Thirimanne made most of the batting surface to reach his second ODI century in 107 balls with 11 boundaries and a single six to his credit.
Thirimanne's ton came just after Umar Gul proved instrumental in breaking the gritty stand between him and Kumar Sangakkara when he dismissed the latter.
Sangakkara (67) failed to negotiate Gul's shot of length delivery and was caught by Ahmed Shehzad in comfortable manner at mid-wicket.
Sangakkara hit 8 boundaries in his innings and became only the second Sri Lankan batsman after Sanath Jayasuriya to reach the 12,000-run mark in one-day internationals when he was on 12.
Thirimanne along with Sangakkara, who hit his 84th half-century, put up a solid partnership to lead the Sri Lankan run charge.
The Thirimanne-Sangakkara put up a stupendous 161-run partnership to steady the Sri Lankan innings after Umar Gul gave Pakistan the first breakthrough.
Gul had Kusal Perera caught behind soon after Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and chose to bat.
After winning the toss, Mathews said that they have got their full strength side back again apart from Nuwan Kulasekara. He added that it's a fresh start and they need to start well to get the momentum going.
Misbah said they don't really know what to make of the pitch but the last time they played here it was really slow. He also mentioned that they have gone with the same set of players that played in the UAE last year.
The pitch is an absolutely well rolled wicket. It has dead grass and is really flat. There is nothing in it for the fast bowlers. The spinners will have a major role to play. There is a chance for a little bit of dew in the evening. In short, it is a batting paradise.
Defending champions Pakistan have come into the tournament with a team balancing experienced players and newcomers.
But Sri Lanka have one thing in their favour -- it played a month ago in Bangladesh, winning two Tests, three one-day internationals and two Twenty20s.
Pakistan would be taking spirit from the series wins over Sri Lanka and South Africa and also from the fact that they beat hosts Bangladesh in the 2012 final.
Teams:
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (Capt.), Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Bilawal Bhatti, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan.
Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (Capt.), Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Chaturanga De Silva, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal.
0 comments:
Post a Comment