Opener Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene notched fighting half-centuries to propel Sri Lanka to 235-7 in the second day-night international against Pakistan at Dubai stadium here on Monday.
Tharanga scored 77 while Jayawardene returned to form with 50 as they shared a fourth wicket stand of 85 to lift Sri Lanka, who won the toss and were restricted in the middle overs by a disciplined Pakistan bowling.
The total reflected a big improvement in Sri Lanka’s batting after they were bowled out for a mere 131 during their eight-wicket defeat in the first of a five-match series here last Friday.
Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga gave a solid 56-run start to their team by the 12th over when leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, man-of-the-match in the first match for his 3-27, provided Pakistan with a breakthrough.
Afridi bowled Sri Lanka captain Dilshan with a sharp googley after he had threatened to score big by hitting four attractive boundaries. He fell for a 40-ball 28.
Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 516 in the preceding three-Test series which Pakistan won 1-0, managed just five before paceman Abdul Razzaq caught him off his own bowling, leaving Sri Lanka at 65-2.
It became 3-94 when Dinesh Chandimal (15) fell to off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, leaving Tharanga and Jayawardene to give the innings some respectability.
Tharanga hit eight boundaries during his 120-ball knock before he was caught off Afridi.
Jayawardene, who was lacklustre in the Tests as well as in the first one-dayer, hit five boundaries during his 57-ball knock before he was bowled by Ajmal.
Ajmal finished with 3-61 while Afridi bagged 2-35.
Pakistan kept an unchanged side, but Sri Lanka brought in Thissara Perera and Jeevan Mendis in place of Suranga Lakmal and Kosala Kulasekara.
Scoreboard after Sri Lanka’s innings in the second day-night international against Pakistan at Dubai Stadium here on Monday:
Sri Lanka
U. Tharanga c Younis b Afridi 77
T. Dilshan b Afridi 28
K. Sangakkara c and b Razzaq 5
D. Chandimal b Ajmal 15
M. Jayawardene b Ajmal 50
A. Mathews c Ahmed b Cheema 3
J. Mendis not out 17
T. Perera st Ahmed b Ajmal 13
L. Malinga not out 2
Extras: (lb8, nb1, w16) 25
Total: (for seven wkts) 235
Fall of wickets: 1-56 (Dilshan), 2-65 (Sangakkara), 3-94 (Chandimal), 4-179 (Tharanga), 5-189 (Mathews), 6-210 (Jayawardene), 7-233 (Perera)
Bowling: Gul 7-1-35-0 (nb1, w5), Cheema 8-0-56-1 (w4), Ajmal 10-0-61-3 (6w), Razzaq 7-1-18-1 (w1), Afridi 10-1-35-2, Hafeez 8-1-22-0
Overs: 50
Toss: Sri Lanka
Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Zameer Haider (PAK)
TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
