Karachi, June 29 : Pakistan got off to the worst possible start in pursuit of Mt 303 when Salman Butt was cleaned up by Chaminda Vaas of the very first ball of the innings for naught. Skipper Shoaib Malik along with veteran batsman Younis Khan since then have steadied the ship, even picking 15 runs of a Chaminda Vaas over to keep Pakistan in hunt.

Kumara Sangakkara had earlier anchored the Sri Lankan innings to perfection with a fine 112 as the Islanders amassed 302/7 in their allotted in their 50 overs. Lanka had looked set for an even bigger score were undone by Sohail Tanvir’s 3-wicket burst in the slog overs. Tanvir who ended with impressive figures of 5/48 from 10 overs, was chiefly responsible for reining in the rampaging Lankans in this must-win game for the hosts.

Besides Sangakkara, Mirando chipped in with a quick fire 28 towards the end, ensuring that the Lankans don’t lose steam after Sangakkara’s dismissal, pushing their score past the 300 run-mark.

However the highlight of the Sri Lankan batting was Sangakkara’s knock. He eventually departed in the 47th over, perishing in the attempt to launch an all-out assault on the hosts. The veteran batsman took just 96 balls to reach his 9th hundred, second vs Pakistan.

Sohail Tanvir seemed to have pulled things back for Pakistan by some extent when he had a dangerous looking Silva caught by Keeper Sarfraz for a breezy 46 off 48 balls just when he was beginning to dominate. Siva shared a crucial 93 run partnership with Sangakkara at faster than run-a-ball to wrest the initiative from Pakistan.

Debutant leg-spinner Mansoor Amjad had provided the breakthrough his team was desperately looking for, inducing Kapudegara to a slog sweep into the safe hands of Younis Khan. Kapudegara departed for a polished 43 off 58 balls, hitting 2 fours and 2 sixes before becoming Amjad’s first international victim.

Kumara Sangakkara and C Kapudegara had launched a fine rearguard action following Mahela Jayawardane’s loss, as they went about compiling runs at a fairly decent pace without taking any undue risks. The added 88 runs for the third wicket at almost run a ball as Sangakkara brought up his half century in the process.

Half way through their innings, the visitors were comfortably placed at 133/2 as they bid to lay a foundation for an all out attack

They had brought up Sri Lanka’s 100 in the 21st over as spinners Afridi and Malik failed to penetrate the duo’s compact stance.

Sohail Tanvir picked up his second wicket of the match as he induced Mahela Jayawardene into a false stroke to be out caught at point. Jayawardene departed for 29 at a time when the Lankans were looking to build a partnership after Jayasuriya’s early departure.

Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara steadied the Sri Lankan innings after Sanath Jayasuriya departed early. The duo took the Lankan score past the 50 run mark in the 11th over.

Sohail Tanvir struck a crucial blow for the home team as he removed Sri Lankan veteran Sanath Jayasuriya with just 22 runs on the board. Jayasuriya, who managed to score 8 runs was trapped plumb in front of the wickets off a good length delivery.

Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik won the toss and elected to bat first in their first match of the super 4 round of the Asia Cup.

While Sri Lanka brought back Sanath Jayasuriya, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, who were all rested for the game against UAE, Pakistan have made two changes to their side, bringing in Mansoor Amjad, the legspinner, and Wahab Riaz for the injured Umar Gul and Fawad Alam.

Sri Lanka innings: ST Jayasuriya lbw b Sohail Tanvir 8, KC Sangakkara b Sohail Tanvir 112, DPMD Jayawardene c Misbah-ul-Haq b Sohail Tanvir 29, CK Kapugedera c Younis Khan b Mansoor Amjad 43, LPC Silva c Sarfraz Ahmed b Sohail Tanvir 46, MTT Mirando c Wahab Riaz b Sohail Tanvir 28, TM Dilshan b Wahab Riaz 8, WPUJC Vaas not out 4, KMDN Kulasekara not out 1 Extras: (lb 10, w 11, nb 2) 23 Total: (7 wickets; 50 overs) 302 (6.04 runs per over) FOW: 1-22, 2-62, 3-150, 4-243, 5-271, 6-288, 7-298 Bowling: Sohail Tanvir 10-1-48-5, Wahab Riaz 9-0-52-1, Iftikhar Anjum 8-0-60-0, Shahid Afridi 10-0-54-0, Shoaib Malik 5-0-34-0, Mansoor Amjad 8-1-44-1