Sri Lanka Cricket

Sri Lanka will take a lead of 220 into the final day of the third Test against Pakistan, as they made painstakingly slow progress with the bat on day four. The tourists struggled to a score of 133-5 at the end of the fourth day, and their scoring rate of just 1.87 runs per over made for some arduous viewing.

Sri Lanka currently hold a 1-0 advantage in the series and will be confident of preserving their lead with five wickets and a decent lead in hand. 

Pakistan gave themselves a glimmer of hope when they dismissed Mahela Jayawardene just 15 minutes before play was called off for bad light. They need to win in this final Test match to avoid an overall series defeat.

Pakistan resumed day four on 293-6 with plenty of ground to make up. But things got off to the worst possible start when Abdur Rehman was caught behind off the bowling of Shaminda Eranga in the first full over of the day.

Things were to get even worse for Pakistan as Eranaga struck again in the second over of his spell, pinning Mohammad Talha in front of the stumps for just two.

At 300-8, Misbah-ul-Haq—who was well set on 41—went after the Sri Lankan bowling, trying to make inroads into what was still a significant deficit. He accelerated his run rate and looked to play in a much more aggressive manner. He went past 50 in the 101st over, lofting a Rangana Herath delivery out of the ground.

But he would only go on to make 13 more runs, as Herath had him caught trying to smash another six over the boundary. Tailender Junaid Khan came in and bludgeoned a couple of huge sixes, but Pakistan finished on 341, 87 runs short of the Sri Lankan total. Herath bowled very well, finishing with figures of 5-125.

Pakistan took to the field knowing they required a massive effort from their bowling attack. Things started well for them too as Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Talha snaffled two wickets each to leave Sri Lanka 89-4 in their second innings. 

Rehman found some turn and bowled some wonderful deliveries. The spinner will have been delighted to have picked up the prized wickets of Kaushal Silva for 36 and Kumar Sangakkara for just eight. Talha, on the other hand, dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne for eight and Dinesh Chandimal for 13, giving Pakistan real hope of pulling off a shock win.

But the tourists dug-in. Really dug-in. They took minimal risks and seemed unconcerned about scoring runs, obviously happy with a draw. Jayawardene played a careful innings and looked set to bat out the day for Sri Lanka. 

He made 46 from 144 balls and became the first ever Sri Lankan batsman to exceed 11,000 test runs. But he was caught off the bowling of spinner Saeed Ajmal just before the close of play.

Prasanna Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews batted out the rest of the day and they will resume day five on six and 14 respectively with a chance to bat Pakistan out of the game and secure a series win.

Sri Lanka continued to make painstaking progress on Day 2 of the third and final Test against Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Resuming on 220-5, the tourists laboured their way to 428-9 before declaring shortly before the close after batting for 172 overs.

Debutant Dilruwan Perera made 95 and saw the de-facto hosts reach 19-0 in their reply.

Sri Lanka lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the second Test in Dubai by nine wickets earlier this week.

Only 19 had been added to the overnight score when Prasanna Jayawardene hooked Mohammad Talha to Junaid Khan at long leg. The wicketkeeper departed for 35.

In-form Angelo Mathews and Perera saw Sri Lanka through to lunch without further loss, with the captain bringing up his half-century off 157 balls.

Mathews had moved to within nine runs of a third Test century when he sliced Junaid Khan to Ahmed Shehzad at deep point.

Khan then trapped Rangana Herath lbw first ball, but Shaminda Eranga kept out the hat-trick ball and 31-year-old Perera brought up his half-century just before tea off 176 balls.

Perera, the oldest Sri Lankan Test debutant in 31 years, moved to within five runs of a century when he hooked Talha to Khan at long leg.

Eranga was unbeaten on 25 when Mathews called in his batsmen with eight overs remaining, and the Pakistan openers Khurram Manzoor and Ahmed Shehzad saw their side through to the close without loss. 

Sri Lanka made turgid progress on Day 1 of the third and final Test against Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

The tourists reached 220-5 at the close of the opening day, scoring at little more than two runs per over.

Sri Lanka, who won the toss and elected to bat, lead the three-match series 1-0.

Kaushal Silva was the first man to fall, shortly after drinks in the morning session, when he edged seamer Mohammad Talha to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed for 17.

Dimuth Karunaratne and Kumar Sangakkara progressed the score to 64-1 at lunch before the opener fell in the first over after the adjournment.

Karunaratne was on 34 when he attempted to drive slow left-armer Abdur Rehman but got an edge, and Younis Khan dived low to his left to pick up the catch at first slip.

Sangakkara and fellow stalwart Mahela Jayawardene put on 60 for the third wicket, before the former flicked Junaid Khan to Khurram Manzoor at mid-wicket.

Sangakkara had made his 44th Test half-century but fell for 52 and Sri Lanka were 133-3 at tea.

They then lost two wickets in the opening hour of the final session as Jayawardene departed for 47 via an inside edge off Saeed Ajmal that lobbed to Azhar Ali at short leg.

Ajmal then removed Dinesh Chandimal for just 11 as a leading edge was taken by Asad Shafiq at mid-on.

However, captain Angelo Mathews (24*) and Prasanna Jayawardene (28*) took the visitors through to stumps without further loss but at a painstakingly slow scoring rate.

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by nine wickets in the second Test at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The tourists picked up the final three Pakistan wickets on the fifth morning for just 29 runs, leaving them a target of 137.

An opening partnership of 124 between Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva took them to the brink before Kumar Sangakkara clipped Saeed Ajmal for a single to seal the victory in the afternoon.

Pakistan started the day on 330-7 and with hopes of salvaging the match after relinquishing a 223-run advantage on first innings.

However, they lost key man Sarfraz Ahmed in just the fifth over of the morning.

Wicketkeeper Sarfraz had added just four to his overnight 70 when Suranga Lakmal got a delivery to swing back in between bat and pad to peg back off-stump.

The right-arm seamer then induced Rahat Ali into an outside edge, after making just eight, to give visiting keeper Prasanna Jayawardene his fifth catch of the innings.

Lakmal finished the innings with an in-swinging yorker to clean bowl Ajmal for 21 and Pakistan had been bundled out for 359 with the bowler picking up 4-78.

Karunaratne and Silva had advanced the score to 35 without loss at lunch and brought up their half-centuries off 95 and 116 balls respectively.

Sri Lanka were within 13 runs of their target when Ajmal trapped Silva lbw for 58 but Karunaratne finished unbeaten on 62 with Sangakkara on hand to deliver the final blow.

The tourists take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with the concluding contest of the tour of the United Arab Emirates starting in Sharjah on Thursday.

Mahela Jayawardene scored his 32nd Test century as Sri Lanka took a firm grip on the second Test against Pakistan on Day 2 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

After skittling Pakistan for 165 on Day 1, the tourists reached 318-4 at stumps on the second day with veteran Jayawardene unbeaten on 106.

It gives Sri Lanka a first innings lead of 153 as they look to establish a lead in the three-match series.

Resuming on 57-1, the visitors lost two key wickets in the opening hour. Kumar Sangakkara was trapped plumb lbw by Rahat Ali for 26 before Dinesh Chandimal hooked Junaid Khan straight to Ali at long leg after making 12.

Kaushal Silva brought up 50 off 133 balls and shared a 139-run partnership with Jayawardene before falling just five runs short of a maiden Test century after tea.

The opener, in his fifth Test, had already beaten his previous highest score but mistimed an attempted sweep off Mohammad Hafeez and was adjudged lbw.

Jayawardene powered on, seeing off the new ball, and reaching his first Test century since April 2012 with a late cut off Bilawal Bhatti.

It was his 12th boundary with the ton coming off 215 balls.

In-form skipper Angelo Mathews was alongside him at the crease, and they shared an unbroken partnership of 91 for the fifth wicket. The captain, who scored a century in the first Test, will resume on Friday on 42.

The opening match of the three-Test series in the United Arab Emirates was drawn.

Pakistan were bundled out for 165 by Sri Lanka on Day 1 of the second Test at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Opener Khurram Manzoor made 73, but Pakistan lost eight wickets for 58 runs in 25.4 overs.

Sri Lanka, who won the toss and decided to bowl first, were 57-1 in their reply.

Nuwan Pradeep made the early breakthroughs, trapping opener Ahmed Shehzad lbw for three before Mohammad Hafeez was bowled through the gate for 21 just after lunch.

Manzoor brought up his half-century, his sixth in Test cricket, off 83 balls. However, Pakistan then lost their two key batsmen in quick succession.

Shaminda Eranga had Younis Khan (13) and captain Misbah-ul-Haq (1) caught behind by Prasanna Jayawardene.

Manzoor offered Jayawardene his third catch when he edged Suranga Lakmal after a 136-ball stay at the crease. Only Bilawal Bhatti, with an unbeaten 24, reached double figures of the remaining six batsmen.

Seamers Lakmal, Eranga and Pradeep combined for seven wickets with slow left-armer Rangana Herath taking out the tail to finish with 3-26.

In their reply, Dimuth Karunaratne hit seven boundaries in a quick-fire 32 before being trapped lbw by Junaid Khan, who produced a delivery that jagged back alarmingly.

Opener Kaushal Silva and veteran Kumar Sangakkara both reached the close unbeaten on 12, with the final eight overs of the day lost to bad light. The tourists will look to establish a first innings lead on Day 2.

The opening match of the three-Test series in the UAE was drawn.

Sri Lanka produced an outstanding batting performance on Day 4 of the first Test to give themselves a chance of defeating Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.

Having started the penultimate day on 186-4, a slender lead of seven after relinquishing a 179-run deficit on first innings, they moved to 420-5 at stumps.

Captain Angelo Mathews scored an unbeaten century while Dinesh Chandimal contributed 89.

 Sri Lanka will go into the final day with a 241-run lead.

Mathews and Chandimal put on a 138-run partnership for the fifth wicket before the latter departed midway through the afternoon session, just 11 runs short of a third Test century.

The 24-year-old hit 12 boundaries in his 166-ball innings before he hooked a short delivery from Rahat Ali to Junaid Khan at deep fine leg.

Mathews, who made 91 in the first innings and then bowled 13 overs, continued his Herculean effort when he brought up his second Test century with a clip to square leg off Bilawal Bhatti.

He finished 116 not out from 282 balls, and gained valuable support from wicket keeper Prasanna Jayawardene, who was 48 not out at the close.

Sri Lanka hold an invaluable 241-run lead and will look to bat Pakistan out of the contest in Saturday's morning session before attempting to bowl out the de-facto hosts at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

They will only need nine wickets with Adnan Akmal unable to bat. Younis Khan took over keeping duties at the start of the fourth day. 

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by two wickets in the fifth and final One Day International of the series at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

An unbeaten 64 from Dinesh Chandimal saw Sri Lanka home, with two balls to spare, as Pakistan won the series 3-2.

Pakistan, who chose to bat, were dismissed for 232, three balls short of their 50-over allocation, with captain Misbah-ul-Haq top scoring with 51.

Suranga Lakmal picked up three wickets, including the first one to fall, which was from in-form opener Ahmed Shehzad, for 17.

Lasith Malinga had fellow opener, Sharjeel Khan, caught and bowled for 18, and went on to claim 4-57.

Mohammad Hafeez, who had already scored three centuries in the series, was unable to continue his magnificent form, and was bowled by Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews for 41, to leave Pakistan 128-4 in the 29th over.

Misbah's composed 74-ball innings ended in the 39th over, when he was caught behind off Malinga. Pakistan lost three wickets in as many overs, to vanquish any hopes of a total in excess of 250.

Anwar Ali's unbeaten 41 saw them reach a competitive target but the bottom four were dismissed in single figures.

Sri Lanka made a strong start in their reply, reaching 68 without loss from the opening 10 overs.

Kusal Perera hit four sixes in his 47 from 41 balls. When opening partner Tillakaratne Dilshan departed for 45 in the 25th over, Sri Lanka still looked well placed at 113-2.

However, veteran Kumar Sangakkara became the first of Junaid Khan's three victims.

Chandimal watched partners come and go before his eyes, with only Kithuruwan Vithanage (14) of the next five batsmen making it into double figures.

Sri Lanka needed 18 off the final two overs, but Chandimal hit Umar Gul's first ball over mid-wicket for six, before three balls later, number 10 batsman Ajantha Mendis steered a maximum over extra cover.

Mendis then slapped the fourth ball of the final over from Anwar Ali to the fence, to seal the victory and finish 19 not out.

Sri Lanka drew the Twenty20 series with Pakistan after a 24-run victory in the second game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Sri Lanka, who lost Wednesday's opening match by three wickets, made a whopping 211-3 in their innings.

Pakistan made 187 in their reply with Saeed Ajmal final man out with four balls of their allocated 20 overs remaining.

An opening partnership of 100 in 12 overs laid the foundation for Sri Lanka's big total after Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez won the toss and chose to bowl as he did 48 hours before.

Tillakaratne Dilshan fell to Ajmal for a 33-ball 48 featuring eight fours, but debutant Seekkuge Prasanna maintained the momentum with two sixes and two fours in making 21 off just eight balls before becoming Ajmal's second victim.

Veteran Kumar Sangakkara also hit two maximums as he blasted 44 off 21 balls with opener Kusal Perera batting throughout the innings for 84 off 59 balls before being run out off the final ball.

The total was well in excess of the 145 Sri Lanka made on the same pitch on Wednesday, and Pakistan lost opener Ahmed Shehzad and Hafeez in the opening four overs of their reply.

Sohaib Maqsood then fell, and although opener Sharjeel Khan hit consecutive sixes to bring up his 50 off 24 balls, he fell aiming to hit a third off Prasanna.

That was the first of four wickets to fall for two runs in seven balls as leggie Prasanna clean bowled Umar Akmal before Sachithra Senanayake picked up two scalps in the 11th over.

Wednesday's match winner Shahid Afridi tried to rescue his team once more but was caught behind by Sangakkara off Thisara Perera after making 28. Pakistan looked dead and buried at 121-8 in the 14th over.

However, an enterprising ninth wicket partnership of 63 off 33 balls between Sohail Tanvir and Ajmal set up a potentially exciting finish before Lasith Malinga killed off their hopes by removing Tanvir for 41 in a penultimate over that saw him concede just two runs.

The five-match one-day international series begins on Wednesday.

Sri Lankans will be watching in their numbers when two of the country's leading sportsmen, cricketers Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, appear on television quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in their homeland.

The pair will take on the questions for charity on Thursday, November 28.

Hi all. Don't forget to watch Kumar & myself trying to win some money for charity on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire! pic.twitter.com/qiko0OoXxw

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) November 27, 2013

Understandably, everyone is tight-lipped about how they'll fare, but the duo are thought of as one of cricket's more cerebral partnerships. Sangakkara, as All Out Cricket confirms, plans to complete his law degree after cricket. Whether they'll have the general knowledge required to flourish on the show remains to be seen.

In any case, they certainly have form as a partnership. Per Cricinfo's record list, the duo have put on the biggest stand in the history of Test cricket together at 624 runs against South Africa in 2006.

Attention has already turned to the details, with some wondering who they'll pick for their phone a friend.

With #JayaSanga on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire tonight, I guess that @TomMoodyCricket will be their Phone A Friend? :-)

— Alternative Cricket (@AltCricket) November 27, 2013