I should have batted through, says Tillakaratne Dilshan – Cricket News Update
Sri Lankan skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TM-Dilshan-c2691, felt dejected after his side suffered a 21-run defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the third One-Day International of the five match series played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium,
on Friday, November 18, 2011.
Dilshan was furious with himself for getting veteran batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KC-Sangakkara-c1779 run-out and throwing away his wicket afterwards. Prior to these incidents, Lankans were going along nicely and it seemed as if they would have chased
down the total of 257 runs with relative ease.
Expressing his discontent with how the events transpired, Dilshan said, “Sanga's run-out and my dismissal was disappointing. I should have batted through.”
There was a silver lining for Sri Lankan team, as their bowlers exhibited great fighting spirit and pulled things back drastically in the final twenty overs of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s innings. Had they not showed the composure, the Men in Green
would have raced on to score more than 300 runs.
The Lankan bowlers took a beating at the hands of Pakistani vanguards, Muhammad Hafeez and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-Farhat-c64218. The duo put on an opening stand of 151 runs in 29.2 overs. However, the hosts lost the momentum afterwards and were restricted
to 257 in 50 overs.
Pakistani skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972, was not impressed by the way his side stumbled after such a good start. The helm of Pakistani outfits applauded his bowlers for securing the win.
“At one stage we were looking to score 300 but we kept on losing wickets. The bowlers did a really good job for us, especially Hafeez. We were hopeful that once we made their required run-rate over six, we were in with a good chance,”
said Misbah at match presentation.
Hafeez, who was struggling for runs in the first two games, fought his way into form this match. The right-handed batsman scaled 83 runs which included nine fours and one six.
Hafeez also bowled superbly and conceded a mere 29 runs from seven overs. The all-rounder turned the match in favour of Pakistan by taking the wicket of Jeevan Mendis at a crucial time and was declared Man of the Match for his
efforts.
Pakistan is now leading the series two games to nil. The fourth match will be played on Sunday, November 20 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
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