Photo Courtesy: TheRealPCB/Twitter
Pakistan picked up a 67-run win over Sri Lanka in the second game of the three-match ODI series at Karachi’s National Stadium on Monday. Sarfaraz’s men have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Here are some talking points of the fixture.
- Usman Shinwari’s stellar bowling
The left-arm pacer showed why he is such a dangerous bowler in the 50-overs format as he finished with figures of 5-51 in 10 over. He exerted tremendous pressure on the Sri Lankan batting order by taking the wickets of Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando and Lahiru Thrimanne in the early stages of the chase.
- Babar Azam stamps his class
The talismanic batsman proved why he is placed at the third position in the ODI batsmen rankings as the 24-year-old added another century to his tally. He was rarely troubled in his brilliant 115-run knock and scored runs freely. He is behind Saeed Anwar and Mohammad Yousuf in the list of most ODI centuries by a Pakistani batsman.
- Fakhar Zaman finds his form
The left-handed opening batsmen’s form came under question because of his recent inconsistent performances. However, he will be looking to redeem himself on the back of his half-century in the second game. He played some delightful strokes and adapted well to the conditions.
- Sri Lanka’s batting woes
The visitors were in dire straits when they started their chase of the 306-run target. The side was reduced to 22-5 at a stage which put the pressure on the middle order. Skipper Lahiru Thrimanne admitted that the fall of their early wickets attributed to the defeat.
- Jayasuriya and Shanaka’s record sixth-wicket partnership
Shehan Jayasuriya and Dasun Shanaka put their names in the record books with their 177-run partnership for the sixth wicket, which gave some hope to the side of salvaging a victory when the team was in hot water. It is the highest sixth-wicket stand in ODI cricket for the island-nation and is also the highest partnership at the National Stadium.
