Pak dance to Murali's tunes

Pak dance to Murali's tunes

Peshawar, March 8: Magician Muttiah Muralitharan snared five wickets to bring Sri Lanka back on track to victory against Pakistan on the fourth day of the second cricket Test here on Wednesday.

Pakistan's chances of an improbable win were severely jolted by the off-spinner with his glaring eyes who put an end to a magnificient innings of 88 by Yousuf Youhana in the dying minutes to bury the home team.

When bad light curtailed play by five overs Pakistan were 222 for eight with captain Saeed Anwar fighting on 32 not out, the home team needing another 72 runs to level the series.

Earlier Sri Lanka were dismissed for 222 on the stroke of lunch in their second innings with left-hander Russel Arnold making 99.

Youhanna in company with debutant Atiq-uz-Zaman added 63 for the sixth wicket and 45 with Abdul Razzak for the fifth wicket to raise victory hopes from a precarious 103 for four.

The 25-year-old played fluently and hit glorious shots to all parts of the ground, sending a vociferous crowd of 8,000 to their feet.

Murilatharan though had the last laugh when he trapped Youhanna leg before wicket for 88, ending a spectacular 171-minute innings spiced with three sixes and eight fours.

The Sri Lankan off-spinner had Waqar Younis next ball for nought to bring his 18th five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

Pakistan, chasing 294 to win with the session and a full day's play left, were given a rousing start of 59 by Shahid Afridi and Anwar, who both played positively in the run chase. Afridi, who holds the record for fastest century in one-day internationals, hit two fours and two sixes in his 31 but was stumped in his attempt to hammer Murilatharan out of the attack.

Muralitharan dismissed Inzamam-ul-Haq in his seventh over, caught bat-pad for nine.

Pakistan lost its third wicket in the last over before tea when Sanath Jayasuriya forced Aamir Sohail to edge to silly mid-off for nought leaving the home team struggling at 82-3 at tea.

Soon after the interval the home team received a cruel blow when captain Saeed Anwar collided with umpire Mohammad Nazir while completing a sharp single.

Anwar, who was 30 not out, badly hurt his neck and was rushed to hospital for a medical examination. Nazir, who turned 54 on Wednesday, remained unhurt.

Yousuf Youhanna posted Pakistan's 100 with a rasping cover drive to the boundry off Chaminda Vaas but the pacer avenged by dismissing Younis Khan for six.

Muralitharan returned in his second spell and with his first ball trapped Razzak leg before wicket for five, leaving half the side back at 142.

Youhana threw caution to the wind by taking on the bowling and when on 45 completed his 1,000 runs in his 17th Test.

He hit Jayasuriya for a straight six and pulled him for four next ball to reach his 10th Test half-century in 94 minutes.

Youhanna and number eight batsman Atiq-uz-Zaman, who took Pakistan to from 145-5, had luck on their side.

Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st Innings): 268
Pakistan (1st Innings): 199
Sri Lanka (2nd Innings; overnight 129 for five): M Atapattu c Sohail b Khan 29, S Jayasuriya lbw Younis 6, R Arnold c Youhana b Khan 99, Jayawardena lbw Younis 10, T Dilshan c Zaman b Sohail 7, R Kaluwitharana lbw Akhtar 0, A de Silva c W Younis b Sohail 31, C Vaas c Youhana b Khan 5, R Pushpakumara c Zaman b Younis 14, P Wickremasinghe c Khan b Akhtar 5, M Muralitharan batting 2.
Extras: (b4,lb7,nb5) 16. Total: (All Out in 69.2 overs) 224.
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-69, 3-90, 4-108, 5-109, 6-188, 7-201, 8-206, 9-222.
Bowling: Waqar Younis 16-3-38-3, Shoaib Akhtar 12.2-1-47-2(nb5), Arshad Khan 20-3-81-3, Abdur Razzaq 17-9-27-0, Aamir Sohail 8-3-20-2. Pakistan (2nd Innings): Saeed Anwar batting 32, Shahid Afridi st.Kaluwitharana b Muralitharan 31, Inzamam-ul-Haq c Jayawardena b Muralitharan 9, Aamir Sohail c Jayawardena b Jayasuriya 0, Yousuf Youhana lbw b Muralitharan 88, Younis khan c Arnold b Vaas 6, Abdur Razzaq lbw b Muralitharan 5, Atiq-uz-Zaman b Vaas 25, Waqar Younis c Jayawardena b Muralitharan 0 Arshad Khan batting 0 Extras: (b9, lb6, nb11) 26.
Total: (For 8 wickets) 222.
Fall of wickets: 1-59, 2-77, 3-82, 4-103, 5-145, 6-208, 7-222, 8-222

Bowling: Vaas 15-3-55-2 (nb7), Pushpakumara10-1-31-0 (nb3), Wickremasinghe 12-5-22-0, Muralitharan 26.4-4-71-5 (nb1), Jayasuriya 5-1-28-1.