Karachi, Jan 21 (IANS) Sri Lanka bounced back to thrash Pakistan by 129 runs in the second One-day International cricket and level the series 1-1 at the National Stadium here Wednesday.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (76) and Thilina Kandamby (59) guided Sri Lanka to 290 for eight after being sent in to bat first by Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik on a batting-friendly wicket.
Then pacer Nuwan Kulasekara (2-31) struck initial blows to reduce Pakistan to 17 for three before experienced off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (3-19) and Ajantha Mendis (3-39) bowled out the hosts for 161 in 34.5 overs.
Pakistan, which won the first match by eight wickets, recovered briefly through half centuries from Salman Butt (62) and captain Shoaib Malik (54).
'Our bowlers didn't do well today,' said Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik.
'It's difficult to chase 290 when the opposition have two strong spinners,' he added.
Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene was pleased with the result.
'We created opportunities up front and showed a lot of character in our batting,' said Jayawardene.
'Our bowling has been consistent over the last one year and we didn't give Pakistan any room today.'
Earlier, Dilshan hit 11 boundaries in his 76-run knock while Kandamby chipped in with 59 off 79 balls in Sri Lanka's highest total since it retained the Asia Cup in July last year by defeating India in the final here.
Chamara Kapugedera (44) led the charge in the end and struck two sixes and two fours as Sri Lanka scored 79 runs off the last 10 overs.
Umar Gul (4-58) was the pick of Pakistan bowlers while Iftikhar (1-43) and Shahid Afridi (1-42) also bowled economical. Both sides will now travel to Lahore for the series finale Jan 24.
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