LIVE - Sri Lanka v Pakistan – 2nd ODI - Match Update - http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 at 53 for 1 by end of first 10 overs
Sri Lankan skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397 once again elected to bat first during the second match of the ongoing ODI series against Pakistan, being played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium today on June 9, despite having lost the first ODI after
a similar decision; however, this time around, the Lankans managed to reach a steady 53 at the expense of one wicket by the end of the first ten overs – an improved performance over their last match, which had seen them at 3 for 24 by this point.
The Lankan skipper undoubtedly expected the pitch to be more batsman-friendly than last time, when the rain had enabled the bowlers to gain an edge – however, this time the weather, despite a forecast for rain, had remained dry in the days leading up to
the second encounter between the two teams at Pallekele.
After suffering a 6-wicket loss in the first ODI of the 5-match series, the Lankans went into the match eager to turn the series around in their favour, while Pakistan were undoubtedly looking to preserve their winning streak.
While the hosts went in with an unchanged playing XI, the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Sami-c77289 (who claimed 3 for 19 in the last ODI, and is the top-wicket taker in the current tour so far, having claimed 7 scalps) injured his finger during
practice, and was forced to sit out, with uncapped left-arm seamer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahat-Ali-c83301 making his debut.
The Sri Lankans’ tinkered with their batting line-up, moving skipper Jayawardene (who managed a meagre 3 runs off 20 balls in the first ODI) down the batting order to number 5, and bringing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TM-Dilshan-c2691
(23).
The opening partnership yielded 37 runs, after which http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sarfraz-Ahmed-c88818
Wicketkeeper batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adrian-Roger-Kirshaw-Pierson-c42135 it out at the crease, and post a challenging
score on the board by the end of 50 overs.
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