Samaraweera and Dilshan Put Sri Lanka in Command 556/6 Runs
Monday, March 2, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Thilan Samaraweera moved steadily towards his second consecutive double-century, adding 135 runs with Tillakaratne Dilshan on the second morning to put Sri Lanka firmly in command of the Lahore Test. Samaraweera took his overnight score of 133 to 191 and Dilshan also cashed in against a weak bowling attack and reached his half-century.
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The Sri Lankan batsmen completely dictated terms in the first session. They forced Younis Khan into making bowling changes and alterations to his field. Pakistan conceded 45 runs off the first seven overs of the day and they were always playing catch up after that. Younis made a double bowling change early on, bringing the debutant Mohammad Talha and Danish Kaneria into the attack. He placed fielders at deep point and on the leg-side boundary but the runs continued to flow. Younis brought Umar Gul back after Pakistan conceded 30 runs off the second set of seven overs but he too was hit for a flurry of boundaries.
For the first time in the series, even the metronomic Yasir Arafat changed his lengths frequently and was punished. It was Dilshan who forced him to change. Dilshan is known to be happy hooker – he was out pulling a short ball in Karachi – but today he played the hook perfectly when Arafat tested him. Only once did he bail out of pulling, when he realised that he would be beaten for pace. The error Pakistan were hoping for never came and so they reverted to a fuller length, which resulted in Dilshan unfurling several drives.
Meanwhile, Samaraweera continued to accumulate steadily. He started the day with a flick through midwicket off Arafat before pulling and cutting Talha without ever looking hurried. However, it was against Kaneria that he produced his shot of the morning, moving down the track to play an inside-out off drive with the turn. He ended the session with two on-driven boundaries off Kaneria and was within touching distance of his double-century.
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