A 99-run stand between Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal helped Sri Lanka extend their lead against Pakistan beyond 100 in Abu Dhabi and slowly tilt the balance in their favour in a seesaw contest. The two batsmen scored their respective half-centuries and comfortably thwarted the new-ball threat posed by Junaid Khan and Bilawal Bhatti.
Pakistan had assumed a dominant position after earning three wickets in the last session on the third day and needed similar intensity from Bhatti and Junaid to restrict Sri Lanka's lead. They opened with the same pairing in their search for quick wickets, but both bowlers lacked the zip that had brought them success yesterday. They bowled with a reduced pace and hardly made an impact and the pitch, unlike yesterday, didn't afford any lateral movement either.
That made Sri Lanka's job easier. In the 8.3 overs bowled by Bhatti and Junaid, Chandimal and Mathews collected 24 runs without being troubled. They defended solidly and mainly focused on turning the strike over. Only once each, the two batsmen chose to stamp their authority with powerful pull shots. The two bowlers had to be eventually pulled out of the attack by Misbah-ul-Haq to keep them ready for the new-ball. That gave Sri Lanka more breathing space.
In the last 10 overs with the old ball, Chandimal and Mathews slightly upped the rate to accumulate 39 runs as the three bowlers used in that block - Saeed Ajmal, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Hafeez - didn't create even a minor flutter. In the 79th over bowled by Ajmal, Chandimal reached his fifth Test half-century with a glance to the fine-leg boundary and Mathews smashed a six which illustrated the two batsmen's growing comfort.
Misbah asked for the new ball straightaway and pressed his two best bowlers - Junaid and Bhatti - back into service. However, it didn't have the desired effect as Sri Lanka switched to a measured approach again. In the eight overs that Bhatti and Junaid bowled, Mathews did play and miss a few, but kept his composure. Chandimal, on the other hand, stayed fluent and easily picked up singles when needed to keep Sri Lanka moving to a position of relative strength.
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