Sri Lanka Stutter But Prove Too Good for Pakistan
Sri Lanka confirmed their status as dark horses for the World Twenty20 by beating Pakistan by 19 runs
Sri Lanka confirmed their status as dark horses for the World Twenty20 when, though below their best, they beat Pakistan in their opening Super Eight match.
As Lord's danced with the vivid colors of Asia – there were plenty of India flags too, for their following match against West Indies – it was Sri Lanka who virtually booked a place in next week's semi-finals with this ultimately convincing win.
Their captain, Kumar Sangakkara, said: "I wouldn't say it was a great all-round performance but it was a great effort from the guys to defend the total when we should have got 170-175. It was a great start from Sanath [Jayasuriya] and [Tillakaratne] Dilshan once again. Some partnerships in the middle order and a few better shot options might have got us a more comfortable win. But it was great to see the character of the guys, the way they fielded and bowled."
Pakistan, not for the first time in this tournament, were a little ragged. They looked competitive only in the latter stages of the Sri Lanka innings and, when they batted, when the captain, Younis Khan, and Misbah-ul-Haq were in tandem. Pakistan's bowlers did well to restrict Sri Lanka to 150 after a shocking start. Their first over, bowled by Sohail Tanvir, consisted of 11 deliveries and cost 18 runs.
Sri Lanka maintained the impetus of their bright start to score 65 runs in their six-over power play and they had 81 on the board by the time they lost their first wicket in the ninth over. At that stage they looked capable of reaching 200 or more. But they lost their way and seemed unable to hit boundaries once Pakistan took the pace off the ball with their spinners.
Sri Lanka failed to strike a boundary in the four overs that Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik bowled between them towards the end of the innings and there was just one four in the last four overs. Dilshan, the man of the match, maintained his eye-catching form with eight fours in a 39-ball 46. But after he lost his opening partner, Jayasuriya, for 26 there was little support.
Pakistan, despite their recent shortcomings, must have felt a degree of optimism when they started their innings. But they slumped to 36 for three at the end of their power play. Younis, whose 50 came from 37 balls, added 66 with Misbah to keep their far-fetched hopes alive. But when Misbah was fourth out at 101 in the 16th it looked beyond them. Afridi skied his first delivery to deep mid-wicket and when the captain perished in the next over, the game was up.
As Lord's danced with the vivid colors of Asia – there were plenty of India flags too, for their following match against West Indies – it was Sri Lanka who virtually booked a place in next week's semi-finals with this ultimately convincing win.
Their captain, Kumar Sangakkara, said: "I wouldn't say it was a great all-round performance but it was a great effort from the guys to defend the total when we should have got 170-175. It was a great start from Sanath [Jayasuriya] and [Tillakaratne] Dilshan once again. Some partnerships in the middle order and a few better shot options might have got us a more comfortable win. But it was great to see the character of the guys, the way they fielded and bowled."
Pakistan, not for the first time in this tournament, were a little ragged. They looked competitive only in the latter stages of the Sri Lanka innings and, when they batted, when the captain, Younis Khan, and Misbah-ul-Haq were in tandem. Pakistan's bowlers did well to restrict Sri Lanka to 150 after a shocking start. Their first over, bowled by Sohail Tanvir, consisted of 11 deliveries and cost 18 runs.
Sri Lanka maintained the impetus of their bright start to score 65 runs in their six-over power play and they had 81 on the board by the time they lost their first wicket in the ninth over. At that stage they looked capable of reaching 200 or more. But they lost their way and seemed unable to hit boundaries once Pakistan took the pace off the ball with their spinners.
Sri Lanka failed to strike a boundary in the four overs that Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik bowled between them towards the end of the innings and there was just one four in the last four overs. Dilshan, the man of the match, maintained his eye-catching form with eight fours in a 39-ball 46. But after he lost his opening partner, Jayasuriya, for 26 there was little support.
Pakistan, despite their recent shortcomings, must have felt a degree of optimism when they started their innings. But they slumped to 36 for three at the end of their power play. Younis, whose 50 came from 37 balls, added 66 with Misbah to keep their far-fetched hopes alive. But when Misbah was fourth out at 101 in the 16th it looked beyond them. Afridi skied his first delivery to deep mid-wicket and when the captain perished in the next over, the game was up.
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