Sri Lanka seized control of the second Test yesterday by bowling Pakistan out for 90, the tourists’ lowest total against Sri Lanka.
Seamer Nuwan Kulasekara was the chief destroyer, finishing with four for 21 from nine overs.
Spinner Ajantha Mendis finished off the innings, scything through the lower order to claim three for 20 from 10 overs. Sri Lanka needed just 36 overs to bowl out Pakistan.
PHOTO: AP
Former captain Shoaib Malik was the only batsman to offer resistance, scoring an unbeaten 39.
Sri Lanka, with skipper Kumar Sangakkara unbeaten on 81, replied strongly to finish on 164 for three, a lead of 74.
Pakistan appeared to have claimed an early advantage when they won the toss on a good batting pitch, albeit at a venue that traditionally offers assistance to the fast bowlers in the first session of a Test match.
However, they were rocked by superb bowling from Kulasekara and his new ball partner Thilan Thushara, who claimed 2 for 23.
Pakistan lost the wickets of Khurram Manzoor (3), skipper Younis Khan (0), Mohammad Yousuf (10) and Misbah ul Haq (0) in the first 45 minutes of play.
Pakistan rallied briefly with Fawad Alam (16), who replaced the out-of-form Salman Butt, adding 32 with Shoaib Malik.
The left-handed Alam fell when he shuffled across his stumps to Angelo Mathews and was trapped lbw.
Wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal fell just before lunch, slashing at a wide delivery from Thushara to be caught behind for 9.
Having reached lunch on 74 for 6, they slumped deeper into trouble after the break as Kulasekara pinned Abdur Rauf lbw for a duck. Mendis then worked his magic with the tail.
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
Taiwan suffered its first defeat of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, losing to defending champion Japan 3-1 at the Taipei Dome last night. Japan’s victory put Taiwan’s score at two wins and one loss in WBSC Premier12 championship Group B play. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly from Japanese batter Shota Morishita allowed Masayuki Kuwahara to score a run on Taiwan’s starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清). Taiwan’s attempt to catch up in the bottom of the first ended to no avail and an uneventful second inning saw the score
Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome last night to advance to the Super Round of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 tournament. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champion and Group B winner Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the off. After taking a walk to first base, Taiwan’s Chen Chieh- hsien (陳傑憲) then stole second before Tseng Song-en (曾頌恩) drew a walk to first in the top of the first inning. Chen then
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
RSS