da mrbet： The match started with Sri Lanka having made two changes in the side from the first test
da dobrowin： Col (Retd) Rafi Nasim21-Jun-2000The match started with Sri Lanka having made two changes in the side from the first test. After winning the toss, Sri Lanka elected to bat but took a shaky start. They lost the first wicket of Marvin Atapattu with only 13 runs on the board and continued losing more.Fully dominated by the ferocious Pakistani attack of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, the batsmen did not show much courage to with stand it. As a result, Sri Lanka lost 4 wickets for 47 runs and was in a precarious situation. By claiming 3 wickets for 25 runs, Waqar Younis had caused the bigger damage.Skipper Moin Khan made the mistake of replacing both the top bowlers with the young pair of pace bowlers, Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood. The change amounted to letting Sri Lanka off the hook. As a result, the score started mounting. Mahela Jayawardene and Arjuna Ranatunga hit some beautiful shots raising Sri Lanka’s Score to 100 in 36 overs. Their partnership brought Sri Lanka back on the rails. With an excellent combination of offence and defense they raised the score to 153 for 4 by teatime. The partnership between them having crossed the 100 runs mark, they almost dictated terms to the Pakistani bowlers and fielders alike. Having already boosted up the score considerably, they appeared set for a still bigger total.There came a disappointing end to an excellent innings of 51 when Ranatunga was run out after a courageous stay at the crease. In partnership with Jayawardene, he added 116 runs to his team’s score. With Sri Lanka at 163 for 5 the fall of this old guard was perhaps a signal for the collapse of Sri Lanka’s innings.Mahela Jayawardene who played the sheet anchor for Sri Lanka was next to go when he was caught in the slips off Azhar Mahmood after a gallant innings of 72. With 173 for 6, Sri Lanka’s fate was now in the hands of tail enders.Then came the most sensational moment of the game when Abdur Razzaq committed a hat trick ousting Kaluwitharana, Rangana Herath and Pushpakumara on three consecutive balls. With this calamity, Sri Lanka was down to 177 for 9. A little later Sri Lanka was all out for 181 runs.Waqar Younis and Abdur Razzaq were the major wreckers of Sri Lanka’s innings. While Waqar Younis caused the initial damage, Razzaq rounded off the tail.Pakistan inningsFacing a moderate total of 181, Pakistan opened the innings with Saeed Anwar and Mohammad Wasim. Considering the fading evening light, the two openers played a steady innings. At the same time they kept the score board moving by collecting runs through singles and twos and hitting occasional boundaries.To Pakistan’s bad luck, Sri Lanka got the much-needed break through when Mohammad Wasim lost his wicket after scoring a valuable 29. Tragedy struck again when Azhar Mahmood was also out for a duck, at the total of 71. Muralitharan claimed both the wickets. At the end of the day’s play, Pakistan was 74 for 2 with Saeed Anwar holding the fort with a solid 42 to his credit.
