blood will have the ability to fight which is lacking in these aging players.
Regards Dr. Saleem Siddiqi
You can bring the best coaches and the phychologist but like the saying goes " A spade will always be a spade". The current Pakistani team has quite a few over rated and mediocre players and no coach or phychologist can turn things around for them. They simply don't have it but continuously get selected based on one or two good performances. Mohammad Hafiz is the prime example and there are few more in the current Pakistani team.
How could we expect this team to win and be consistent when 3 to 4 of the players in the playing XI shouldn't even be with the touring party.
@jj... you seems to be highly optimistic..
I smell some match fixing.
Anyone who cannot show consistent batting performance needs to be dropped - including Afridi
Back to our old ways of losing a match we comfortably should have won.
STILL ONE LEFT ND HOPE GREEN SHIRTS DRAW THE SERIES..... BEST OF LUCK.
You can bring any coach of the world but until players are given extreme mental training via some sports psychologist they will keep repeating such performances. Each of them is mentally so weak that can't tolerate even iota of pressure
I am really annoyed they way our lower order has played. Its time to drop few players including younis khan and omer akmal etc.
This is what you get when your team is selected based on personal likes and dislikes. Like many, I am not a big fan of opener Imran Farhat either, but if he is with the team then why Azhar Ali as an opener? Azhar made runs but never moves the game forward. Pakistan will continue to struggle if they persist with Azhar Ali as an opener. Nasir Jamshed the opening batsman got injured and Sohail Tanveer the medium pacer is his replacement? What's the logic? To have Rahat, Cheema and fit now Sami warm the benches. Rahat only bowled 4 overs, went for runs but some of those runs (4s) went through the slips and would have been wickets had Misbah been proactive.
Pakistani Cricket administrators continue to dig holes for the national team, we can all hope and pray that before it's late, they stop working so hard for their regional and personal interests and think for the betterment of the national team.
We treat players like Afridi and Younis as Gods when they perform and win us a match but there's no consistency in their performances. Umar Akmal and Sarfaraz Ahmed don't deserve to be in the team, Hafeez's talent is hyped up to be something extra ordinary but he's been an ordinary player that hasn't been able to give a big score in ages.
for the love of god play umar akmal at no3 and bring hammad azam in. On a positive note, azhar ali is shaping up very nicely
When Misbah was playing i thought that Pakistan got good players. I thought Misbah would do his job best. But it looks that some hidden or heavenly forces changed the match. unbelievable.
Is there any restriction for taking a helper for running!!!
Misbah Tuk Tuk
Wao the match shows that anything can happen in Cricket. What to say about the performance. Pakistani players think that if i would be out, others will do the score. By my point of view each and every player should take responsibility to lead the match till the end whether he is opener or last player. Azhar is the great example for all players. But i couldn't understand that why he was not taking a runner for help !!!
We must insist Srilanka plays cricket in Pakistan. I agree there has been an unfortunate attack on Srilankan Team, but every one who`s done it. So, we want them to play in Pakistan;
The batting line-up crumbled like a cookie after Misbah's departure. It is high time to expunge Younus Khan and Umar Akmal from the team. The batting line-up has been despicable and cringe-worthy.
Ahh...they played an extra batsmen and yet they failed. Umar Gul dropped an absolute sitter and then got hammered for sixes by Sangakarra and Jayawardene. Our batting failed as usual and get rid of Umar Akmal he is becoming a burden on our batting. He has failed time and again.