PAK v SL, 4th ODI Review: Streaks for both sides continue as Pakistan humiliate the visitors yet again

Pakistan and their unbeaten run in ODIs extend to 8 matches and in the process, they also helped Sri Lanka extend their horrid losing streak to 11 games. It was another one-sided show at the Sharjah as the bowlers and batsmen complemented each other spectacularly well to gain a 4-0 lead in the ODI series.

Batting first, Skipper Upul Tharanga, the man who has been the stand out performer for them this series, lost his wicket for a duck and that’s where the downfall commenced. Niroshan Dickwella once again started off brilliantly, only to throw his wicket away with a tentative slog which went straight to the covers.

Right after the power play was done, Imad Wasim’s over turned things complete in Pakistan’s favor. Firstly, Dinesh Chandimal had a miscommunication with Lahiru Thirimanne which eventually led to the downfall of the former. Debutant Samarawickrama’s stumps got cleaned up off the second ball he faced and Sri Lanka was down and out at 59/4.

Thirimanne chipped in with Siriwardana to restrict the flow of wickets for the next ten overs. They failed to amass any significant amount of runs in this phase and the pressure got to Siriwardana soon. Hasan Ali got the breakthrough after a frustrating little partnership and this wicket gifted another two wickets in the next few overs.

Shadab Khan removed Seekuge Prasanna and Perera in the same over and they were reduced to 99/7. Thirmanne stuck in brilliantly from here to register a half-century and build a crucial partnership with Akila Dananjaya. Dananjaya’s resistance didn’t last long and after he fell, Thirimanne’s effort was put to bed by Imad Wasim. He scored 62 off 94 balls which included 4 boundaries.

Yet again, Hasan Ali tormented their tail in the death overs and just when they thought they could register something over 200, Hasan Ali tormented their tail in the death overs and Sri Lanka got bowled out for 173. Ali returned with figures of 3/37 and Imad Wasim did a great job as well, picking 2 wickets and giving away just 13 runs in 7 overs.

Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam rescue Pakistan from an initial predicament

Imam-ul-Haq was dismissed in the second over of the innings, definitely not a great way to back up the brilliant hundred he scored the other day. Fakhar Zaman didn’t stick along for a long while as well and got stumped whilst attempting to dance down the ground off Akila Dananjaya.

To add insult to injury, Pakistan lost another wicket soon as Mohammad Hafeez gave his wicket away to Prasanna. Sri Lanka was right back in the game as Pakistan just had 58 runs on board at that point. Yet they failed to capitalize on the pressure they exerted. Rather, Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik did an exceptional job to rescue their side out of this danger.

Both these players took some time to settle in and didn’t rush anything. Dananjaya and Prasanna bowled spectacularly at a point and they really tested these gentlemen. Yet, the Pakistani batters cleared this mental Test and got the partnership rolling on. Once they got it, they ensured Pakistan crossed the hundred mark and soon, completed a 50-run stand for the 4th wicket.

Both these players registered hard-fought fifties and saw their side past the winning mark.  Shoaib Malik registered 69 runs in 81 balls, whilst Babar Azam amassed 69 runs in 101 balls. Pakistan chased the target down losing no more wickets and their partnership remained unbeaten on 119 runs.