Stats Analysis

Pakistan's nine-year wait, and Pathirana's unwanted 200

Stats highlights from the fourth ODI between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Colombo, where the visitors sealed a series win

Shiva Jayaraman
22-Jul-2015
Pakistan finally won a bilateral series in Sri Lanka after 2006, having lost three consecutive series since then.  •  AFP

Pakistan finally won a bilateral series in Sri Lanka after 2006, having lost three consecutive series since then.  •  AFP

2006 The last time Pakistan won a bilateral series in Sri Lanka before today. They had won a three-match series 2-0 on that occasion, but lost three consecutive series after that.
55 Pakistan's win margin in this match in terms of the number of balls remaining - their fourth-biggest against Sri Lanka in ODIs. Their biggest win against Sri Lanka in terms of balls remaining came in 2012 in Dubai, when they won with 169 deliveries to spare. The 40.5 overs they took to chase down the target in Colombo, though, are the second least they have taken to successfully chase down any target of 250 or more runs in ODIs.
90.4 Pakistan's ODI ratings after this win. They are now two points clear of West Indies who are on 88.4 points. Should they win the final ODI of this series as well, Pakistan will end up with 91.7 points and gain a three-point lead over West Indies. If they lose, Pakistan will be 89.7. Qualification for the Champions Trophy, though, still depends on the outcome from the proposed tri-series in August involving Pakistan, West Indies and Zimbabwe.
200 Runs conceded by Sachith Pathirana in his first three ODIs - only one run fewer than the highest conceded by any bowler in his first three ODIs; UAE's Manjula Guruge conceded 201 runs in his first three matches. For Sri Lanka, Ruchira Perera was the most expensive bowler before Pathriana, having conceded 182 runs in his first three games.
9 Fifty-plus stands by Pakistan's openers in ODIs in 2015 - the most for any team. Pakistan's first wicket averages 57.26, which is the highest for any team in 2015. Pakistan's openers have added 1088 runs in 19 innings, including four hundreds and five fifty stands.
459 Runs scored by Lahiru Thirimanne against Pakistan in ODIs, the most he has against any team. Thirimanne's 90 in this match was his fourth fifty-plus score in his last six ODIs against Pakistan.
15 Number of innings since the last time Ahmed Shehzad hit a century in ODIs. He has made five fifties since then, including two nineties. Shehzad's last century came against New Zealand in Sharjah last year.
246 Runs conceded by Lasith Malinga in this series - the fourth-highest he has conceded in any bilateral series. The 292 runs he conceded in a five-match bilateral series in 2013-14 in the UAE, also against Pakistan, are his highest. Malinga has taken only four wickets at 61.50 runs apiece in this series.
41 Balls Pakistan took to make 50 runs in their innings; this was their second-fastest fifty against Sri Lanka in ODIs since 2001. Their fastest came last year in Hambantota, when they made fifty in 40 deliveries.
9 Times Kusal Perera has been dismissed in the first over of an innings in ODIs - the most by any batsman since Kusal's debut. Kusal's duck in this match was his 19th single-digit score in 40 ODIs as an opener. Among those with at least 30 innings since Kusal's debut, no opener has gotten out in single digits as frequently as him.
2006 The last time before this match that Pakistan added 50 or more runs for each of their first two wickets against Sri Lanka in ODIs. Overall, there have been 12 such instances for Pakistan against Sri Lanka.
10 Instances before this match where two batsmen from opposing teams both got out in the nineties in an ODI before this match. The last such instance came in the 2015 World Cup match between Ireland and Zimbabwe when Andy Balbirnie and Sean Williams were denied their centuries. There is only one instance in ODI history when three batsmen have got out in the nineties. This, too, was a World Cup game, between Australia and South Africa in 2007, when Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke from Australia, and AB de Villiers from South Africa missed out on their hundreds.

Shiva Jayaraman is a senior sub-editor (stats) at ESPNcricinfo.com