Sri Lanka defeat Pakistan by 76 runs to level series

Zeenews Sports Bureau

New Delhi: An all-round show from Thisara Perera helped Sri Lanka defeat Pakistan by 76 runs in the second ODI played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Perera picked up six wickets and also scored 24 runs from 14 balls that took Sri Lanka to a formidable total of 280 runs. Tillakaratne Dilshan (119*) was the pick of the Sri Lankan batsmen as he scored an unbeaten ton, his 13th in ODIs. Pakistan were off to a steady start in chase of 280 with Azhar Ali completing only his 2nd ODI fifty. They were 70/1 after 15 overs. They lost Mohammad Hafeez for 14 runs. Pakistan were set 280 runs to win the match. Dilshan remained unbeaten on 119 runs while Thisara Perera hit some late blows to score 24 runs from 14 balls. Highlights from the Sri Lankan innings Mahela Jayawardene has been bowled by Saeed Ajmal for 53 runs. Dilshan reaches his 13th ODI ton! It is his second century against Pakistan. He reahced the three-figure-mark in 120 balls with 11 boundaries! 04:41 pm Afridi, the man with the golden arm has struck, Dinesh Chandimal (32) is OUT! Sangakkara is OUT! Dilshan and Sanga steadied the innings before the left-hander was dismissed by Mohammad Hafeez for 18 runs. Tharanga is OUT! Tharanga and Dilshan added 37 runs for the first wicket after which Tharanga (18 from 25) was caught plumb in front of the wicket by Sohail Tanvir! Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and decided to bat first in the 2nd ODI against Pakistan on Saturday. Sri Lanka went in with the same line-up that played in the first ODI while Pakistan had to make one change as Rahat Ali made his debut in place of injured pacer Mohammad Sami. Pakistan:1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Rahat Ali Sri Lanka: 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Upul Tharanga, 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Lasith Malinga