PAK vs SL Ball by Ball Commentary

That's it! A single to end the innings and Pakistan have beaten Sri Lanka pretty comfortably and seized the series by taking a 2-0 lead. Back of a length, outside off, Maheesh Theekshana spanks it to deep cover and gets a single.

FOUR! SHOT! Short of a length, outside off, Maheesh Theekshana smashes it downtown for four runs.

Hits the deck hard, does Shah, outside off. Maheesh Theekshana gets beaten on the outside edge while performing his pull.

Just inches away from the stumps! Shah pitches it much fuller, just behind the yorker length, around middle and shaping in. Binura Fernando looks to slog it away, but gets beaten on the inside edge and it just misses the leg stump. The keeper, Khawaja Nafay does well to dive to his left and make a save, but the batter gets enough time to take a bye.

Fuller in length, on off, Maheesh drives it to long off and gets a single.

Short of a length, well outside off, Maheesh Theekshana slaps it to deep cover for a brace.

Back of a length, outside off, Binura Fernando punches it to cover.

OUT! TAKEN! Salman Mirza gets his second wicket. Pitches it fuller, just outside off. Chamindu Wickramasinghe plants his front foot toward the leg side of the delivery and drills it uppishly toward cover, where Sahibzada Farhan, moves just a bit to his right and squats half to securely pouch it in.

Change of pace, fuller in length. Maheesh flicks it to mid-wicket and gets a single. That will also bring up the 50-run partnership between these two batters.

A touch fuller, outside off, Chamindu Wickramasinghe heaves it across to long on and gets a single.

SIX! Up, up and over! Good-length delivery, outside off, Chamindu Wickramasinghe clears his front foot and powers it downtown for half a dozen.

Pitches it much fuller, on middle, Chamindu Wickramasinghe drills it to the right of the long on fielder for a brace.

Yorker, on middle. Chamindu Wickramasinghe jams it to the left of the bowler for a single.

FOUR! Well struck! Just a shade behind the good length, over off and middle. Chamindu Wickramasinghe flat-bats it over the bowler and gets the boundary. That's his first boundary of the innings.

Pitches it up, on middle, Maheesh Theekshana flicks it to deep square leg and gets across.

Much fuller, on off, Chamindu Wickramasinghe jams it to mid on and gets across.

Pitches it fuller, on off, Maheesh Theekshana pushes it with soft hands toward mid off and gets across.

Short, on middle, Chamindu Wickramasinghe pulls it to deep square leg for a single.

Full-length delivery, on middle, Maheesh Theekshana blocks it to the off side.

A touch fuller, on off, Chamindu Wickramasinghe punches it to long on for a single.

A touch fuller, outside off, Chamindu Wickramasinghe misses out on his heave.

A touch fuller, around leg, Maheesh Theekshana sweeps it to wide of short fine leg for a single.

Fuller, on off and middle. Maheesh Theekshana defends it down.

Short, on middle. Chamindu Wickramasinghe hurries his pull to mid-wicket and gets a single.

Fired in at the stumps, Maheesh Theekshana stays back and punches it away to cover, where the fielder fumbles and parries the ball behind, conceding the second run as well.

Nicely tossed up, fuller and on off. Theekshana leans on and nudges it back to the bowler.

Fractionally short and wide off, dabbed away behind point for a single. 100 up for Sri Lanka.

Beaten again! A big googly that turns. This is flatter and on middle, ends up around the sixth stump line. Wickramasinghe looks to cut but misses.

Play and a miss! On a good length, darted across the left-hander. Wickramasinghe backs away to pull but is well beaten.

Flighted ball outside off, Maheesh Theekshana leans on and chips the drive through mid off, picking up a single.

Good length on off, punched down to long off for a single.

Pushed through flatter and into the pads, Theekshana hops back to flick but can't get it away.

FOUR! Another freebie for Theekshana. Tossed up outside the line of off stump. Maheesh Theekshana sits down to sweep and gets it more off the top edge but well fine of deep backward square leg for another boundary.

Flatter one at the stumps, Theekshana fails to get it away.

FOUR! A variation gone wrong from Ayub. He tries to bowl a googly and ends up drifting a full one down leg. Maheesh Theekshana sweeps and sweeps well, getting the ball down to the fine leg fence.

This is lobbed up, wide outside off. Wickramasinghe reaches out and hits it along the turf, down to long off for a single.

Good length outside off, hit away from the crease and in front of point for a couple of runs in the deep.

Beaten! Quicker through the air, on a nagging length and outside off. The ball grips a bit and Theekshana is beaten past the outside edge.

Dragged length, angled across off. Wickramasinghe looks to force it off the back foot and hits it aerially towards wide long off for one more.

Tossed up fuller and on off, Theekshana drives off the front foot, a bit uppishly and down to long off for a single.

FOUR! Stellar timing. Fractionally short on off, sliding onto the bat nicely. Maheesh Theekshana plays a back foot punch and nails it wide of sweeper cover for a boundary.

Flatter and a bit short, angled from middle to wide outside off. Wickramasinghe backs away to cut but gets an underedge towards deep third for a single.

Fuller, at the stumps, Chamindu Wickramasinghe bunts it to square leg for a single.

Quicker and fuller, on middle and leg, Chamindu Wickramasinghe flicks it to backward square leg for a brace.

Fuller, on middle, Chamindu Wickramasinghe defends it to the leg side.

Short of a length, on off and middle. Maheesh Theekshana tucks it to square leg and gets another single.

Short, on off, Maheesh Theekshana clips it to square leg for one.

A touch fuller, on off, Chamindu Wickramasinghe pushes it to cover and gets across.

Fuller, on off, Maheesh Theekshana defends it down.

OUT! CAUGHT! Another one bites the dust and Shadab Khan gets a wicket off a shorter delivery. Khan pulls the length well short and tries to turn it into the batter. Kamindu Mendis rocks back to pull but gets it high on the bat. The ball sails down to long on, where Hasan Nawaz staysjust inside the ropes and takes a well-judged catch.

Tossed up on a length and angled across off. Mendis hits it straight to cover-point.

FOUR! Excellent placement. Short ball after short ball from Khan, and he pays the price. The attempted googly, over middle and leg. Kamindu Mendis rocks back and flat-bats it back over the bowler's head and into the long on fence.

Shadab flattens it up, bowling it short on leg, at 95.3 kph. Wickramasinghe swivels around and pulls it to deep square leg for one more.

Just behind a good length, drifted wide of the off stump. Mendis rocks back and cuts it firmly down to deep point for a single.

Tossed up at the stumps, driven down to long on for another single. 4 singles and a wicket off Ayub's first over.

Quicker one on off, slanting it in with the arms. Mendis leans on to cover drive but gets an inside edge towards short fine leg.

A bit of stutter in the middle from the two batters, but there was always an easy single on offer. Floated up outside off, Wickramasinghe gets forward and smothers it to the right of cover, before eventually crossing over for a single.

Marginally short from Ayub, around off. Kamindu Mendis rocks back and short-arm jabs it to deep mid-wicket for one more.

Flatter and pushed into the stumps from around the wicket. Wickramasinghe stays back and tucks it through mid-wicket for a single.

OUT! CAUGHT!  Well, there goes Dasun Shanaka's six-hitting ability, and Saim Ayub strikes gold on his very first ball. Ayub shortens the length a bit and bowls it straighter at the stumps. Shanaka goes down early for the sweep and ends up spooning it off the top edge towards short fine leg. Abrar Ahmed takes a few steps back and reverse-cups it easily. Sri Lanka have no lost half their side for just 64 runs.

A touch fuller, around middle and leg. Dasun Shanaka glances it to deep square leg to get across.

On a nagging length, around off, Dasun Shanaka blocks it back to the bowler.

Angling just down the leg side. Dasun Shanaka covers the stumps and fails to clips it away.

Hard length, outside off, Kamindu Mendis tries to punch it to cover, but gets nicked off the outside edge.

Oh, that's a beauty from Imran! Pitching it on a good length, around the leg stump and shaping it away from the left-hander. Kamindu Mendis gets forward to defend it down, but it just zips past the outside edge by few inches.

Back of a length, outside off, Mendis steers it to short third.

SIX! Up, up and over! Tossed up, fuller, on middle. Dasun Shanaka skips down the track to get to the pitch of the delivery and slogs it away with full power, to sail it over deep mid-wicket for half a dozen.

Fuller, on middle, Dasun Shanaka blocks it down.

On a nagging length, around leg, Kamindu Mendis flicks it to deep backward square leg for one.

FOUR! Now that's an excellent shot from Kamindu Mendis. Tossed up, fuller, outside off. Kamindu Mendis lunges forward and extends his arms to drive it, opening the face of the bat through cover-point for a boundary.

A touch fuller, on off and middle, Kamindu Mendis pushes it to extra cover.

Short, on off, Dasun Shanaka pushes it to long on for one.

Fullish, at the stumps, Kamindu Mendis defends it down.

On a length, outside off, Dasun Shanaka guides it to backward point for one.

OUT! EDGED AND TAKEN! This is magnificent from Imran and the crowd is just loving it. Slanted across the batter, into the corridor outside the off stump on a good length. The batter rocks back to punch off the back foot but gets done by the angle and seam, edging it low to the left side of the keeper. Khawaja Nafay is alert as he dives across to his left to gather the ball cleanly just before it touches the turf.

WIDE! Bumper, sails way over the batter. Sahan Arachchige makes a leave.

OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Make it two for Mohammad Imran and this is a big, big wicket for Pakistan. Good-length delivery holding its line outside off. Mendis waits in his crease before attempting an aggressive, expansive drive. He can only manage an edge that flies low towards the keeper. Khawaja Nafay reacts brilliantly, lunging forward to gather the ball just before it hits the ground.

A touch fuller, around the pads, Kamindu Mendis clips it to square leg for a single.

On a length, around off, Kusal Mendis pushes it to deep point for one.

SIX! Full marks for effort, but it all goes in vain. Dropped short outside off stump, Kamindu gets across his crease and hooks it toward deep midwicket. Saim Ayub makes a running catch near the boundary and parries the ball back inside before losing his balance over the rope. It looks like a brilliant piece of fielding, but the TV umpire takes a second look. The slow-motion replay confirms Ayub's heel made contact with the boundary cushion while in secure possession of the ball. 170 runs needed off 78 balls now.

Short, around off, Kusal flat bats it to cover for a single.

Tossed up, fuller, on off, Kamindu reverse sweeps it to deep point and gets across.

A touch fuller, around off, Kamindu Mendis drives it toward the right of the sweeper cover for a brace.

Short, on off, Mendis blocks it out.

Fuller, around middle, Kusal Mendis pushes it to mid on for one.

OUT! TAKEN! Mohammad Imran gets his first wicket and Sri Lanka lose both their openers now. Hits the deck hard to generate some extra bounce, over off. Sineth Jayawardena looks to swat it across the line, but catches the top edge. The ball loops up high toward square leg, where Fakhar Zaman gets underneath the skier from mid-wicket and pouches it safely.

Pitches it up, on off and middle. Kusal Mendis clips it to deep square leg for one.

Back of a length, on middle, angling in. Sineth Jayawardena tries to heave it away, but gets beaten on the inside edge and wears on the back thigh pad, before it bounces off toward short fine leg for a leg bye.

Back of a length, outside off, Sineth Jayawardena pulls it across the line to mid on.

Fuller in length, around off, Kusal Mendis drives it with soft hands toward cover-point and gets a single.

Slower, on a good length, around off, Kusal Mendis punches it to cover.

Marginally shorter, wider of the off stump as well. Jayawardena stays back and smacks it away to the left of deep backward point for a couple of runs now. Another tidy over for Pakistan.

Pitched up around off, slower as well and angling across the left-hander. Jayawardena leans into the drive but misses.

Short and wide, cut away hard to deep backward point for a single.

What's happened here? First up, it's an excellent change-up from Shah, bowling that heavy bumper, right around the batter's face. Kusal Mendis is rushed into the pull and the ball sails past the gloves. There's half an appeal from Shah and the umpire almost signals it out, before eventually signalling one bouncer for the over. Everyone is a bit perplexed with the manner that signal was given by the umpire, but Pakistan do not review. UltraEdge later shows that there wasn't any bat or glove involved anyway.

Pace off again, on a dragged length and angled well across off. Jayawardena taps it down to deep point and rotates strike.

Shah changes ends and starts with a back-of-the-hand slower ball. This is bowled full at the legs, at 108.3 clicks. Mendis wrists it in front of square leg for a single.

A very tidy start for Imran, just 3 off his first over. Pitched further up, on off and angling it away. Jayawardena is caught on the crease and edges it down to short third. 189 more needed now off 96 balls.

Bashed into the surface, on a hard length and around off. Jayawardena blocks it off.

Good cricket all around. Back of a length and in the channel, Kusal Mendis rocks back and glides it off the face of the blade to the left of short third. Salman Mirza dives across and cuts it off, but can't prevent Mendis from sneaking in a quick single.

Hard length, in and around off, pushed across the off stump. Jayawardena presses back and plays it with soft hands through backward point for a run.

Banged into the pitch and getting it to dart away from the left-hander. Jayawardena leans back to pull but is well beaten.

Imran begins with a shortish ball wide outside off, Kusal cuts it down through backward point and collects a single to get off the mark.

Back of a length and outside off, Jayawardena waits back before dabbing it down to backward point. 12 off that over.

FOUR! That's a confident-looking shot, and Jayawardena makes it a hat-trick of boundaries. Good length, wide outside off, no real pace behind the ball. Jayawardena gives the charge and slams it in front of point for a boundary.

FOUR! A bit unlucky for the bowler. The off-cutter by Mirza, back of a length and this one jags back in sharply from outside off. Jayawardena is nearly cut in half but gets an inside edge that goes past the stumps and runs away into the fine leg fence.

FOUR! Crunched! Short ball over middle, Jayawardena picks the length in a trice and powers the pull in front of mid-wicket for a boundary.

Just short of the fielder. Hard length around off, Jayawardena gets forward to play the lofted drive but gets it off the splice of the bat and on the bounce to mid off.

Swing and a miss! Full and wide outside off, the length is there to be hit and Jayawardena throws his hands at it, but fails to connect.

This one jags back in! Length again, around off and angling back in sharply. Mendis looks to get forward but is rushed and gets an inside edge onto the body.

Lovely delivery, getting it to move a bit in the air. Pitched a bit fuller and outside off, shaping away sharply. Kusal Mendis thinks about playing at it but is beaten by the movement.

The attempted away-swinger, on the money, attacking the top of off. This one nibbles away a bit and Kusal Mendis watchfully defends.

Good-length delivery, at just 115.1 kph and angled across off. Jayawardena stays back and taps it to deep point, picking up a single.

FOUR! Spanked away to the fence. Slightly short but well wide outside off. Jayawardena waits on the back foot before cutting it firmly behind point for a boundary.

Much better from Shah this time. Hammered in back of a length and over middle, looking to angle the ball back in. Sineth Jayawardena is rushed as he tries to play a short-arm jab and gets hit in the midriff.

WIDE! A loose one from Naseem Shah to start. This is pushed well wide of the off stump line and a wide is called.

OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Excellent review. Salman Mirza slips in a sharp bumper over the left shoulder. Lahiru Udara goes to pull but is cramped up and the ball whizzes over the blade and into the mitts of Khawaja Nafay. However, there is a very excited appeal from the Pakistan camp for a caught behind here, but the umpire turns it down. The bowler and the keeper want the review and Sahibzada Farhan does go for it. The third umpire has a look and UltraEdge shows that the ball did flick the gloves on its way through to the keeper. Sri Lanka's aggressor from the last game is gone in the first over.

FOUR! Classic! Length ball in the channel, slanting across. Lahiru Udara drives on the up, hitting through the line and he creams it through covers for the first boundary of the chase.

Slower one, pitched up on middle and angling across the right-hander. Udara tucks it across to mid-wicket.

Fuller this time, swinging into the stumps. Jayawardena stays back and taps it across in front of square leg for a run.

Mirza hits a good length at 132.1 kph, and keeps the line tight on off stump. Sineth Jayawardena hangs back and punches it down to point.

A tight single, Lahiru Udara and Sri Lanka are off the mark. Pitched very full on off and middle, and there's a hint of shape on it as well. Udara plays it under the eyes and bunts it to mid off for a quick single.