অনুগ্রহ করে অপেক্ষা করুন। ছবি আটো ইন্সার্ট হবে।
In a sense it’s a strange result, not the outcome itself, but the fact that the margin was so slim. For the majority of their innings, Sri Lanka looked out of the contest but a combination of lower order grit and some sloppy work in the field nearly saw the Sri Lankans home.
It would be wrong not to give Pakistan their due credit though. Having won the toss and decided to have bat first, openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad threatened with a lively stand of 28 before Thisara Perera snared Shehzad for 13.
Kamran Akmal (39) continued his recent run of good form in a 48-run second-wicket stand that promised much before Hafeez (32) was comically run out following a major misunderstanding between the Pakistani pair.
Not content with contributing to Hafeez’s demise, Karman then pushed the self-destruct button as he came dancing down the track to Rangana Herath only to see the ball turn away from him, handing Sangakarra the easiest of stumpings.
The wicket proved slightly fortuitous for Pakistan though as it brought together Younus Khan (72) and Misbah-ul-Haq (83) who proceeded to put on a lovely partnership of 108.
Having seen the old heads of Younus and Misbah do the work with the bat, Shoaib Akhtar and Afridi led from the front with the ball.
Upul Tharanga (33) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (41) got the hosts off to a fair enough start with a partnership of 76, albeit in slightly more sedate fashion than one is used to. Despite that it always seemed that Sri Lanka were just a wicket away from finding themselves in trouble. And so it proved to be.
After Hafeez made the originally breakthrough with the wicket of Tharanga, Afridi and Akhtar combined to send Sri Lanka from 76 for one to 96 for four. Akthar bowled with great pace and at times accuracy while Afridi was his usual wily self, picking up his 300th ODI scalp.
The wicket of Kumar Sangakkara (49) falling with more than 100 still required Pakistan looked to have the match in the bag. However, with a few catches going down and Kamran Akmal missing multiple stumping chances, Sri Lanka were given another chance.
Chamara Silva (57) and Nuwan Kulasekara (24) did their best to take advantage but in the end just didn’t have enough in the tank.
The defeat was Sri Lanka’s first at home in World Cup matches and stretched Pakistan’s winning streak in World Cup clashes over the island nation to seven.
Read more hot news here.
