Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 3rd Test, Pallekele, 3-7 July, 2015

No Sangakkara as he is off to England to play for Surrey. Wonder how great the clamour would've been if it was any T20 franchise....

First test in 15 years that Sri Lanka play without Jayawardene or Sangakkara. Tharanga should be replacing Sanga. Chameera doubtful. Herath is likely to be dropped after a shit series so far. Lakmal, Pradeep and Kaushal likely to play.

Wahab Riaz out injured while Hafeez is required to test for chucking again. Shan Mahsood and Rahat Ali likely to replace them

Sangakkara was on TV last night playing T20

Dammit.... knew the channel freezing was going to bite. I haven't seen any county cricket this season, admittedly.

Didn't realise there was a decider, assumed it was another unsatisfactory drawn 2-match series. Sounds almost like a battle of the second strings though...

Wackies have sent the Lankans in.

[quote="tricycle"]No Sangakkara as he is off to England to play for Surrey. Wonder how great the clamour would've been if it was any T20 franchise....

First test in 15 years that Sri Lanka play without Jayawardene or Sangakkara. Tharanga should be replacing Sanga. Chameera doubtful. Herath is likely to be dropped after a shit series so far. Lakmal, Pradeep and Kaushal likely to play.

Wahab Riaz out injured while Hafeez is required to test for chucking again. Shan Mahsood and Rahat Ali likely to replace them[/quote]

Or if his name wasn't Sangakkara.

The brilliantly talented genius Mubarak scored a fine 25 today. He came in under pressure and thrived like nobody has thus far. Got off the mark with an inspired cover drive off the mystery leg spinner Azhar Ali (as it was a mystery he bowled, let alone take two wickets) which was perfectly placed between keeper and first slip. Set the tone for a rare spectacle. He sacrificed his wicket in the search of quick runs as Sarfraz stumped him.

Looks a truly threadbare SL side. Only Mathews has played more than 25 Tests.

Good series, ebbs and flows. Quntish that we no longer get SL series

Sounds like two sides in transition looking to discover the next generation. Although that's forever the case with Pakistan I guess... generally a handful of veterans alongside lots of "next big things".

Who owns the broadcast rights to this series in England?

Pradeep bowling very well today. Much improved from the wasteful shit that he bowled in his first few tests.

Kaushal should get pinged before long. Not as bad as Senenayake, but definitely looks kinked.

Intriguingly poised match.

Mathews as captain has really become a fantastic batsman. Possibly the only criticism is his conversion of 50s to 100s. But consistently been fantastic in tight situations.

Two wickets in two balls for Imran Khan.

tricycle wrote:Mathews as captain has really become a fantastic batsman. Possibly the only criticism is his conversion of 50s to 100s. But consistently been fantastic in tight situations.

Yay for the mighty Flange. He indeed has been a revelation with the bat as skipper.

The Lankan tail aint wagging after the Flange/Chandi stand.

Target is 377.

Not impossible in modern cricket.

JGK wrote:Target is 377.

Not impossible in modern cricket.

What are the odds?

Not on this pitch and Pakistani batsmen.

Had to happen, unbeaten 163 run partnership and winning easily...

Paks looking good but they have a terrific capacity to collapse in any circumstance though.

Further confirmation that Angelo Mathews is a pretty poor captain. He and Cook are about on a par. Still, good effort from Pakistan. Younis Khan is a machine.

This series has had seen the good, bad and ugly of cricket. By Pakistan's own admission they should be going for a clean sweep. Yasir Shah the find of the year?

SO the Wackies are going to coast home, or lose 8-43.

If there's one team for which that's a 50-50 situation...

Wackies cruising.