PAK vs SRI 2nd T20 Highlights, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 03-06-2012

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It was a familiar sight for Pakistan in the opening match of their tour of Sri Lanka; the bowlers did a fine job, but their batsmen collapsed resulting in a loss. The visitors have a new captain and some new players, and will look to reverse the trend quickly as they look to level the 2 match series as they go into the next game to be played at the same venue.

Pakistan: Everything was going right for Pakistan until Thissara Perera walked into the crease. Sri Lanka’s top and middle orders collapsed to some tight bowling and were set to post a below par total, but the big left hander changed the complexion of the game with an aggressive cameo. It was all downhill for Pakistan after that, as only 2 of their batsmen managed to get to double figures. Pakistan will be pleased with their bowling effort – Sohail Tanvir was almost unplayable and the spinners choked the batsmen for most parts. It is their batting that needs some quick attention. The new skipper Hafeez fell for a first ball duck and will have to lead a relatively young from the front if they are to get back into the series. The remaining batsmen – barring Ahmed Shehzad – were equally bad and did literally nothing worth mentioning.

Players in form: Sohail Tanvir bowled a superb spell at the top and returned figures of 4-0-12-3.

Sri Lanka: The hosts managed to win the first match but will know that there are a lot of questions to be answered, especially in the batting department. Perera triggered a rescue act but the Lankans will hope for more contributions from the top order. Jayawardene, Dilshan, Sangakkara and Chandimal played too many shots too early which resulted in their dismissals, and they will have to bat sensibly on a slow track which assists spin.

The bowling and fielding though, was spot on. Kulasekara did the damage early on and the middle order struggled against the medium pacers who got the ball to move in the air. Sri Lanka will look to replicate the performance on the field and if they manage that, the series will remain safe.

Players in form: Perera starred with the bat in the previous match with an unbeaten 32 off 16 balls. 

Pitch: The Hambantota pitch will be a slow, low one and will test the skill of the batsman. It is expected to behave the same way it did in the previous encounter, thereby making strokeplay difficult.

Prediction:  Expect Pakistan to stage a fightback and level the T20 series 1-1.

Pakistan is in a must win situation to tie the series. If Sri Lanka wins, they will clean up with up a 2-0 series win in this Twenty20 Series. First T20 Pakistan played poorly, whereas Sri Lanka were superb in the field, and their bowling was brilliant too – that resulted in a 37 run victory.

Head to head Played 8 Matches

Pak- 5 wins / SL- 3 wins