13.10.2008
Sri
Lanka 133 for 5 (Jayasuriya 40, Malik 2-17) beat Pakistan
132 for 7 (Butt 44, Mendis 3-23) by five wickets
Scorecard
A
Twenty20 round-robin in Canada does little to set hearts
fluttering. Yet when Shoaib Akhtar steams in to bowl at
Sanath Jayasuriya and Co, the venue is of little importance.
Unfortunately for Pakistan, Shoaib has yet to rediscover
his accuracy, and it was Jayasuriya who won the battle,
leading Sri Lanka to a convincing five-wicket win in the
final of the T20 Canada at King City.
In
stark contrast to Pakistan's, Sri Lanka's batsmen set
off in frantic pursuit of 133, in front of a boisterous
crowd of 9000. Jayasuriya and Mahela Udawatte put on a
match-altering 66 in seven overs, though they were indebted
to a predictably wayward start from Pakistan's trio of
fast bowlers, Shoaib, Sohail Tanvir and, chief culprit
of all, Umar Gul.
Jayasuriya
shot out of the traps and never allowed Shoaib to settle.
Flicking him for four in his first over, he then pulled
him for consecutive sixes into the midwicket stand, the
second of which went AWOL. Udawatte was no less aggressive,
but such was Gul's persistently short length that he spent
most of his time on the back foot. A hook for six was
followed by a flayed cut for four, and a slice past point
scorched the outfield. Sri Lanka's fifty came up inside
five overs.
So,
it was to spin that Pakistan turned and it brought immediate
results when Shahid Afridi - who earlier managed only
14 with the bat - beat Udawatte in flight and had him
caught at long-off. Afridi's partner at the other end,
Shoaib Malik, then bowled Jayasuriya, and followed it
up with the prized wicket of Mahela Jayawardene - both
batsmen fell attempting the sweep. They made it five when
Kaushalya Weeraratne was bowled in Gul's second spell,
but it was all too little, too late, and Chamara Kapugedera's
calm 17 guided Sri Lanka to their first win over Pakistan
in Twenty20 internationals.
That
Sri Lanka were allowed to chase such an attainable target
was thanks to their own spin-attack, namely Ajantha Mendis,
whose three wickets stifled Pakistan's middle order. Salman
Butt played a steady hand for his 44, but wickets fell
at crucial moments around him, and Pakistan's innings
never gained true momentum. Misbah-ul-Haq cracked two
fours in a spirited 25, but no one could truly get on
top of Mendis, who ended the tournament with 11 wickets
for a frugally economical 55 runs.
Courtesy - Cricinfo