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Message: <blockquote data-quote="chandikagunawardhana" data-source="post: 5272141" data-attributes="member: 11539">Batting continues to worry PakistanThe first one-dayer on Thursday wasn't as one-sided as it was turning out to be at one stage. The Pakistan lower order fought commendably with only a couple of wickets in hand but it wasn't enough to erase an inept performance by the top order. Pakistan's coach, Intikhab Alam, stated after the match that the pitch was not to blame; his team lost it in the field when they had a chance to restrict the Sri Lankans below 200. The bowlers struggled to contain a rampaging Muttiah Muralitharan in the third Powerplay and the Sri Lankans took the psychological advantage with them in the better part of the chase as well.Intikhab didn't blame the defeat on bad batting. But the top order's frailties against the swing generated by Sri Lanka's penetrative new-ball attack remains a concern. In four matches against them, Pakistan are yet to register a win, despite the contests being closely fought. Pakistan need to win tomorrow or else they will have to win all their remaining games to win the series.Sri Lanka too didn't bat as well as they would have liked, but have fewer concerns overall compared to their opponents. Kumar Sangakkara wasn't exactly chuffed with the way his bowlers lost the plot towards the end of the chase. Death bowling is something the home side will need to sharpen.</blockquote>

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