Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 2014

	Sri Lanka won the two-match Test series, 2-0 © AFP Enlarge
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Test matches (2): Sri Lanka 2, Pakistan 0 One-day internationals (3): Sri Lanka 2, Pakistan 1

Little more than six months after these teams met in a Test series in the Gulf, they locked horns again for one more brief encounter, this time in Sri Lanka. Pakistan had not played Test cricket since then, while for Sri Lanka's board it was another chance - following the similarly short South African tour - to recoup some losses from the 2011 World Cup.

It also gave Sri Lanka's players an opportunity to stretch their five-day legs. And it afforded Mahela Jayawardene the chance to say farewell to Test cricket, at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo - his home ground, on which he has scored more Test runs than anyone else at a single venue. Jayawardene, who made his debut in August 1997, scoring 66 as Sri Lanka ran up the Test-record total of 952 for six against India, finished with 11,814 runs in 149 Tests at a fraction below 50. No fewer than 2,921 of those runs came at the SSC, with 11 centuries - another record. Jayawardene lay second on this list, too, with 2,382 runs at Galle after this series.

He bowed out with a couple of elegant fifties - but, more importantly, two Test victories. The first, at Galle, was clinched by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath's six-for after Kumar Sangakkara made 221; and Herath was in even deadlier form in the Second Test, taking 14 wickets, including nine in the first innings, something only Muttiah Muralitharan had done for Sri Lanka. Herath's haul of 23 was a record for any two-Test series, beating 22 by Murali at home to South Africa in 2006. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan's captain, admitted he was the main difference between the sides.

Pakistan started both Tests well before tailing off: at Galle, a Younis Khan masterclass lifted them to 451, only for Sangakkara to nab a lead; in the Second, they took a narrow lead themselves, thanks to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed's consistency with the bat - he passed 50 in all four Test innings, including an attacking maiden century in Colombo - but made a mess of a tricky target. It was a similar story in the one-day internationals: Pakistan comfortably won the first, but were thumped in the next two.

Another of Sri Lanka's 2014 success stories, Angelo Mathews, continued to prosper as captain - and batted well, too, raising his Test average to 52; in 13 matches since taking over in 2013, that figure rose to a heady 86. Mathews carried his form into the one-day series, with 182 runs at a strike-rate of 90. Pakistan's batting often misfired: after Younis's fine 177 in the First Test, he managed only 34 runs in three innings, while Misbah - now aged 40 - was badly out of nick.

The tour ended on a discordant note, when Ahmed Shehzad was overheard making derogatory remarks to Tillekeratne Dilshan - son of a Muslim father - about his Buddhist beliefs. The Pakistan authorities reprimanded Shehzad, saying he had violated his central contract, although the Sri Lankan board made no formal complaint.

More serious for Pakistan was the loss - temporary, they hoped - of their star off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, whose bowling action was reported after the First Test. Shortly after the tour the 36-year-old Ajmal was banned from bowling in international cricket, pending remedial action, after analysis showed he routinely flexed his elbow by well over twice the permitted 15-degree limit.

Match reports for

1st Test: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Galle, Aug 6-10, 2014
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2nd Test: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Colombo (SSC), Aug 14-18, 2014
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Tour Match: Sri Lanka Cricket Board President's XI v Pakistanis at Moratuwa, Aug 20, 2014
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1st ODI: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Hambantota, Aug 23, 2014
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2nd ODI: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Hambantota, Aug 26, 2014
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3rd ODI: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Dambulla, Aug 30, 2014
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