Wankhede set for battle of the west

Match facts

Tuesday, April 20, Mumbai
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)Same venue, same player. On Wednesday, he will be in different colours•AFP

Big picture

It was expected that the addition of two new franchises, and the resultant dilution of talent, would rob the IPL of its biggest draw card – its competitiveness. A week-and-a-half into the event, however, things have turned out quite the opposite: just four points split the ten-team field. All sides have experienced victory and defeat, the big-ticket franchises have lost to newly-formed ones and, so far, no team is a sure pick for the knockouts.Pune Warriors are one of the teams that have out-performed. At first sight, their side looked weak on the bowling front, and their batting seemed to lack the overseas class of other sides. Yet, they have delivered through uninhibited aggression, a Twenty20 trait rarely seen in the IPL, where sides grapple with the big differences in quality between their players. Pune don’t worry about shielding weak links – they attack from the outset, through Jesse Ryder’s enterprise, and through their new-ball bowlers’ relentless search for early wickets.Their seamers, however, looked helpless at the first sight of a flat track, failing to defend a big score against Delhi Daredevils. They should have a Plan B for the Wankhede that witnessed a similar high-scoring heist when Kochi Tuskers upstaged Mumbai Indians with a perfectly calibrated chase. Until that game, Mumbai’s attack gunned their opponents for cheap scores, and their in-form top order chased without fuss. It is a template that Pune prefers to follow as well. With little to separate the sides, the war of the western franchises could well be decided by the battle of the coin.

Team talk

Despite the Kochi reversal, Mumbai are likely to retain their combination, including their weakest link, left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza. On the other hand, Pune might consider bringing in bowling reinforcements. Murali Kartik could return to the side, though Yuvraj Singh’s bowling form might work against the inclusion of another left-arm spinner. Mitchell Marsh and Nathan McCullum are also waiting in the wings, but the four overseas players’ rule could make it tougher for them to break in.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Stepping into Zaheer Khan’s shoes is a daunting task for anyone but, so far, Munaf Patel has managed without a problem. Even when Kochi were brutalising the rest of Mumbai’s attack, Munaf escaped with figures 3-0-15-0. Will he continue to earn respect by keeping it short of a length and getting it to nip this way and that off the seam?Two men in the Pune camp will be smacking their lips at the prospect of facing Munaf’s pace-less fare. Yuvraj Singh loves to swat length balls through the leg side, while Robin Uthappa shuffles into line and lofts clean and straight. Will Munaf get them to mis-hit one of those big shots?

Prime numbers

  • Sachin Tendulkar is still second on the list of highest run-getters in the IPL’s history. With a half-century against Kochi, Suresh Raina has opened up some breathing space between him and Tendulkar
  • Among players with more than 100 runs this season, Jesse Ryder has the highest strike-rate (200)

The chatter

“They are coming off a loss as well, so it will be a good game. There is a good rivalry between Pune and Mumbai, and fans will definitely come from Pune, so it will be a good crowd.”

Battle for second place in Group B

Match Facts

March 20, Chennai
Start time 1430 hours (0900 GMT)Chennai will provide Harbhajan Singh with the best conditions to pick up wickets•Getty Images

The Big Picture

No wonder India play so much cricket without seeming to overly mind it. When MS Dhoni walks out for the toss for this game, it will have been more than a week since they last played in the World Cup. The off days for the Indian team, however, have been days of plenty of buzz and activity for the Indian cricketing public and media. Dhoni has suddenly gone from being Midas to moron for getting Ashish Nehra to bowl the final over; Yusuf Pathan is no longer a good choice to bat in batting Powerplay; heated meetings between selectors, board secretary and captain have been reported and denied ; the moon’s proximity to the earth has had its say; the next coach has become a topic of discussion; UDRS blunders and Sachin Tendulkar’s impending 100th hundred have been overshadowed; everything that can be debated, even those that cannot be, have been debated.If you have been watching news channels in India, or reading news publications, doom is not too far. Which is why the players have been asked to stay far away. Which is why it is a good thing that they are back on the field where they can sort out their team combination for the knockouts, and there are issues bothering them. Piyush Chawla’s inclusion in the XV, always a bit inexplicable, has so far been exposed as a mistake, a gamble gone wrong, which reduces India’s options if they feel that either of Munaf Patel or Nehra is out of form.And Virat Kohli – this will sound harsh on a young man in the form of his life – has hurt the team balance a bit, forcing Suresh Raina out, who is more suited at the slog end and is a pretty canny part-time offspinner. For this game, though, India might not have to make a choice, for Virender Sehwag is down with an allergic reaction to a painkiller injection.India’s opponents are now assured of a place in the knockouts, but the game is just as big for them. Bangladesh are the only Test team West Indies have beaten in an ODI since June 28, 2009, which hurts them bad. Also painful will be how they didn’t trust themselves to play normal cricket and finish a middling chase against England after the explosive start by Chris Gayle. They will dearly love to end that unflattering streak, and in the process finish at No. 2 in Group B, thus avoiding the best two sides from Group A in the quarter-final.If it provides some comfort, the previous major team West Indies beat was India, in Jamaica, through aggressive bowling. They will rate their chances because they are up against a side that is under pressure, no matter how much it avoids the media and the public. A side that will have done really well if it plays uninhibited, free-flowing cricket. West Indies might think the iron is hot.Chennai is certainly hot, and its spinner-friendly track and reverse-friendly square have provided the two matches of the tournament so far. The World Cup will want to bid it a fitting farewell before it moves to the flatter, more predictable surfaces.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
India LWWTW
West Indies LWWWL

Watch out for…

Chris Gayle has to be hurting. In a chase of 244, he left his side at 58 for 1 in the seventh over, but the rest still managed to fall 18 short. Will he go back to reining himself in and playing through the innings? Will he decide to make Sunday his day and his day alone, and go swinging?Sides have decided the best way to beat India, at least when they are on the field, is to play Harbhajan Singh out and not give him wickets. Hence an economy-rate of 4.41, but only five wickets. At times it works for India, producing more wicket-taking opportunities for the other bowlers that the batsmen feel compelled to attack. In this World Cup, it has worked for the batsmen. Chennai, though, will be Harbhajan’s best chance of taking wickets: a turning pitch, and a fair sprinkling of left-hand batsmen.

Team news

R Ashwin, through all indicators, seems to the be the man India want the world to see as little of as possible before the big matches. Is a match that determines whether they face New Zealand or Sri Lanka in the quarter-final big enough?Sehwag is a big doubt. “Viru has got an allergic reaction in his right knee, so we will take that call either in the evening or on the morning of the game,” Dhoni said.India (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 & 11 two out of Ashish Nehra, R Ashwin and Munaf PatelLeaving Shivnarine Chanderpaul was a brave move on paper, but it did backfire on West Indies when they missed one batsman who would take the responsibility and anchor the chase on a difficult track. Do they bring him back? If they do, that will mean dropping either one of the specialist batsmen or one out of Andre Russell and Devendra Bishoo, both of whom had a superb game against England. Right now, Ramnaresh Sarwan seems to be the most disposable member of the XI that lost to England.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan/Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Darren Sammy (capt.), 7 Devon Thomas (wk), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Devendra Bishoo.

Expect another baked turner with a hard square that should facilitate reverse-swing. For those looking for respite from the Chennai heat, the following is not good news. Chance of precipitation on Sunday: 0%.

Stats and trivia

  • Legspinner Bishoo took three wickets on his debut in Chennai. Twenty three years ago, a legspinner in a similar mould, took 16 wickets on his Test debut, again in Chennai. West Indies then were at the receiving end of Narendra Hirwani.
  • Everybody knows Sachin Tendulkar is one short of reaching 100 international hundreds, but he is also just 47 short of 18,000 ODI runs.
  • The World Cup head-to-head between the teams is tied at three and three.

Quotes

“It is a big learning curve and hopefully we won’t repeat the same mistakes that have happened so far. We are human beings, we are always supposed to commit mistakes. Hopefully the interval between two will be long.”

Cameron Mirza sets USA U-19 record

Cameron Mirza, a 17-year-old born and raised in the suburbs of northern New Jersey, created history on Monday by getting the highest score by a USA Under-19 player. Mirza carried his bat in USA’s 285-run win against Argentina on the first day of the ICC Americas U-19 Division One in Florida. He went on to score 118, only the second ton by a USA U-19 player, after Amer Afzaluddin’s ton against Argentina U-19 in 2001. The third highest score by a USA U-19 player is Andy Mohammed’s 90 against Afghanistan in the 2009 Youth World Cup qualifier, in Toronto.”It felt great, it was a relief,” Mirza said. “I was really excited when the coach told me I was going to open and I just couldn’t wait.” Mirza scored his century in 125 balls with 10 boundaries before finishing with 12 fours in his knock. It was his first game playing for USA at the U-19 level after previously playing in the U-15 squad at an ICC regional event in Bermuda in 2008.”I think he [Mirza] fits the bill,” Robin Singh, USA’s U-19 coach, said. “He’s somebody who takes his time and in 50 overs you have a lot of time to play and he fits that role pretty well.”Mirza’s mother, who travelled to Florida for the game, is Irish-American while his father immigrated to America from Pakistan. Mirza only started playing cricket four years ago after he saw his father watching a game on TV. Two years later, he became one of the first junior players in America to secure a bat sponsorship deal. He is one of only six American-born players in the current USA U-19 squad.Mirza is highly rated by current Bangladesh bowling coach Ian Pont. In the last few years, he has travelled to Potchefstroom in South Africa and Mumbai to take part in camps run by Pont.”[The camps in] India really helped with batting for long periods of time,” Mirza said. “[The camps in] South Africa helped me a lot with playing quick bowlers and India was great for spin. They all just chipped in little parts that came together.” Mirza has also spent extensive time training in New Jersey at DreamCricket Academy and Indoor Cricket USA, two places that have a fast growing reputation for producing USA U-19 representative players over the last three years.Mirza had set a personal goal before the start of the tournament to be the highest run-scorer at the end of the week. After the first day, he’s in the driver’s seat on the leaderboard and could very well achieve that goal. “I’d like to do that every game and I feel like because I did that in the first game, there’s expectations now for me to do it again,” Mirza said. “I’m confident but I realize its cricket. Anything can happen.”

All-round O'Keefe knocks out Victoria

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Usman Khawaja helped New South Wales recover with a half-century•Getty Images

A brilliant all-round performance from Steven O’Keefe lifted New South Wales to a hard-fought 17-run win over Victoria at the MCG, ending the Bushrangers’ finals hopes.The ‘baby’ Blues – missing a host of senior players because of international duties and injury – were rattled early by Dirk Nannes (3 for 23), James Pattinson (3 for 22) and an Aaron Finch wonder catch on the boundary, collapsing to 5 for 69 in the 9th over.A mature 61-run partnership between Usman Khawaja (65 off 43 balls) and O’Keefe (50 off 38) then steadied the innings and helped them reach a very respectable 7 for 168.The Bushrangers looked to be cruising in the chase at 1 for 100 in the 12th over when Finch (53 off 37) decided to get a move on in the hope of improving the hosts abysmal net run-rate, but was fortuitously stumped by Dan Smith off the bowling of Man of the Match O’Keefe – the keeper fumbling the ball back onto the stumps.Brad Hodge (22 off 21) fell two balls later, lbw to a nice slider from O’Keefe before captain Andrew McDonald fell cheaply to Scott Coyte the next over, exposing the Bushrangers’ young middle order.From there, the hosts never looked like making the runs with teenagers Sean Abbott (2 for 25) and Patrick Cummins (1 for 27) sealing an impressive win away from home – the Bushrangers’ first Big Bash loss at the MCG.O’Keefe will feel he is an outside chance of a World Cup call-up, depending on the fitness of Nathan Hauritz, who dislocated his shoulder in Australia’s win over England in the second ODI at the Bellerive Oval.Victoria is now out of the competition, sitting at the foot of the table with just one win. The Blues on the other hand, will face Queensland twice in five days as the two teams fight for third place behind South Australia and Tasmania.

Lanning drives Victoria to Twenty20 title

ScorecardMeg Lanning top scored for Victoria with 74•Getty Images

The teenager Meg Lanning starred with the bat and in the field to help Victoria clinch their second consecutive Twenty20 Cup in a thrilling final against their rivals New South Wales. Victoria posted a strong total of 5 for 161 but after Leah Poulton’s powerful 76 in the chase, the Breakers found themselves in with a chance, with the equation coming down to 20 needed from 10 balls.But despite a six hit in the final over by Kara Sutherland, Victoria’s veteran fast bowler Clea Smith held her nerve to send down a yorker with the last ball, when the Breakers required six more for victory. It meant back-to-back titles for the Spirit, who won the inaugural event last year, and they had the 18-year-old Lanning to thank.She starred with 74 from 56 deliveries at the top of the order, batting superbly until she was deftly stumped by Alyssa Healy off the bowling of Sharon Millanta (2 for 29). A couple of late sixes from Victoria’s captain Rachael Haynes, who made 15 from seven balls, ensured a healthy target, but it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Spirit as Poulton chased hard.She struck two sixes and nine fours in her 76 from 45 balls and despite losing partners all around her, she seemed set to guide the Breakers home when she fell with the score at 5 for 126 in the 16th over. Fittingly, it was Lanning who took an outstanding catch to remove Poulton off the bowling of Briana Binch, and from there it was all uphill for New South Wales.Haynes brought herself on late in the innings and collected two vital wickets, and there were also two run-outs as desperation set in for the Breakers. “We were lucky to get Leah out in the end there and it turned the game for us,” Haynes said. “Both teams are extremely talented and there’s a lot of depth in women’s cricket at the moment.”

Conditions surprised us – Kallis

Jacques Kallis has admitted South Africa were taken by surprise on the opening morning in Abu Dhabi as Tanvir Ahmed, the Pakistan debutant, reduced them to 33 for 3 on a wicket that offered unexpected assistance to the quick bowlers. It required Kallis to dig deep into his reserves alongside AB de Villiers as the pair hit impressive hundreds to haul their team to a position of supremacy by the close on 311 for 5.Pakistan opted to bowl first, which suited South Africa who would have batted in any event, and Tanvir made an immediate impression by removing Alviro Petersen with his third ball in Test cricket. He soon added the scalps of Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith to expose the middle order, but couldn’t get past the formidable partnership of Kallis and de Villiers. The ultimate success for a batsman is to succeed in trying conditions and for Kallis, who scored an unbeaten 135 in Dubai, it was a challenge he relished.”We had a look at it this morning but after the first over was bowled it really took us all by surprise,” Kallis said. “We were going to bat in any case but it did a lot more than we thought and the boys really played well to get us in the game in a situation we are now.”We were under a bit of pressure and needed a partnership. Fortunately myself and AB scored at a good rate as well so we could transfer a bit of pressure back on to Pakistan. The wicket played a little bit differently than what we thought and I think the seamers will be interested throughout the game.”Kallis has the reputation for being a stodgy batsman, but the evolution of Twenty20 has given him an extra gear which he is now willing to transfer into Test cricket. It was this counterattack which put Pakistan onto the back foot after a promising start and showed how a player can develop throughout a long career.”I think probably in the last three or four years I have scored lot quicker than the previous part of my career,” he said. “The batting line-up scores runs consistently which allows me to play with a lot of freedom and transfer a little bit more of the pressure. I just play every game as freely as I can and play by instinct.”South Africa will hope the Abu Dhabi surface continues to offer some assistance to the quick bowlers throughout the game after their victory push in Dubai was thwarted by a pitch which became slower and lower. However, it again looks like a situation where the new ball will be vital but Kallis is confident South Africa have the attack to prosper.”It’s certainly done a little for bowlers and that can help the bowlers throughout along with inconsistent bounce to add to that,” he said. “I am positive that if we can put a lot of pressure on Pakistan it’s not going to be easy especially in the last innings. There is always something for the seamers and it is hard work batting. We want to get around 400 and put the pressure on Pakistan and it would be good if our bowlers can exploit the conditions.”

I have no stake in the Kochi franchise – Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar, who is reportedly assisting the Kochi franchise in an advisory capacity, has denied helping the consortium make their successful bid in the IPL team auction in March. He also said that since there was no written agreement over his association with the franchise, “there is no question of [holding] any stake” in it.”The consortium was the second-highest bidder after the Sahara Group, and so they won the Kochi franchise,” Gavaskar told . “I had nothing to do with the decision to put the bid amount, so it is a bit of an exaggeration to suggest that I helped them pull off a stunning coup. How could I do so if I was in the dark about how much the bid amount was going to be?”The Kochi franchise has run into problems over its ownership pattern, which have led the BCCI to issue the consortium a 30-day deadline to explain why it should not be scrapped. There have also been suggestions that Gavaskar was open to joining the franchise as a cricketing expert, but only if it could resolve all its issues.Gavaskar had earlier turned down his role in the IPL governing council after the BCCI announced that there would be no financial remuneration for the cricketers sitting on the panel. He said he was not pleased with the media conjecture in the days leading to his decision. “What irked me most about the controversy was the totally misleading headlines and information about the composition of the new governing council. I mean, how could I be dumped or dropped if the BCCI contacts me the next day to ask if I am available.”This jumping to conclusions just for a headline is a sad part of the media today and even sadder is the inability to accept that they got it wrong and offer a correction after that.”

Shingirai Masakadza picked for Ireland ODIs

Zimbabwe have named a full-strength squad led by allrounder Elton Chigumbura for the three-ODI series against Ireland that begins on September 26 in Harare. Zimbabwe last played an ODI series in June and have made just one change to their squad, replacing allrounder Andy Blignaut with Shingirai Masakadza, a seamer and useful lower-order batsman.The 15 also includes the experienced Tatenda Taibu and Hamilton Masakadza, who has been a prolific batsman at the top of the order and is in form. He recently starred with 90 and 41 for his domestic team Mountaineers in its win against Mashonaland Eagles in the Logan Cup.Ireland confirmed their decision to tour Zimbabwe in August after the African country had staged Intercontinental Cup fixtures involving Kenya and Afghanistan as well as a tri-series featuring the hosts, Sri Lanka and India in June. Things have been looking up for Zimbabwe in the recent past with former players like Jason Gillespie and Shaun Pollock giving cricket in the country a vote of confidence by taking up coaching assignments with domestic teams.Zimbabwe has been in self-imposed isolation from Test cricket since 2006 when it didn’t have the players to field a competitive team, but the country’s cricket board recently laid out an 18-month plan to return. However, Zimbabwe did suffer a setback in August when Scotland refused to tour for their Intercontinental Cup game scheduled for October, following government advice that cited insufficient progress in political reform and the rule of law as reasons to stay back.Zimbabwe’s most recent ODI assignment was a satisfying one, as they beat India – albeit depleted – twice in the tri-series and qualified for the final, where they were trumped by Sri Lanka. The Ireland tour comprises four games, all at the Harare Sports Club, including an Intercontinental Cup fixture on September 20.Zimbabwe squad: Elton Chigumbura (capt), Graeme Cremer, Chamu Chibhabha, Charles Coventry, Craig Ervine, Greg Lamb, Hamilton Masakadza, Shingirai Masakadza, Chris Mpofu, Ray Price, Ed Rainsford, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya.

Kohli, Kumble take Bangalore to semis

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outHe may have stumbled in the home stretch against Mumbai, but there was no stopping Virat Kohli against Lions•AFP

It was nearly another heartbreak for Virat Kohli. Chasing a below-par total, thanks to Anil Kumble’s four overs for 13 runs and Alviro Petersen’s wicket, Royal Challengers Bangalore nearly messed it up, staying behind the required rate for 16 overs. Nerves began to show when Kohli ran Robin Uthappa out in the 15th over, and followed it up with plays-and-misses in the 16th. However, with 43 required off four overs, Kohli pulled Bangalore out of the hole he seemed to have dug them, hitting Ethan O’Reilly for six, six, and four. It was a cruise after that, making Bangalore the first IPL team to have made it to a Champions League T20 semi-final. Uthappa wasn’t angry anymore.Two nights ago, Kohli was down on his haunches, inconsolable after he fell just short of pulling off an improbable chase against Mumbai Indians. Then at least he had Rahul Dravid to pat his back. Tonight, after he called Uthappa for a non-existent second and then changed his mind, he was all alone, down on his haunches, until Cameron White came out to bat.In the next over, Kohli top-edged one, refused a single to White, and was beaten twice. It was a gradual turn, but what had looked an easy chase, especially after a 53-run opening stand between Rahul Dravid and Manish Pandey, was now almost out of hand because there hadn’t been the urgency earlier to score quickly.Kohli, just 23 off 20 then, would have seen himself as part of the problem. He was about to become the solution. It all started with his favourite shot. O’Reilly missed a yorker by inches and Kohli flicked it off the pads for a flat six. A low full toss followed; dispatched over long-on. A length ball then, which went past extra cover for four. In three balls, the required rate was down to the original eight an over, and that Uthappa run-out was a distant memory.The Lions were not so lucky with run-outs. Alviro Petersen and Vaughan van Jaarsveld were punishing Bangalore in a third-wicket stand when van Jaarsveld backed up for a second run that didn’t exist. He had taken those two steps that ensure a second should there be a fumble. As it turned out, there was no fumble. But van Jaarsveld slipped while turning back and was run out. Lions were 74 for 3 at the end of that over, the eighth, but could manage only 59 in the next nine as Kumble’s smart bowling and tactics choked their innings.The run-out not only ended a partnership worth 54 off 26, it gave Kumble a look-in. Like Kohli, Kumble was looking for redemption of his own. It was when he dropped Dwayne Bravo in their previous game that they turned towards defeat. Tonight he was at the heart of Bangalore’s comeback.Kumble followed that run-out with an over that went for just four, and then introduced Kohli in an inspired move. Even though one over in between, bowled by Dillon du Preez, went for 10, Lions were finding it difficult to score off Kumble and Kohli. While Kumble gave Petersen and Neil McKenzie zero room, Kohli, a Chris Harris clone when bowling, mixed his cutters and wide yorkers well.McKenzie’s couldn’t match the earlier run-rate, or one that was required for a challenging total. In the four overs following that run-out, Petersen, who was scoring at two runs a ball without taking risks, got to face just nine balls, and McKenzie scored just 15 off the other 15. The edginess pushed Petersen into a slog-sweep against Kumble. The predictable result was an uprooted off stump.Kumble and Kohli refused to release the choke hold as Lions dragged towards 121 by the end of 16 overs. McKenzie continued to struggle, kept moving all around in the crease, and Dale Steyn’s yorkers proved too good in the end. A frustrated McKenzie finally got run out for 39 off 35 before Frylinck added respectability to the total with two sixes in the last over.The Lions would go on to add more respectability to it with spirited fielding and stable bowling, but it was to be Kohli’s night.

Twenty-two wickets fall on riveting day

Scorecard
Sachithra Senanayake grabbed 6 for 19•Getty Images

Almost eight years ago, India and New Zealand played out an absorbing series where teams struggled to survive a session, let alone a day. The opening day of the second unofficial Test between Sri Lanka A and Pakistan A was reminiscent of the events in that series where green-top pitches enabled bowlers to dominate their opponents in a manner rarely witnessed in the decade gone by. Both teams were bowled out for under three-figures and there was more as Sri Lanka lost a couple of wickets in their second innings after securing a three-run lead.Pakistan opted to field at the Mahinda Rajapakse Stadium in Hambantota, one of the venues for the 2011 World Cup. Pakistan would have hoped to put the hosts under pressure and did so with persistent strikes, allowing just three batsmen past double-figures. Opener Nadeera Nawla managed 28, surviving a horrid start where the first four wickets were lost for 14. Jeevan Mendis then batted fluently, scoring five boundaries in his knock of 40 but could only last so long against incisive spells from fast bowler Junaid Khan and medium pacer Hammad Azam, who was one of the main performers for Pakistan in the Under-19 World Cup in Australia earlier in the year. The pair bagged four wickets each to skittle the hosts for 97 but their team was at the receiving end soon after.Again, there were two chief destroyers among the bowlers. Seamer Suranga Lakmal, who made his Sri Lanka debut this year, and offspinner Sachithra Senanayake combined to run through the Pakistan batting. Lakmal did the early damage, picking up the first three wickets with just 23 on the board before returning to dislodge Azam. Senanayake struck when the middle order was trying to revive the innings by gradually accumulating runs, but four wickets fell for ten runs at one stage to scupper any hopes of recovery. Senanayake finished with 6 for 19 and Pakistan slid to 94 all out.Just when it seemed Sri Lanka had got themselves out of the hole to emerge front-runners, Junaid struck again to increase his day’s tally to six by removing the openers in the second innings. On a day where 22 wickets fell, Sri Lanka led by 46 runs at the close with eight wickets in hand.

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