Date-stamped : 19 Mar95 - 14:30
ASIA CUP 1984: Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Sharjah, 6 April 1984

SRI LANKA BLOOM IN THE DESERT - Ashis Ray

Sri Lanka, the  "babes"  of  Test  Cricket,  inflicted   a  five-
wicket   defeat on Pakistan, the pre-tournament favourites in the
opening tie of the inagural Asia Cup  series,  to  stake  serious
claims    of  winning  the  three-match  championship.   Put into
bat the Pakistanis  struggled  from  the   moment  their  opening
stand  of 59 between Mohsin Khan and Saadat Ali was broken. Their
captain,  Zaheer Abbas, made a brave attempt to rescue  the   si-
tuation  lofting Arjuna Ranatunga and the leg-spinner Somachandra
de Silva to long-off for six apeice, but he, too, perished before 
lunch.

As the  Sri  Lankans  accumulated,  the  beguiling  Abdul  Qadir,
with  that  familiar hop and skip, came on to prevent the inevit-
able.    He   succeeded   in   deceiving   the   captain,  Duleep
Mendis,  with a googly, and had the dangerous Ranatunga - who had
previously hoisted him for a six and a four to square leg in  one
over  -  smartly  stumped by Anil Dalpat.  But even his mysticism
could not deny the Sri Lankans a well deserved triumph.

Source: The Times, 7th April 1984.
<END> Submitted by John.R.F.Evans (en92jrfe@exeter.ac.uk)