LIVE – http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758: 1st Test – Pakistan in control until lunch – Match Update
Pakistan were in a strong position against Sri Lanka until lunch on day two of the first Test of the three match series at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033 (UAE) on Wednesday, October 19, 2011.
The hosts reached 115 runs without losing a single wicket in the morning session and just trail by 82 runs now. With all wickets in tact at the moment, the team will be eying to bat just once in this game.
Pakistan’s openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taufeeq-Umar-c92889 were unbeaten on 73 and 35 respectively before the umpires called the session off.
The pitch looked much better today, as it was completely dry and good for the batsmen. There was still some bounce for the seamers and a few balls also spun sharply.
Yesterday’s conditions were also not much different, as the batsmen had plenty of opportunities to score runs. However, the tourists failed to bat sensibly and were all out for 197 runs.
The highest scorer for Sri Lanka in the innings was all-rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 recently.
Pakistan’s young pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Junaid-Khan-c77037 was the pick of the bowlers yesterday. He was the main reason behind restricting the opposition to below 200 on a flat batting wicket.
The youngster did get tremendous support from off-spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859, who scalped a couple of crucial wickets in the innings.
The Men in Green had to bat eight overs before close of play yesterday and openers Hafeez and Umar did not have any problems during that time period.
The pair started today’s day with the same level of confidence and gave an opening stand of 115 runs to the team until lunch session.
Hafeez was the aggressive of the two batsmen, scoring 73 runs with the help of eight fours and one massive six. His partner batted steadily at the other end, collecting 35 runs with the help of one four.
Sri Lanka will need a few quick wickets after the lunch session in order to bounce back in the match otherwise the opposition will simply take the game away.
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