Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 36 runs in Dambulla in a thriller where Pakistan's lower order batsmen did things that the top order were supposed to do. Eventually Pakistan was bundled out for 196 in 44.4 overs. Earlier,Sri Lanka recovered from a top-order failure to post a competitive 232-9 in the first one-day international against Pakistan in Dambulla on Thursday. The hosts had slipped to 131-6 by the 34th over after Pakistan captain Younus Khan won the toss and elected to field in overcast conditions at the Rangiri International Stadium. All-rounder Angelo Mathews (43) led the late revival,with the last four Sri Lankan wickets adding 101 valuable runs before the 50 overs ran out. Star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan,who missed the preceding Test series with a knee injury,marked his return with an aggressive 32 off 15 balls that included four boundaries and a six. Pakistan,who lost the Tests 2-0,need 4.7 runs an over to take the lead in the five-match one-day series. Sri Lanka were unable to build partnerships against the accurate Pakistani attack,which revelled on the slow wicket. Veteran Sanath Jayasuriya failed to take advantage of two dropped catches and fell for 15,while opening partner Upul Tharanga struggled to make 17. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara hit 36 and Mahela Jayawardene scored 33 in his 300th one-day international,but none of the other top order batsmen settled in. The duo put on 48 for the third wicket before Sri Lanka lost four wickets for 38 runs to slip from a promising 93-2 in the 22nd over. Pakistan surprisingly left out 19-year-old batsman Umar Akmal despite his unbeaten century in a practice match on Monday. Sri Lanka were bolstered by the return of Muralitharan,the world's leading wicket-taker in both Test and one-day cricket,and fast bowler Lasith Malinga.
