Pakistan left to ponder another batting failure

In the three days of the Pallekele Test so far, Pakistan have shown variation and a fair amount of success in their bowling. The focal point for them, however, has been yet another poor batting display that has left the team management struggling to find explanations.

Pakistan turned the match around from a first-innings position of 96 for 5 in the first Test in Galle, eventually winning by ten wickets within four days, but it seemed to be a one-off case. Inconsistency seems inevitable with the side and their winning momentum, gained in the first Test, was broken after another batting failure in Colombo.

Before the Colombo Test, Misbah-ul-Haq was asked if his biggest challenge going ahead would be complacency but he stressed the team was not complacent, only confident. The game started with Pakistan stumbling to 138 all out after opting to bat and they could not fight back from there, eventually losing by seven wickets.

It's not like Pakistan cannot bat. Their frontline batsmen are all capable of big scores and in the past, the side has shown an ability to turn a situation around through their batting. The stunning 302-run chase against Sri Lanka on the last day of the Test in Sharjah in January last year and the 2-0 series win over Australia in the UAE, despite an inexperienced bowling attack, are fine examples of the batting potential in the side.

However, their biggest challenge is also complacency that big successes tend to bring. Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson had hinted at the need for a sports psychologist to help the players cope with pressure situations and the need to remain balanced and not get carried away. Pakistan had a few short stints with a sports psychologist after Lawson's tenure, particularly in the run-up to the 2009 World T20, but such efforts have not been consistent.

Before the series Pakistan said their plans to tackle Rangana Herath would be a deciding factor for them in the series. They did that particularly well, and Herath was left out of the side for the third Test after two wickets in the first two Tests at an average of 109. But Pakistan have not been able to capitalise on it. They lost the second Test at the P Sara Oval and are staring at a defeat in Pallekele. The goal of ending a nine-year series drought in Sri Lanka is slowly slipping away.

When asked to describe Pakistan's performance after they ended the fourth day 291 runs behind Sri Lanka, coach Waqar Younis pointed to the batting collapse that had left them in the situation.

"First I would want to talk about batting as we didn't bat very well," he said. "That is why we are in a situation where it is tough for us to control things.

"The bowlers, especially Yasir, did well. Yasir did well regardless of what sort of pitch he was bowling, he bowled extremely well, gave us the chance to score big but apart from the first session with the bat we didn't really make it easy for us. We played bad shots and put ourselves in a situation where they managed to take a lead. At the end of the day, we are to be blamed ourselves and nothing else."

Pakistan's seamers did well with a hard new ball at the start of the Sri Lanka innings and Rahat Ali's spell almost made it their day, as he dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne quickly. Waqar admitted the quick bowlers should have taken more wickets.

"We are relying on him (Yasir) as he is our in-form bowler and he is the one man who stood tall and came out as a star. But it's a three-seamer pitch, there was grass and moisture and we also won the toss so everything went our way. In the second innings, I think we lacked penetration as we could have taken more wickets with the new ball.

"Rahat coming from the injury bowled excellently. Brought us into a situation where we thought we are in the game but then we lost control and, of course, Mathews and Mubarak gave us a real fight and took it away from us.

"We didn't create an opportunity thereafter but still we thought Yasir might do something and Ehsan Adil had almost taken Mubarak at one stage. But credit should be given to Sri Lanka as they batted very well. The way Mathew batted, he not only scored runs but also took the youngster with him to give us a fight."

Waqar admitted Pakistan were in a tough position but said the side would try to make the best out of the conditions, with the pitch still good to bat on. "It's tough and not really easy from here but we are obviously going to fight and not let it go tomorrow. (We) Will try to slow things, will fight hard to take wickets and then see how it goes. Regardless of the new ball, this pitch is still good and we will try to make the most out of it."