DUBAI : Opener Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene notched fighting
half-centuries to propel Sri Lanka to 235-7 in the second day-night
international against Pakistan at Dubai stadium here on Monday.Tharanga
scored 77 while Jayawardene returned to form with 50 as they shared a
fourth wicket stand of 85 to lift Sri Lanka, who won the toss and were
restricted in the middle overs by a disciplined Pakistan bowling.The
total reflected a big improvement in Sri Lanka's batting after they
were bowled out for a mere 131 during their eight-wicket defeat in the
first of a five-match series here last Friday.Tillakaratne
Dilshan and Tharanga gave a solid 56-run start to their team by the 12th
over when leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, man-of-the-match in the first
match for his 3-27, provided Pakistan with a breakthrough.Afridi
bowled Sri Lanka captain Dilshan with a sharp googley after he had
threatened to score big by hitting four attractive boundaries. He fell
for a 40-ball 28.Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 516 in the
preceding three-Test series which Pakistan won 1-0, managed just five
before paceman Abdul Razzaq caught him off his own bowling, leaving Sri
Lanka at 65-2 It became 3-94 when Dinesh Chandimal (15) fell
to off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, leaving Tharanga and Jayawardene to give
the innings some respectability.Tharanga hit eight boundaries during his 120-ball knock before he was caught off Afridi.Jayawardene,
who was lacklustre in the Tests as well as in the first one-dayer, hit
five boundaries during his 57-ball knock before he was bowled by Ajmal.Ajmal finished with 3-61 while Afridi bagged 2-35.Pakistan
kept an unchanged side, but Sri Lanka brought in Thissara Perera and
Jeevan Mendis in place of Suranga Lakmal and Kosala Kulasekara.
