ABU DHABI // The best coaching plans inevitably are the simplest ones. When Sri Lanka’s outgoing coach, Graham Ford, appeared in front of the media on Wednesday, after two pretty poor days for his side, he laid out what his side needed to do to stay in this Test.
“We need to get wickets as quickly as possible and then make some good runs.”
For good effect, he repeated it.
“It is pretty simple. We have to get them out for few runs as possible and follow it with a massive batting display in the second innings. So we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
About three-quarters of that plan was put into effect yesterday at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. They sent Pakistan packing early in the day, and then bedded down to bat for the long haul through the afternoon. They did it well, too, until a late burst deflated a little of the great work they had put in.
Three big wickets with less than 20 overs left in the day left them at 186 for four, a lead of just seven over Pakistan, and their top order all back in the dressing room. It looks rickety, but given how they played on Thursday, they rightfully retain some hope.
“Given the way the pitch has played, I don’t think there will be a big change in it in the next two days,” Sri Lanka’s Sachithra Senanayake said. “There is still grass, so there might not be a huge increase in turn. We are still thinking about setting a target and winning.
“If we can set a good target, we can do that. We’re leading by seven, so if we can set a target of more than 250, it will be a good match.”
The key, once they had restricted Pakistan’s lead to 179, was how they would cope with the bat.
Their opening combination has been as much a headache as it is for their opponent; Kaushal Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne are the sixth pair they have tried in the last 10 Tests.
Luckily, they may have found something in the pair. Having put on 52 in the first innings, they added 47 in the second, and beyond the run total was the message that they would not be rolled over easily.
Silva was particularly impressive in putting together a composed first Test fifty; he was undeserving of the fate he was dealt, dismissed off the last ball of the day for 81, after four-and-a-half hours at the crease.
The innings was an impressive one, obdurate but also with enough scoring intent. His off-side game is particularly polished, evident in regular drives square and through covers. Against Saeed Ajmal, his nifty footwork came to the fore, dancing down and driving him through extra cover twice.
For company, he had Kumar Sangakkara, the real danger for Pakistan. His record against them is Bradmanesque and he showed why. He played Saeed Ajmal with consummate ease.
The others he picked runs off steadily, and as the pair put on 99 through the afternoon, visions of Sri Lanka’s great escape in Abu Dhabi two years ago came flooding back.
It was Bilawal Bhatti’s late-afternoon spell that jerked Pakistan into life, reigniting their belief that the Test was theirs to be won.
In a spell that was as quick as it was short, he dismissed Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene off successive balls to scupper the resistance.
“Both were the big names and that is their batting strength, so I’m happy to take their wickets,” Bhatti said.
“Our batting is in form, but the pitch is getting better for batting. So our target is to restrict them to a maximum lead of between 115-150 runs.”
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Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
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Rating: 2.5/5
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'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
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AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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More about Middle East geopolitics
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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The Two Popes
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Four out of five stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Salem Rashid, Mohammed Al Attas, Alhassan Saleh
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Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
