Sri Lanka thrash Pakistan, claim Test series

Dawn Sport Published October 10, 2017

Pakistan's Asad Shafiq plays a shot during the fourth day Second Test cricket match against Sri Lanka in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. —AP

Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 68 runs in the second and final day-night Test in Dubai on Tuesday, clinching the series title.

Sri Lanka's win ends Pakistan's unbeaten track record on neutral venues in the United Arab Emirates, where the latter had not lost a Test series in nine attempts since the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, drawing four series and winning five.

Pakistan today were all out for 248 runs in chase of Sri Lanka's 317-run target. Karuna Ratne was awarded man of the match and man of the series for his outstanding batting, with 196 runs in the Sri Lankan innings.

With this loss, Pakistan have fallen to the seventh spot in the ICC Test rankings ─ a stark difference from their position on top of the rankings last year, when Misbah-ul-Haq was captain of the team.

Asad Shafiq leaves the field after the end of the fourth day Second Test cricket match against Sri Lanka in Dubai. —AP

It was game over for Pakistan after the final batsman, Wahab Riaz, was caught out by Dinesh Chandimal off a delivery from Test hero Rangana Herath, who became the second Sri Lankan to bag 400 wickets in the first Test against Pakistan.

Riaz, who made a single run. was caught in the deep trying hit one out of the ground.

Yasir Shah was also stumped off Herath today.

Skipper Sarfraz was the first man out as play resumed today, when he was caught sweeping against Paradeep just when it appeared as though he and Asad Shafiq may be able to steer Pakistan to victory and a series draw after Sri Lanka's dramatic 21-run win in the first Test in Abu Dhabi last week.

Mohammad Amir fell against Dilruwan Perera ─ who completed his five-for with this wicket ─ soon after.

Play today resumed with Pakistan at 198-5. Riaz yesterday grabbed four for 41 and left-arm spinner Haris Sohail took three wickets, dismissing Sri Lanka for 96 in their second innings.

Sri Lanka had been whitewashed by India at home before this series.

The ODIs between the two teams begin on Friday, October 13.

Pakistan

164

Second Test: Pakistan fightback sets up intriguing finish

X-SQUARE: A FITTING LOSS FOR A FIT UNIT

Second Test: Bizarre last session leaves Dubai Test in the balance

SUDHAKAR, USA

Oct 10, 2017 04:02pm

Keep tough and hang in there Sri Lanka. You are doing marvelous things in the heat, dusty, salty and tiring conditions in the desert. We are all praying for your success. Ameen, Tsum Ameen.

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RAVEENDRA NATH

Oct 10, 2017 04:06pm

A long time back West Indies were the best in the world not only in Test Cricket, but also in One Dayers. Due to internal squabbles and administrative failures, West Indies were sent almost to the bottom. Almost similar circumstances are in play currently with Pakistan Cricket and Pakistan Hockey. The situation can be retrieved with all out efforts and co-operation of the administration, players, etc, and Pakistan Cricket and Pakistan Hockey can regain the lost pride. For that to achieve, Pakistan should eliminate terrorism and terrorists, good or bad, from its soil and also from the region, which will encourage other Nations to come to Pakistan to play all sports without fear. Will Pakistani citizens urge the Government and force it to maintain real peace and not lip-service peace and allow the Nation to regain the lost glory. Am an Indian and a sports lover, and I particularly like Pakistan Hockey and Pakistan Cricket, which produced real great world class players.

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PABLO

Oct 10, 2017 04:18pm

It's about to over

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Rags

Oct 10, 2017 04:19pm

Matter over guys - Pakistan had taken their coveted position number 7 in tests. For the next 20 years no body can steal that place from them

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MICHAEL CLAYTON

Oct 10, 2017 04:19pm

The new ball got Shafiq; so much for "technique". Another defeat and a slide in rankings beckon.... time to face REALITY, Pakistan.

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Brother Theresa

Oct 10, 2017 04:22pm

22 runs scored for 4 wickets today. Test playing nations should be allowed based on performance not on past glory.

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Robert

Oct 10, 2017 04:25pm

Pakistan are very strong in UAE. But to lose here the series is whole and sole Mickey Arthur's fault. He has to go

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Sab se pehle pakistan

Oct 10, 2017 04:27pm

Great effort by Sarfaraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq. Selectors need to look at Sami Aslam, Shan Masood and Baber Azam's performance. No regrets as Sarfaraz is a fighter and team Pakistan will come back stronger in future in his leadership. He is still learning. Congratulations to Sri lanka they performed really well.

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AKKS

Oct 10, 2017 04:30pm

Well done SL. What a pathetic performance by Pakistan ! Losing twice to a weak SL team beaten at home 9 times in a row by a strong and professional Indian team! Pakistan's CT 2017 final victory is once again proving to be a fluke one against a mighty team!

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from kandhkot

Oct 10, 2017 04:30pm

Pakistani team is most unpredictable team in the world...

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M. Emad

Oct 10, 2017 04:31pm

Congratulations in Advance, Sri Lanka Cricket Team . . .

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MICHAEL CLAYTON

Oct 10, 2017 04:32pm

Sri Lanka win! Congratulations Chandimal... your captaincy was brilliant!!!!

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Rags

Oct 10, 2017 04:32pm

Pakistan world no.7 and no one can remove them from that place for the next century

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Rajesh

Oct 10, 2017 04:33pm

Pakistani cricket .... pathetic show... Heading for No.7 test ranking.

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Krishnan

Oct 10, 2017 04:33pm

Pakistan lost by 68 runs

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Brother Theresa

Oct 10, 2017 04:33pm

Sri Lanka won by 68 runs. Should have wrapped up the innings quicker given their potential. Better late than never. Good comeback from 9-0.

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LOUDSPEAKER

Oct 10, 2017 04:35pm

It's all over. Congrtulations Sri Lanka on your historic win against Pakistan.

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Ganesh S

Oct 10, 2017 04:35pm

Congratulations, SL! First nation to win a series in Pakistan's desert fortress! Amazing fight back by Pakistan though. The sheer intensity of the bowling spells yesterday night were mind-boggling. In spite of losing both matches, this team may be on the way to great glory. MisYou are being missed but once the transition is over, they will be stronger, I think.

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Logical thinker

Oct 10, 2017 04:36pm

Hard to believe its the same team which beat India .. mere fluke is what looks like

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Nikesh

Oct 10, 2017 04:37pm

Can't believe India lost Champions trophy final to this team. Luck/Fluke can play funny things. Is there any option for a re-match?

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Lootra

Oct 10, 2017 04:37pm

I had predicted a Pakistani defeat. There you go. This is not a strong team.

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Shivam

Oct 10, 2017 04:37pm

Well played Sri Lanka, you deserve the win against overconfident Pakistan in their 'home ground'

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JOKER. Dr Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Oct 10, 2017 04:38pm

@Rags they can further advanced to 11th rankings

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JOKER. Dr Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Oct 10, 2017 04:39pm

Well played srilanka.. Deserve to win

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Prateik

Oct 10, 2017 04:42pm

Losing in your own backyard is painful.

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Robert

Oct 10, 2017 04:42pm

Pakistan may be no. 7 in tests now but they are still the ODI champions

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imran

Oct 10, 2017 04:43pm

Should have played the same team we played during ICC - keep them together and let them develope.

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Amit

Oct 10, 2017 04:43pm

Winning one champions trophy final won't make a team number 1.

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Truth

Oct 10, 2017 04:44pm

And, India defeated the same Srilanka team 3-0 in test matches in Srilanka. Shows the difference between India and Pakistan team. Enough of showing off about a Victory against a India team having a off day in Champions Trophy Final.

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MICHAEL CLAYTON

Oct 10, 2017 04:44pm

And a few hours later, India will be beating Australia in the 2nd T20; what a lovely day....

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lalit sharma

Oct 10, 2017 04:46pm

Real face of pakistan cricket.

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FACT AND FINDINGS

Oct 10, 2017 04:46pm

Great achievement by Sri Lanka as they won the two 5-day match Cricket series against Pakistan in UAE. Congratulations Najam Sethi. Good job done. Who's next after Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Lateef ?

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Anil Bhadauria

Oct 10, 2017 04:47pm

At the beginning of October 2016, Pakistan were No.1 in test ranking. In the span of one year they slipped to No.7.

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Brother Theresa

Oct 10, 2017 04:50pm

@Rags I've heard their lucky number is 10.

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tak

Oct 10, 2017 04:51pm

West Indies won the T20 World Cup. Beating the likes of mighty India and England. Doesn't make them a good test side. One day and Test Cricket is completely different. So Champions trophy win has nothing to do with Pakistan's test performances. They became number 1 test side when they were number 8 in One day rankings. No comparison.

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Khaleesi

Oct 10, 2017 04:52pm

@M. Emad And Congratulations to South Africa as well for thrashing BD by an innings.. Well.. Nothing new with that or is there?

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ajay

Oct 10, 2017 04:53pm

As I predicted a couple of days ago - if SL crosses total lead of 300, then they win. And my predictions came true (as always).

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Brother Theresa

Oct 10, 2017 04:55pm

No team is invincible given the luck is on their side.But Test cricket is cricket in its purest form. Pakistan should gracefully give its test playing privilege to Afghanistan who has been doing phenomenally well and start concentrating on T20's.

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khaled

Oct 10, 2017 04:55pm

Now , will they take back the cars and plot's?

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Sab se pehle pakistan

Oct 10, 2017 04:56pm

@Logical thinker : That was an ODI. This is a Test match. A new team. First time without Misbah and Younus. However I am happy to see you could not get over that thrashing. More thrashing coming up in future for your team. Till then enjoy the Champions trophy thrashing.

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Brother Theresa

Oct 10, 2017 04:57pm

@Ganesh S Amazing Fightback?? Only 2 players scored more than 25 in 2nd of a series decider. Maybe we are talking about different matches!

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Edison Chaudhury

Oct 10, 2017 04:57pm

I knew it that the win in Champions Trophy was a fluke. I really wish India and Pakstan played now. India will give Pakistan a thrashing just like India gave Sri Lanka and Australia a thrashing.

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Sam from Kerala

Oct 10, 2017 04:58pm

@Logical thinker Logic seems to have deserted you. They won both the matches. Not one.

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Kris

Oct 10, 2017 04:58pm

And India beat SL by an innings and several miles in their home few weeks back...3-0 thrashing. Does this say something about Pak cricket?

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ajay

Oct 10, 2017 04:59pm

Pakistan will surely win in 3rd Test. Mark my words.

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Dr. Hilarious

Oct 10, 2017 05:00pm

@Logical thinker ...on that particular day ball bounced their way. your opinion of Pak team based on one game is not correct.

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Sonika Das

Oct 10, 2017 05:07pm

Well done Pakistan ! You please stay unpredictable team & we will be predictably consistent !!

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Arvind Gupta

Oct 10, 2017 05:09pm

Pakistan, a team that trashed India in CT final and Srilanka had concluded a painstaking defeat against India recently.So, this was an interesting series to watch. A really hard fought series, some good batting from Karunaratne, Chandimal and Shafiq and some good bolling from Yasir, Herath and Perera. Congrts to both the team for good cricket.

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Ajay

Oct 10, 2017 05:11pm

Both sides played well. Congrats Sri Lanka. Better luck next time Pakistan.

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Raunak

Oct 10, 2017 05:13pm

People in Pakistan will keep chanting about their 2-2 series draw against England in England. What else have you guys attained. Lost test matches to almost all test playing nations which includes even west Indies in UAE. . Ameen, Tsum Ameen

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Prasannajit

Oct 10, 2017 05:14pm

Smart is good , oversmart is bad.Nowadays oversmart is good but super smart is very very bad that Pakistan team must learn.

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xzy

Oct 10, 2017 05:18pm

Pakistan is not able to win in the heat, dusty, salty and tiring conditions in the desert. So now PCB will make ground in TORA BORA MOUNTAIN and then they will invite Afghanistan to play 10 tests, 20 ODI and 30 T20 Serioes for 6 month period.

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Dr Salaria’s brother

Oct 10, 2017 05:18pm

Well played. Tough to play When the whole stadium is empty.

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Shahid

Oct 10, 2017 05:20pm

It is still not too late. First, rise above the glories of past performances. Second, look at fitness; an uncapped fit player is better than an unfit experienced one. Third, and most important, stand three or at least two stand alone teams with their own captains and squads. Do not follow political ministerial model where the same person can fit all portfolios. It is no point beating the beaten track again and again. Either do it right or let it go and be happy.

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xzy

Oct 10, 2017 05:21pm

No. 6 Sri Lanka 94 and No.7 Pakistan 34 88 Wow!

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Anuj

Oct 10, 2017 05:22pm

@ajay i've already marked it with marker.

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Aries

Oct 10, 2017 05:22pm

Was expected!

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Abhi

Oct 10, 2017 05:22pm

Pakistani fans only talk about CT, please also talk about Pakistan's record against India in World Cups.

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Gaur

Oct 10, 2017 05:25pm

Now the toss will come into the discussion, legacy of Ponting followed by Pakistanis.

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Ghalib Ghalib

Oct 10, 2017 05:27pm

No excuses. This is Pakistan for the last 20 years pretending they have Test Team. This happens when the Cricket Board has no clues for the last 20 years. In the last 20 years PCB have just kept cricket a float without a strategy. All they do is play politics with whoever is in power. Doing something for the last 2/3 years is too late. The politicians are so busy fighting with each other looking for the next slice of cake they can embezzle they have no time for a fix. If PCB was a goldmine of diamonds all the politicians immediately congregate to make PCB and Cricket the best thing ever.

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Manocha

Oct 10, 2017 05:31pm

@Sab se pehle pakistan, And many more humiliations await your team, till then enjoy this humiliation! ;)

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Ali

Oct 10, 2017 05:34pm

@Nikesh well seeing is believing, we all saw how Pakistani team rose to the challenge against India in Champions trophy. Plus this is a test match, Pak won an Odi against India and the became the Champions

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Dr Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Oct 10, 2017 05:34pm

Hopefully, this is a mere bump in the smooth road of glory to follow. Pakistan team has always proved their mettle when the going gets tough. They were at number one last year and they will be at number one the next year. Ameen, Tsum Ameen

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Ali

Oct 10, 2017 05:35pm

@Kris Yes that they beat India and became champions

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sachhu shah

Oct 10, 2017 05:39pm

Where is now all who are proud when pakistan won CT final One winning stoke not decided best team, its require continues performance

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elixir

Oct 10, 2017 05:41pm

Well played Pakistan and well deserved ! Keep cementing your position!!

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Ganesh S

Oct 10, 2017 05:43pm

@Brother Theresa .........Obviously you didn't follow the test. At the end of the first innings, it looked like SL could enforce the follow on and still win. By end of that day, however, the lions were 5 wickets down with 34 on the board. In the Pak second innings, at one point it looked as if Asad and Sarfaraz would carry the team through. The Sri Lankans were clearly nervous. If some of us are so confident that the Pak team is no good, why don't we take them on in a three match test series in the UAE?

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Rohit Singh

Oct 10, 2017 05:46pm

Good Pakistani team is a thing of the past,

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LILLY

Oct 10, 2017 05:48pm

PCB has no clue how to make players inclusive. It is equally sinful to only select fit players who don't have cricketing skills as to select unfit players. The team management should know how to make the technically sound players fitter instead of choosing just fit players. Cricket is a highly technical game and that needs skill at highest level to execute the plans.

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Raghavasinhan

Oct 10, 2017 05:49pm

@Ali we pity u and can understand ur feelings

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Harish

Oct 10, 2017 05:54pm

So Sri Lanka has given a whitewash in Test series to the best team in the Universes known and unknown.

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Umar Makhdumi

Oct 10, 2017 05:56pm

Indeed a spineless batting and bowling display by Pakistan throughout this series. Sri Lanka amassing over 400 in 1st innings of both Tests speaks volumes of our toothless bowling performance. To rely too much on Yasir Shah had to backfire. We have to explore at least four wicket-taking Test class bowlers if we intend to dismiss the opposition twice within normal scores. Except for isolated performances from our batsmen, no young batsman could prove his mettle and adjust to test match temperament. Many points to ponder by our coach and team management.

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riz1

Oct 10, 2017 06:03pm

@from kandhkot "Pakistani team is most unpredictable team in the world" Unfortunately, the results on the ground are proving to be predictable as reflected in our rankings. We need to make systemic changes immediately.

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citizen

Oct 10, 2017 06:05pm

Unbelievable...Champions trophy winner and world champion with most fearsome bowling and best batting team's meeky surrender to low rated lankans. I dread to think what will happen if we go for a test series with India with their current form....Looks like it will take lots of time for us to become a real world champion...CT win is an one match wonder !!

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John

Oct 10, 2017 06:06pm

Pakistan's tactics were like keep bowling Yasir from one end for almost entire day. He is bound to take 5 wickets that way. His personal record costed Pakistan a series.

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Sarwat

Oct 10, 2017 06:07pm

You can call it whatever but UAE is not home ground.

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Anand

Oct 10, 2017 06:09pm

@tak BTW when Pakiastan became No. 1 ODI team in the recent past?

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Indian

Oct 10, 2017 06:14pm

Well played team Pakistan.

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Raghavasinhan

Oct 10, 2017 06:16pm

Whole world knows that pak batsmen are having the worst strike rate among top test playing nations and this gives opposition edge and opponent bowlers can get to bowl to their strengths - was a big fan of pak till 2000 but now they are mediocre - of course there are a few good ones like I say, yousuf, yasir, misbah and younis and I am Not a bad spectator to say these do not have class

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Asif

Oct 10, 2017 06:16pm

@MICHAEL CLAYTON I have to agree. This is the same Shafiq who claimed filling the spot of the Great Younis Khan would be a cake walk for him. Well mate, actions speak louder than words. This batting line up is club level. Fact.

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Clarification

Oct 10, 2017 06:18pm

@Robert "Pakistan may be no. 7 in tests now but they are still the ODI champions" No. Desire the CT win, Pakistan is ranked number 6 on ODI by ICC.

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kedar

Oct 10, 2017 06:18pm

Thank you Sri Lanka for showing Pakistan their true place and bringing their fans back on the ground.

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Asif

Oct 10, 2017 06:19pm

@Nikesh My friend losing by 150 runs in a final is no fluke. You got shown up and brushed aside.

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DKM

Oct 10, 2017 06:20pm

I request Pakistani people to find out why the world champions in Cricket, Hockey and Squash of yesteryears are now languishing at the bottom of all the events....7th in cricket, bottom ranked in hockey and nowhere in squash.... Please think

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Gaurav

Oct 10, 2017 06:20pm

Still wanna play a home series against this "weak" Sri Lankan team in Pakistan? Come on, there is nothing like losing in front of 40 thousand fans.

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Zulfi

Oct 10, 2017 06:21pm

This has got to be Pakistan's worst test performance in recent years. Agreed this is a team in transition following the retirements of Misbah and Younis but no one really thought that they would lose 2-nil against an average Sri Lankan side in their so-called 'fortress' UAE

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Joe

Oct 10, 2017 06:21pm

@Dr Salaria’s brother "Well played. Tough to play When the whole stadium is empty." I was there till score was 52 for 5 and then I left.

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John

Oct 10, 2017 06:23pm

Those Pakistanis thinking they can take their revenge in ODI, let me remind you that in ODI, Dananjay will come in Sri Lankan side. He is one of the very few spinners who had cleaned up Kohli. See him for yourselves ... just 3 days to go.

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RaGa

Oct 10, 2017 06:24pm

@Dr Salaria, Aamir Ahmad - A big salute to the optimism. Past glory of cricket in Pakistan can return if peace prevails in the country and teams from other countries come and play 'domestic' series in Pakistan itself in front of local audience. For that to happen, de-radicalisation of the affected population would be a pre-requisite.

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Habib Niazi

Oct 10, 2017 06:27pm

Test match needs more calm captain than Sarfraz.

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Ajay Ladkani

Oct 10, 2017 06:28pm

Not few years ago Pakistan were number one team but now relegated to 7 in test cricket. Team is in transition with so many big guns retired. Hope they will take some time and climb up the ladder. I am not disappointed with their performance.

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israr khan

Oct 10, 2017 06:32pm

Imran Khan famously said test cricket is specialist cricket and u need to play 5 bowlers 5 batsmen and 1 keeper sarfaraz will have to go to this combination as his way of captaincy is attack unlike misbah who played boring test cricket with drying up runs was his strength, the moment safi attacked in 3rd inngs the game came alive and then the way he played his inngs also suggested attack is best defense even asad shafiq was awesome ... Need to put azhar back to no 1 and babar at 3, probably play rest the same with harris at 4 asad 5 and safi at 6 may be play 4 seamers and 1 yasir as next series is in England 7 months later in may 2018

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Zaman

Oct 10, 2017 06:36pm

Close series deservedly won by SL. Time for reflection for Pak. They should try Zaman as an opener and Fawad Alam in the middle order. Why aren't Junaid Khan, Imran Khan and Sohail Khan in contention? Let us try Sadaf Hussain who has been a prolific bowler for several years but never been considered. Rumman Raes and Shaheen Afridi should be fast tracked to the Test Team. There should be greater emphasis on grooming batsmen and spin bowlers. There are hardly any off spinners . Let us have Saeed Ajmal and Saqlain Mushtaq help develop young talent and Abdul Qadir work with leg spinners. A more competitive, tiered and sporting domestic structure will enhance the quality of the sport.

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Dr. Malaria

Oct 10, 2017 06:37pm

@Dr Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Stop praying for anyone pls. Every time you pray something bad happens in the world

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Rogers Evans

Oct 10, 2017 06:40pm

Congratulations to Sri Lanka. They deserved victory. As far as Pakistan, it usual for the selectors and team management to make lame excuses. Test team selection was not a balanced one. All selectors including Inzi should be fired and replaced with good professional people

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Kris

Oct 10, 2017 06:48pm

@Ali SL were beaten 5-0 in ODI in their home. Dear CT Champions! Don't lose face

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pervez - London

Oct 10, 2017 06:53pm

Sarfaraz is a good keeper and descent batsman. But I never appreciated him as a captain. Every over he was losing cool, showing frustration, and shaking his head from behind the stumps. Such body language lowers the moral of the entire team. You need someone inspiring like Kohli, Ponting, Ranatunga, Imran Khan or for that matter even Chandimal. Chandimal had a cool composure and wearing a smile the entire day.

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Shazad

Oct 10, 2017 06:54pm

Result is obvious: When you have Monkeys as team selectors, result would be peanuts. Even a layman can see that the batsmen and bowler Inzamam selected, expecting any better result is ridiculous. Just think, is it obvious or not that if a batsman could not score runs in domestic cricket than how can one expect that batsman to score in Test? Let see domestic performance of batsmen Inzamam selected: Selected: Shan: In 161 FC scored 5160 runs @ 33.9 runs per ing. .... Sami: In 77 FC ings, scored 2690 runs @ 35.3 runs per ing. ... Babar: In 63 FC ings, scored 2027 runs @ 35.5 runs per ing. Discard: Fawad: In 219 FC ings, scored 10270 runs @ 56.2 runs per ing. Now, can anyone who is not Monkey brained and can think that he would select batsmen like Shan, Sami or Babar … expecting performance from them in test … and discard Fawad? I could not understand how someone whose FC average is around 35 can give better performance than a batsman whose FC average is 56?

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Dr. Malaria

Oct 10, 2017 06:56pm

Good job srilanka.

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Oct 10, 2017 07:11pm

@Sab se pehle pakistan Arguably the best evalution in this thread. It's all about continuous reflection.

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Harsha Subbaiah

Oct 10, 2017 07:26pm

What a game well played Pakistan for a losing cause

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Nikesh

Oct 10, 2017 07:28pm

@Asif right now you are getting brushed aside by a lower ranked team. I just pray that we get a chance to play with Pakistan one more time.

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Marins

Oct 10, 2017 07:31pm

Did Pakistan play to their potential ? A draw was possible if every play had the will to do it.

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PopnRolla

Oct 10, 2017 07:38pm

I felt D Chandimal could have set attacking field yesterday with the same defensive bowling. As soon as small partnership developed he spread the field which allowed Pakistanis to claw back. Excellent attacking batting by SA and AS though. Congrats SL, hard luck Pakistan.

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Rahul

Oct 10, 2017 07:43pm

@Ajay Ladkani *"Not few years ago Pakistan were number one team but now relegated to 7 in test cricket"* Never were they a number one team a few years ago. They reached number one only last year and that too for a couple of weeks.

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Hamid Malik

Oct 10, 2017 07:43pm

Its disapointing at least. Yes team is in building process after retitement of 2 current era batsmem anchorman Misbah & Younus but so is Sri Lanka after the retiremen of grrst Mahela J & Sangakara. Temperament is key. My worry is that top order is getting out after svoring 30+ runs.

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Dr Mohommed Iqbal Rojander

Oct 10, 2017 07:58pm

Boys played well in sweltering heat of uae, srilanka had lot of practice at home against top ranked team, and they had to prove, too bad pakistani boys ran into them instead of non south asian team. Sadly we now stand at bottom even among south asian teams.

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Oct 10, 2017 08:17pm

I see a lot of Indians commenting on the performance of this Pakistan team. Most of them are saying that Pakistan's Champions Trophy win against India was a fluke. May I remind them it was not a fluke. They would not be in the final if they had not beaten South Africa and England (the tournament's favourites). Also, how can you compare the performance of test team to odi team? You are all sore losers!! Now, coming back to the loss to Sri Lanka. They lost to a better team. The gap left by Misbah and Younis cannot be filled overnight and we must not expect miracles from this team anytime soon.

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Ramesh K Sharma

Oct 10, 2017 08:22pm

@xzy Hilarious and that's all I can say.

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prasadDeccani

Oct 10, 2017 08:35pm

@Dr Salaria, Aamir Ahmad "Pakistan team has always proved their mettle when the going gets tough" Agreed. Going is yet to get tough :-) Not sure when it is going to get tough. Anyway.......Good luck Pakistan and SL, for rest of your series.

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SHAIL

Oct 10, 2017 08:38pm

@Nikesh Champions trophy final was the rematch. India was completely beaten up. Accept the defeat graciously.

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Sarah

Oct 10, 2017 08:47pm

@prasadDeccani Don't worry they will get right team in Test soon.They have players who have not been selected in batting.ODI and T20I Sri Lankan will be rolled over by complete different ODI team.

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Ali

Oct 10, 2017 08:48pm

@Rahul I can understand your feelings especially after CT 2017 final.

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Gourav Chandio

Oct 10, 2017 09:01pm

From the highest ranked team, just last year to the bottom. What a journey of decline! Although, that number one position lasted for a few weeks only.

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SHAIL

Oct 10, 2017 09:03pm

@YR You are right. CT final loss was a big blow to us. However, there is no denying that you are Champions. We Indians forget that after 83 world cup win, W. Indies beat us 5-0 in odis at home. If that did not take the shine of our world cup win, so it should not take the shine of your CT win.

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Ashraf

Oct 10, 2017 09:17pm

@pervez - London this was exactly i thought and it is very true. Sarfraz does not have patience. This is demoralising the players

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Ashraf

Oct 10, 2017 09:20pm

@Marins you have no knowledge in cricket sir

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Sarah

Oct 10, 2017 09:37pm

@SUDHAKAR, USA Congratulations Australia just blew away Indians at home in T20I.Congratulations on losing .Keep up the losing spirit.

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Zain Hasan

Oct 10, 2017 09:40pm

@xzy Look who is talking. The country which has played last 30 ODIs and 20 Tests at home in last 1 year. The country which has 20% of world population, but has not produces a world class fast bowler in last 60 years (Kapid Dev was medium pacer only). The amount of money you have in your cricket, you should have had an exemplary record against all teams...but the fact is your over-all win-loss ratio is behind Aus, Eng, Pak, WI, South Africa. Your money and population exceeds all these countries combined.

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Abbas Syed

Oct 10, 2017 09:42pm

Pakistan can't not sit back and mourn the loss but have to put a national plan of action tp put back the country as number 1 in the Cricketing World.

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Mandy

Oct 10, 2017 09:50pm

Well played sri lanka...wishes from india...

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Vinay

Oct 10, 2017 10:08pm

@Zain Hasan I agree with all your points, and they are well taken. It is true that in Cricket, overall since 1947, Pakistan is the better team. Most of this is due to the decade of the mid-80's to early 90's when they dominated us completely. That was perhaps the highest peak of Pak Cricket, and a mediocre time for us. Since then, we have generally had the better, but overall still we are lagging. It depends on what one focuses on. The trajectory of Indian cricket is upward, that of Pakistan cricket downward. I would say that is the main thing that should concern Pak fans, without resorting to aggregate statistics, in which, as you say, Pak is better. Humbly---Vinay

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xzy

Oct 10, 2017 10:20pm

@Zain Hasan I feel lucky that we dont have any that kind of fast bowlers..Because what you had all, half of them are well known match fixer...Do i need to give name? I guess you know all of them.Few were in Jail too in UK.So We are blessed that we dont have fast bowlers.

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Sachithanandam

Oct 10, 2017 10:24pm

Srianka is so good test team and both test match played unity i hope in odi matches srilanka win the series

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optimist

Oct 10, 2017 10:27pm

Selection committee must be fired for poor selection. Moreover the tour selection should have played two spinners. How long Pakistan will continue with Baber Azam and Shan Masood the key factors for defeat.

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Andy

Oct 10, 2017 10:32pm

Asad Shafiq can be the VVS Laxman of Pakistan if groomed well

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xzy

Oct 10, 2017 10:35pm

@Sarah Yes we lost and we accept with grace.someday we loose too.And its just T20!

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Dr. Salaria saini nephew

Oct 10, 2017 10:39pm

Well played Sri Lanka. AMEEN. TSUM AMEEN.

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CHANDRAJEET MANE

Oct 10, 2017 10:49pm

Well Pakistan lived to there label of being unpredictable. Nobody expected them to win CT and nobody expected them to lose to a team like Sri Lanka at home. Not sure these are traits of great sporting outfit.

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Gurpreet Singh

Oct 10, 2017 10:58pm

@Zain Hasan - Please check your facts - Since the beginning of 2016, India has played 13 ODI matches in India and 23 ODI matches out of India. As far as tests is concerned, India has played 13 matches in India & 9 out of India.

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Dr. Comedian

Oct 10, 2017 11:02pm

My prayers have been heard, Sri Lanka has won & will keep winning. Ameen Tsum Ameen.

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azaad

Oct 10, 2017 11:06pm

@Rags Lucky 7!!

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Irfan Chaudhry

Oct 10, 2017 11:10pm

@pervez - London if it isn't Sarfraz then who do you suggest should be the captain? I honestly can't think of a single player in the current lot who has the skills and temperament to lead the team.

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sami

Oct 10, 2017 11:14pm

@Zain Hasan Money has come into Indian cricket mainly afte IPL. Early 2000's were also fruitful for Indian cricket but not as much as post IPL. And if you see the results India has been producing good number of complete cricketers and also fast bowlers. Given that most of the pitches used in the domestic competition in India are batting & spinner friendly is one of the reasons for lack of genuine fast bowlers. At the moment the indian team has quite a few number of fast bowlers who can easily hit 140kmph on a average.

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rizwan

Oct 10, 2017 11:20pm

Persistence with players like Babar Azam is one of the reasons for this abject debacle against lowly Lanka!

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kerala

Oct 10, 2017 11:39pm

@Sarah with due respect to excellent bowling by Australians ,there are other factors involved like dew, surprise factors from pitch in our 49th new Guwahati venue..etc.etc And we Indians whitewashed Australians in Australia in the last tour in a 3 match t20. So At least ours is a 1-1 situation now. And I am confident about my team's series win.

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fahimkhalil

Oct 10, 2017 11:49pm

Pakistan Team selection committee members now have to think seriously about their selection criteria for test team. Asad Shafiq and Azhar needs to seriously consider their onwards winning performances and board needs to advise them or council with them.They have played for Pakistan for approximately 7 years now on same grounday.

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manzoor

Oct 10, 2017 11:58pm

White wash by Sri Lanka ! Another dark period of Pakistan cricket just began.Not a single dependable player in the team.A very idiotic bowling selection by the selectors.

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cricketlover

Oct 11, 2017 12:04am

My earlier comment regarding the SL team that it should not be taken lightly, finally proved right. The Pakistan squad just got intimidated by the SL bowlers on the final days of both the Tests. However, it was only their frame of mind that came in the way when things had begun to swing in their favor in both these games. One glaring example is the way Herath was handle by most batsmen during those two second innings. Herath only bowls wicket to wicket with the ball occaionally turning; so, he is not a menacing bowler, unlike Murlitharan. Now, comparatively, Pakistan did not have a good finger spinner in their side. This was amplified by the fact that the part-time bowler, Haris, was able to get some good wickets in these situations where Pakistan was slightly unlucky to have batted last on worn out pitches. However, the main focus here is on the captain, who conceded his shortcoming in the 5-day format. Coupled with this is the selection of the team where the selectors missed a trick by picking medium pacers and leaving out spin bowlers, unlike the SL team. Hopefully, the have now learned a good lesson.

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Hadi

Oct 11, 2017 12:17am

Well done SL! What a way to bounce back from the home series Thumping! Hope lessons will be learned and incorporated for Pakistan, a gap of 3/4 months in International Cricket could have also contributed. Hope we start in one dayers where we left odf in CT :-)

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JACKJONES

Oct 11, 2017 12:28am

Actually thought and was very confident that pakistan would win the second test match because we are fighters. Anyways, this test series is done and dusted. I support Sarfraz and his team a 100%. Instead of playing a blame game lets go back to the whiteboards and try to resolve the challenge going forward. In order to do that we have to look at the selectors (team selected versus pitch conditions), coaches and players role/action/expectations, This is the only way to overcome challenges.

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Dr. Comedian

Oct 11, 2017 12:29am

@Sarah - Yea Australia won a match against India, so what? India thrashed Australia 4-1 in the ODI series and the T20 series is tied 1-1. Meanwhile Pakistan lost 2-0 at home to a team that was just thrashed 9-0 by India at home.

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israr khan

Oct 11, 2017 01:05am

its ok things go wrong i stress on playing 5 bowler and 5 batsmen we need to put more responsibility on batsmen ... time for inzi to play 5 region teams in first class tournament we need to play top batsmen against top bowlers and lets see who comes out best.. here the top batsmen play pusadi bowlers and become best

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Shazad

Oct 11, 2017 01:30am

All of Misbah's hard work over the last seven years undone in the space of just two test matches....

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American raja

Oct 11, 2017 02:43am

Congrats to my Siri Lankan brothers. Well played and well deserved victory. As for my Green Shirts , keep your chins up and work harder. It will take a while to overcome the loss of #MissYou.

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Rehan Jayasuriya

Oct 11, 2017 02:45am

Excellent win by Sri Lanka. Of course it was a battle with the spinners but the real fact was our pacies,Lakmal, Lahiru & Pradeep outdid the more acclaimed Pak's fast men. The new find Lahiru was exceptional & congrats to Chandi. The series was played between two friendly nations & no dirty antics were visible on the field by any so credit should go to both teams.

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rathorew

Oct 11, 2017 03:19am

Congratulations Sri Lanka, you deserved the series. This is from a Pakistan fan..

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vorshal

Oct 11, 2017 04:21am

@Dr Salaria, Aamir Ahmad -- If they were only just half good as you wish, they would have had a much superior ranking in all formats of the game! Give a thought!

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vorshal

Oct 11, 2017 04:26am

More to come!

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Raj

Oct 11, 2017 05:50am

@SUDHAKAR, USA also wishing them long life.

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Subramaniam

Oct 11, 2017 06:58am

@Nikesh or something else? By winning the Champions trophy PCB's financial position has improved considerably.

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Salim

Oct 11, 2017 07:41am

Nothing is lost keep faith in team we will surely blank them in one day format,

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Raja Parekh

Oct 11, 2017 02:10pm

@Harish , It is now Diwali period and white wash is needed to clean the house! Actually, Pakistan played well and good fight to mighty Sri Lankans.

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kedar

Oct 11, 2017 03:18pm

In One dayers Pakistanis should play with a balanced specialist side - 1 wicket keeper, 3 specialist bowlers, 3 specialist batsmen and 4 specialist fielders.

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Tariq Rashid

Oct 11, 2017 03:44pm

Yes we lost and we accept it that Sri Lanka played well and claimed the series no ifs and buts.. We were not strong in enough and lost the series. My sympathies for Indian fans who are venting their anger of Champions league rout here and can't simply get over it and look ahead...

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Vijayakumar

Oct 11, 2017 04:59pm

@Zain Hasan But what about batsmen ..... After wasim and Waqar ... can you name the bowler who is in thier class ... pakistan fast bowling is dead already. Atleast india is producing world class batsmen

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Cyrus Narielwalla

Oct 11, 2017 05:11pm

There was nothing wrong with the captaincy of Sarfraz, but infact it was the wrong selection of the team by Mickey Arthur, knowing that UAE pitches are spinners friendly, they should have gone into both the test matches with two regular spinners and two fast bowlers. They depended with 3 fast bowlers and 1 spinner only which costed Pakistan both the matches. Also playing in the UAE is that whoever wins the toss wins the matches as batting first is easier on Day 1 & 2 as compared to Days 3,4,5.

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R YEGYA NARAYANAN

Oct 11, 2017 05:13pm

@Tariq Rashid Indians did not not grieve over their loss in the CT final against Pakistan nor did they rejoice over your loss to Sri Lanka. Your victory was as much a surprise as our loss to you. But we are happy to see where Indo-Pak relations stand. For Pakistanis, a loss by India is to be celebrated more than a victory by their own country even when we don't clash. Now why your PCB Chief is stoically silent? With the political atmosphere at a new low, even ICC will be wary of sticking its neck out. Why should Indians pay for watching a match when there is so much venom in the air?

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karr

Oct 11, 2017 07:59pm

I thought Pakistan will somehow manage a win here. Very surprised to see them lose.

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Pradeep Thind

Oct 12, 2017 01:07am

@Tariq Rashid ...What rout? We reached the finals. Can't win every tournament although our expectations and talent may suggest so. ;)

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SHAH S

Oct 12, 2017 02:01am

GOOD... Pakistan team deserves it... when politicians sent and chit carrying so called players are selected... this is what happens... also, games have been started to get new captain .. replacing Sarfraz;

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Wahab

Oct 12, 2017 05:57am

Selectors need to select on merit basis

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Farrukh Hussain

Oct 12, 2017 06:24am

I support my men whatever the result is they r representative of my country each one of them. Please support team spirit.

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Keen Observer

Oct 12, 2017 11:15am

Congratulations SL. Pakistan, May your Ranking reach Higher.