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Lanka draws with Pak in Lahore

Pakistan 398 and 314/8 decl, Sri Lanka 328 and 165/2, bad light ends play early, match drawn

The way Saqlain Mushtaq and Wasim Akram raced through the Lankan lower order in the first innings held out hope that the Asian Test Championship fixture between the two teams, at Lahore, could produce a corking finish.

Rain, more than any other factor, spoilt that prospect. It rained on the morning of day four, and it rained out the entire morning's play on day five -- and this, coupled with the fact that bad light has brought play to a premature close on each day of this Test match, meant that there was too little time for things to really get exciting.

The Lankans under Tillekertane will go home buoyed by having scored a few psychological -- as opposed to bonus -- points in the second half of the game. Leading an inexperienced attack, Tillekeratne in fact managed very well indeed to halt a possible Pakistan charge with the bat. With aggressive field placing, good line and length bowling by Bandaratilleke and Kalpage in particular, the Lankans ensured that the Pakistan side did not enjoy a run feast on a placid pitch -- as exemplified by the fact that in the session after lunch on day four, with Pakistan looking for quick runs to force a declaration, only 93 overs were scored off 35 overs for the loss of three wickets.

For Pakistan, the good news came from the performance of Wajahat Wasti in the opener's slot. With Aamir Sohail's career showing every sign of having come to an end, Wasti's second successive century in the game -- an innings characterised by impeccable temperament, phenomenal patience and a rock-solid defence -- would have helped answer the question of who would partner Saeed Anwar in Tests.

That silver lining, though, came with clouds attendant -- and the biggest one was the form, or lack thereof, of Inzamam ul Haq. Of late, the middle order batsman has been getting out too cheaply for comfort -- and more worrying would be the fact that a lot of those dismissals have been either bowled, or LBW, which would indicate that technical problems have crept into his play. And Pakistan, with a World Cup to try and win, will need Inzy back in prime form in the heck of a hurry.

Another worry -- though not as great a one, just now, as Inzamam's lack of form -- would be the batting of Yousuf Youhanna. Given the Pakistan shortlist of 19 for the Cup, Youhanna seems slated to play a key role in the middle. But his best innings -- both on the Indian tour and here in Lahore -- have come courtesy the fielding sides munificience. In the second innings, faced with a tight line and tighter fielding, Youhanna looked tentative in the brief time he spent at the crease, and Pakistan will be wanting a couple of good knocks from him in order to eliminate a niggling worry in the middle order (remember that Salim Malik no longer forms part of the team composition).

Faced with a mammoth target, there was just the chance that the Lankan batting -- almost entirely lacking in experience -- would fold against the lethal swing of Akram and the spin of Saqlain.

This did not happen, thanks in the main to Avishka Gunawardene. That lad seems right out of the Lankan mould -- a sparkling batsman with strokes on both sides of the wicket and, more to the point, a very evident conviction that the ball is there to be banged around. It was Gunawardene who negated an impressive first spell by Akram, and gave enough indications that he is one of the young stars Lanka is looking for, to replace a rapidly ageing brood.

Mahela Jayawardene provides another reason for the Lankan selectors, back home, to smile -- his innings on the final day was classy barring the odd problem against Saqlain Mushtaq. He does, however, seem technically and temperamentally sound and, with Gunawardene and Marvan Atapattu, will probably form the core of the Sri Lankan side, circa 2000.

Russel Arnold's patience and determination are exemplary -- but with his limited strokeplay and an inability to take charge, he won't be giving Sanath Jayasuriya too many sleepless nights just yet.

Unlike in the first innings, the Pakistan bowlers pretty much pulled out all the stops in the second essay in a bid to force a win. But the Lankan batsmen, aware that the time factor didn't give them any realistic chance of even trying for a win, downed the shutters and kept the bowlers from breaking through (the umpires helping with a couple of LBW decisions that weren't given).

Judging by the evidence of the second innings, it could be a very interesting final in Dhaka, when the veterans (Ranatunga, Aravinda, Chaminda Vaas) return to the Lankan ranks. They say that wisdom lies in not trying to predict the outcome of a cricket match -- but my money would be on a decision arrived at on the basis of bonus points, and not an outright win, when these two teams clash in Dhaka later this week.

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