6th Match: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Sharjah, 2 Nov 2001 CricInfo Live Report

6th Match: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Sharjah, 2 Nov 2001
Samanth Subramanian

Pakistan innings: 15 Overs, 30 Overs, 50 Overs,
Sri Lanka innings: 15 Overs, 30 Overs, 50 Overs,
Pre-game: Toss & Teams,

INZAMAM SEES PAKISTAN THROUGH TO VICTORY

Pakistan, with centuries from Naveed Latif and Inzamam-ul-Haq, overhauled Sri Lanka’s total with remarkable ease, making the required 273 runs in 49.2 overs.

Inzamam-ul-Haq followed Latif to a half-century, achieving it in fine style by cutting Dharmasena to the boundary. More fours followed as Latif hit a straight drive off Nissanka and then slashed him to third man. The required run-rate, which at one stage was threatening to creep over 7 runs per over, had by now been brought down to a manageable 6.

Desperation was starting to filter into the Sri Lankan ranks and, accordingly, Jayasuriya brought back Vaas, hoping that the experienced left-arm seamer would break a partnership that looked ominous. The ploy did not work, and Latif and Inzamam continued to milk the Sri Lankan bowling attack.

Inzaman, in particular, played delicately, cutting and driving with ease, becoming, in the process, the player to have scored the maximum number of runs at Sharjah, overtaking team-mate Saeed Anwar. He was let off once, by substitute fielder and normally safe Muttiah Muralitharan patrolling the inner field at short mid-wicket.

Jayasuriya then brought the economical Buddika back, hoping to stifle the stroke-play and the rapid rotation of the strike. Inzamam answered by raising the tempo, hitting boundaries off both Buddika and Arnold. Naveed Latif, meanwhile, made steady progress towards his first one-day hundred, in only his second match; the century duly came up, to tumultuous applause, in the 43rd over when Latif pushed the ball to long-on for a single.

Inzamam marched towards his own hundred, bringing it up in the 45th over; he then celebrated it in style, hitting Vaas out of the ground with a powerful heave. Naveed Latif, eager to give the Sri Lankans some consolation, finally gifted his wicket away, hitting Dharmasena to deep mid-wicket. As if in reprisal, Inzamam hit the next ball from the off-spinner over square leg for six.

INZAMAM, LATIF STABILISE PAKISTANI INNINGS

Inzamam-ul-Haq and Naveed Latif had stabilised the Pakistan innings by the end of 30 overs, putting on a 100-run partnership and shrugging off the pressure that tight Sri Lankan bowling had imposed on them earlier.

Naveed Latif’s discomfort at the crease continued initially and, as a result, the run rate remained virtually stagnant, a pull for four to fine leg from Inzamam notwithstanding. Buddika tightened the screws in further, bowling wicket-to-wicket and not giving either of the batsmen easy runs. His bowling figures, at one stage, read 6-1-16-1.

Spin was introduced in the form of Russell Arnold and Kumara Dharmasena in the 19th over. The runs, however, showed no signs of flowing as copiously as Pakistan needed. The 50 partnership came up in the 23rd over, although that particular landmark could have been avoided if Arnold had latched on to a return catch from Latif.

The 100 came up for Pakistan in the 26th over, which also saw Jayasuriya almost get Inzamam out on two consecutive balls. The Sri Lankan skipper punctured the pressure somewhat by allowing Latif a free hit over square leg off a full toss.

It was only after the 27th over that the Pakistanis started finding the fence more often. Latif, who stuck it out in the middle through a barren patch, took two fours off consecutive balls from Jayasuriya’s second over to reach his first 50 in one-day international cricket. He repeated the feat in the next over, hitting Arnold over long on and then gliding him to third man; suddenly, the Sri Lankans were feeling some of the pressure themselves.

SRI LANKANS MAKE EARLY BREAKTHROUGHS

Sri Lanka, at the end of 15 overs, had struck twice, removing the dangerous Shahid Afridi and the reliable Yousuf Youhana cheaply. Sticking to the fundamentals and getting them right, the medium-pacers let the tight bowling build its own pressure, so that Pakistan could only struggle to a score of 56 for two.

Pakistan started its innings with characteristic Shahid-Afridi verve. Although Chaminda Vaas’ first over went for just one, Afridi top-edged a hook off Prabhat Nissanka for four from the fast bowler’s first delivery. The next ball went for four as well, slashed to third man.

Afridi could not dismiss the more experienced Vaas as easily, however; looking to hoik him over long-on, the Pathan holed out to Kumara Sangakkara after scoring just 11. The following overs were tight, with Nissanka, Vaas and Charitha Buddika bowling straight and within themselves. Yousuf Youhana and youngster Naveed Latif were restricted to just singles.

The miserly bowling took its toll; Youhana, looking to work the ball on the onside, played across the line of a Buddika delivery; the ball straightened late and, brushing his thigh-guard, knocked back his stumps.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, playing steadily to settle himself into the innings, pushed the ball around and put away the occasional bad ball for four. The pressure kept building, however; Naveed Latif, in particular, could hardly get the ball away

JAYAWARDENE SPURS SRI LANKA TO STEEP TOTAL

A fine knock of 84 from Mahela Jayawardene saw Sri Lanka reach a competitive total of 272/8 in their allotted 50 overs although they will, in the final, be looking to use the last 10 overs to better effect than today.

The 32nd over saw a spurt of excitement as Atapattu called for an uncomfortably tight single. Although Jayawardene, running to the danger end, was given not out by the square leg umpire, Ed Nicholls, the television replays showed that Rashid Latif had removed a bail with the bat just on the line. Jayawardene rubbed further salt into the wound by using his feet beautifully to play an inside-out shot over extra-cover for four.

His partner, however, perished soon. Trying to play yet another gentle glide to the third-man area, Atapattu only succeeded in edging the much-punished Razzaq to Latif behind the stumps. Departing after having made 24, and with the score on 158, Atapattu was succeeded by Russel Arnold at the crease.

Afridi’s fastish leg-breaks, having finished his quota of 10 overs on the trot, then made way for Akhtar’s super-fast deliveries; his speed almost picked up an immediate wicket when a supersonic ball found the edge of Jayawardene’s bat, only for the ball to fly over Latif for four.

Instead of being cowed down by that dropped chance, however, Jayawardene took the attack to Akhtar; pulling him to square leg and then playing an exquisite leg-glance, both finding the fence, he reached his 50 off just 55 balls in Akhtar’s eighth over.

The Pakistani bowlers continued to struggle, with Jayawardene and Arnold both taking boundaries off Waqar; the skipper, however, retaliated in the 42nd over, trapping Arnold (19) leg-before with a ball just pitching on leg-stump and hitting middle. Two balls later, with a fast delivery pitching in line with off-stump and seaming in just enough to beat the batsman, Waqar had Kumara Sangakkara bowled, the double strike leaving Sri Lanka at 224/5.

Forty-five overs saw Sri Lanka make up for the loss of those two quick wickets, with Jayawardene doing the bulk of the scoring. Getting down on one knee, Jayawardene hit Waqar over mid-wicket for four and then repeated the shot over long-on for six off the fast bowler’s final ball of the innings.

The next ball, from Azhar Mahmood, saw Romesh Kaluwitharana, who had never looked comfortable at the crease, trapped plumb in front of the wicket by a yorker-length delivery. An over later, Jayawardene, who was looking to up the tempo and score quick runs, top-edged a short ball from Akhtar and was caught by Afridi; he had scored 84 off 83 balls.

Chaminda Vaas and Kumara Dharmasena then tried to score as many runs as possible; Vaas scored one boundary off the final over, bowled by Shoaib Akhtar, but Dharmasena was run out by a direct hit from Azhar Mahmood. The final ball saw Vaas balloon an intended slog only for Latif to pouch a comfortable catch, with Akhtar ending up with three wickets.

SRI LANKA MAKE STEADY PROGRESS AGAINST PAKISTAN

Although the openers had been dismissed, batting stalwarts Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene were comfortably ensconced at the crease, continuing their good form in the tournament so far. Wristily guiding the ball around the ground, both batsmen looked good to capitalise on the fine foundation built by Gunawardene and Jayasuriya.

Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik were introduced into the attack after the field restrictions were removed. Malik failed to hold on to a half-chance from Gunawardene in the 17th over; the batsman proceeded to his 50, off 60 balls, in the very next over. That over also saw Jayasuriya pass 7000 one-day international runs, becoming only the third Sri Lankan to do so after Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga.

The captain, though, got out soon after. With the score on 95, Jayasuriya tried to flick Afridi over mid-wicket, but mistimed his shot. The ball ballooned into the air for Shoaib Akhtar to take a comfortable catch at long on. Looking visibly disgusted with himself, Jayasuriya walked off, having made 36 off 55 balls.

His partner stayed on only for three more overs. In the 23rd, off the first ball of Akhtar’s second spell, Gunawardene went for the pull off a short delivery. The trap, however, had been set, and the ball flew into the air off a top edge, only for Inzamam-ul-Haq to complete the catch.

Sri Lanka’s most orthodox batsmen, Marvan Atapattu and Mahela Jayawardene, then came together to start working the ball into the gaps. Razzaq came back into the attack after only two overs of Akhtar, bowling with greater control. By the end of 28 overs, no boundary had been scored in the last 60 balls, prompting Atapattu to start playing more forcefully, flicking Razzaq to the fence and then gliding Afridi fine for the same result.

OPENERS GIVE SRI LANKA A SOLID START

At the 15-over mark, Sri Lanka were comfortably placed at 77 for no loss. Gunawardene and Jayasuriya had ensured a robust, although not spectacular, start for Sri Lanka, building the score steadily through smart running and occasional boundaries. Both batsmen were just beginning to get into their stride; Gunawardene, in particular, took two boundaries off the 15th over, bowled by Azhar Mahmood.

Sri Lanka did not get off to its customary rollicking start; only 15 runs came from the first five overs. Both Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar bowled with great control and restraint, sticking to an immaculate line around middle and leg stumps, not letting Sanath Jayasuriya or Avishka Gunawardene free their arms for the big shots.

With only 19 made off the first seven overs, the batsmen suddenly seemed to wake up to the fact that the runs were not coming. Both Jayasuriya and Gunawardene then started to push the ball around for singles, running hard between the wickets. They found the boundary only rarely; the third four of the innings came in the 10th over, Abdur Razzaq’s first, off a streaky inside edge from Gunawardene.

The 50 partnership came up in the 13th over; Gunawardene, by that time, had scored 30, almost double his skipper’s score of 16. The collaboration, though, was steady, and the runs were starting to flow more readily after Azhar Mahmood and Razzaq replaced Waqar and Akhtar. Razzaq, in particular, was expensive, and Jayasuriya compounded his misery by pulling him for a six over fine leg off the last ball of his third over, which yielded 16 runs.

SRI LANKA WIN TOSS AND ELECT TO BAT

On a typical Sharjah wicket, Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya won the toss and elected to bat, hoping to get some runs on the board and gain a psychological advantage before Sunday’s final against Pakistan.

In a match that makes no difference to the makeup of the finalists, neither Sri Lanka nor Pakistan made too many changes, preferring to treat this match as a prelude to the final and playing it as seriously.

Pakistan brought in fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who was missing in the last match against Zimbabwe. Danish Kaneria, the young leg-spinner, was dropped from the playing eleven. Shoaib Malik also came in at the expense of Wasim Akram, who played a pivotal role in Pakistan’s victory over Zimbabwe.

Sri Lanka included dynamic batsman and wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharana. Star off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has been rested for this match. Dulip Liyanage made way for fellow fast bowler Prabath Nissanka.

The teams:

Pakistan: Naved Latif, Shahid Afridi, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Abdur Razzaq, Rashid Latif (wicket-keeper), Shoaib Malik, Waqar Younis (Captain), Shoaib Akhtar.

Sri Lanka: ST Jayasuriya (Captain), DA Gunawardene, MS Atapattu, DPMD Jayawardene, RP Arnold, K Sangakkara, RS Kaluwitharana (wicket-keeper), WPUJC Vaas, HDPK Dharmasena, RAP Nissanka, TCB Fernando.