The powdery surface that had begun to explode upon impact by the third over of the first innings called for quality batting in order to score at more than a run a ball. Mahela Jayawardene was equal to the task, playing the spinners delicately and delightfully, but Pakistan rid of him before he could cause irreparable damage. They got Kumar Sangakkara out early enough too. Had Sangakkara, who scored a fluent 18 off 11, played for longer, it wouldn't have looked pretty for Pakistan. From 85 for 2 in the 13th over, Pakistan restricted the rest to an eventual 139 despite a 16-run last over, a testing total against a varied attack, but not out of reach.
Tillakaratne Dilshan, the third musketeer, didn't mind looking ungainly, or a strike-rate of 50 for the first 20 balls of his innings, accelerated to 35 off 43, but he too fell before he could provide the decisive burst.
The three big breakthroughs were brought about by Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez and Umar Gul, but the first impact on the night was created by Sohail Tanvir. Most of Pakistan fans would have worried about the worst when Tanvir's name was announced in the XI, but he is always a good pick for a big night, considering Pakistan can afford to have one bowler have an off day.
On his good days, Tanvir can be a pain to face. He was one on the big night, bowling the first three overs for 11, getting the upright seam to hit the flaky surface frequently. Jayawardene, though, played a gem. With the ball turning square at times, he stayed low, swept and reverse-swept often to play with the spinners' rhythm. Dilshan seemed to be batting on a different pitch.
It was not just that he was sweeping and reversing, it was the range of that shot, able to beat the two square fielders on either side. He connected with four reverse-sweeps, scoring 12. Then there was the regulation sweep and the lap shot. This innings was shaping up to be a big-stage classic when he failed to connect well with a lap off Afridi, giving Pakistan their first wicket.
That didn't bring them any relief, though. Sangakkara began with a four to midwicket first ball, and later displayed a lovely chip over extra cover. Hafeez, though, outmanoeuvred him. Watching him move too much around the crease, Hafeez pulled out off a delivery. When he did ball, he bowled it wide and out of reach of the moving Sangakkara, and prised out a catch in the deep.
Now, with Dilshan looking to break free, it was down to the two big Twenty20 men, Saeed Ajmal and Gul. Ajmal had had two ordinary overs for 20 by then, and it was Gul who subdued Sri Lanka with lovely yorkers. He had a struggling Jeevan Mendis lbw but that was later ruled a no-ball. A few bowlers in this tournament have broken down after that event, but Gul came back to trap Dilshan with an even better one to reduce Sri Lanka to 117 for 3 after 17.3.
Ajmal came back well with Jeevan's wicket in the next over, but Gul missed his yorkers by the slightest of margins in the last over. Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews took toll of it, but Gul also seemed to suggest the ball had got wet with the due. That could end up being the decisive factor later in the night.
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