Pakistan extend victory streak against Sri Lanka

June 8, 2012

Pakistan_Down_Lanka

Sri Lanka have found Pakistan tough nuts to crack in the limited-overs format in recent times. That script held true in Thursday's first One-day International, too. Beyond the toss, very little went right for Sri Lanka, who slumped to a ninth defeat in their last 11 50-over games against their subcontinental neighbours.

Having sweated under the covers for a majority of the last two days due to rains, the pitch at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium provided generous assistance by way of seam and bounce to the quicker bowlers, and Pakistan's three-pronged attack made merry to negate Mahela Jayawardena's decision to bat first.

Pallekele has invariably tended to favour the team batting first, which must have influenced Jayawardena to bat first. However, with Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Sami, playing his first ODI in more than five years, getting prodigious movement, Sri Lanka's top order was blown away for next to nothing.

Three rain interruptions didn't help Sri Lanka's cause either. The last of those, stopping play for just over 80 minutes with Sri Lanka on 107 for 7, forced the match to be reduced to 42 overs a side. Lahiru Thirimanne, the left-hand batsman, associated himself in an eighth-wicket stand of 50 with Nuwan Kulasekara and top-scored with a restrained, unbeaten 42 to guide Sri Lanka to 135 for 8.

Under the Duckworth-Lewis method, Pakistan needed 135 for victory, while Sri Lanka needed a miracle. Lasith Malinga and Kulasekara struck once each in their opening spells, but beyond that, there was little joy for Sri Lanka as Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, the skipper, and Umar Akmal conjured a six-wicket victory with reasonable ease.

Malinga and Kulasekara both asked uncomfortable questions at the start of the chase, but the lack of depth in the Sri Lankan pace bowling ranks meant whatever pressure the duo had imposed early on dissipated rapidly.

Hafeez and Akmal were the only batsmen throughout the game who appeared to have the measure of the conditions, batting with refreshing freedom, while Misbah provided the stabilising hand during successive half-century alliances. By the time Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner, turned one across Hafeez's bat to set up a smart stumping for Kumar Sangakkara, Pakistan had closed in on the target. Akmal, the young right-hand batsman, then played some cracking strokes off the back foot, ensuring that Pakistan cantered home with plenty to spare.

This wasn't Pakistan's most disciplined performance in the field by any stretch of the imagination – wides yielded a whopping 23 runs, and four catches of varying degrees of difficulty were put down – but when they did get it right, they were quite magnificent.

Sri Lanka's modest final tally was a recovery of sorts after they found themselves reeling at 56 for 6 early in the 20th over. Gul did the initial damage in a terrific first spell of 6-1-13-3, marred only by two wides down the legside that flew to the boundary past the flailing gloves of Sarfraz Ahmed, during which he accounted for Tillakaratne Dilshan, Jayawardena and Dinesh Chandimal.

Even as wickets were tumbling at the other end, Kumar Sangakkara remained scoreless for 19 deliveries but just when he was beginning to look threatening, he was undone by a screaming yorker in Sami's first over. Sami, who alternated between nervy dead-balls and genuine brilliance, then got rid of Angelo Mathews in his next over before making way for the spinners.

Misbah brought Hafeez on in the 14th over, but Saeed Ajmal didn't bowl before the 25th and Shahid Afridi's first over was the 26th of an innings that found no momentum due to the rain interruptions. Hafeez hustled through his overs, giving very little away, but both Ajmal and Afridi were somewhat handicapped by the wet ball, courtesy a damp outfield.

Thirimanne, looking composed, was defiant during his carefully compiled essay, rallying the tail around to ensure that his bowlers had something to bowl with. Sri Lanka needed to strike early, and in a rush, if they were to pull off an unlikely victory. Hafeez and Misbah thwarted those designs, consigning Sri Lanka to their fifth ODI defeat on the trot.



Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 18,2020

Hobart, Jan 18: In a dream start to her second innings after a two-year break, Sania Mirza lifted the WTA Hobart International trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok after edging out Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final, here on Saturday.

The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair pipped the second seed Chinese team 6-4, 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes.

Playing her first tournament after giving birth to son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania has begun well in the Olympic year as she warmed up for the Australian Open in style.

It is Sania's 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2007 with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Sania did not compete on the WTA circuit in the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons to start a family with Pakistani cricketer husband Shoaib Malik.

Sania and Nadiia began by breaking the Chinese players in the very first game of the match but only to drop serve in the next.

The two pairs played close games towards the end and at 4-4, 40-all, Sania and Nadiia got the crucial break, earning the opportunity to serve out the set.

There was no twist in 10th game with Sania and Nadiia comfortably pocketing the first set.

The second set could not have started better for them as they broke the Chinese rivals to take early lead and consolidated the break with an easy hold.

The game of the Chinese was falling apart as they dropped serve again in the third but broke back immediately to repair some damage.

Sania and Nadiia were now feeling the heat at 0-30 in the sixth game but Peng and Zhang let them hold serve for a 4-2 lead. The Chinese though kept fighting and made it 4-4 with another break in the eighth game.

The Indo-Ukraine team raised its game when it mattered as it broke Peng and Zhang for one final time in the ninth and served out the match in the next game.

Sania and Nadiia split USD 13580 as prize money and eared 280 ranking points each for their winning effort.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 3,2020

Karachi, Jul 3: There was a sense of insecurity among Pakistan players during the 2019 World Cup, claims former chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, who also reckons that the PCB should have given Sarfaraz Ahmed more time as captain instead of removing him abruptly.

Inzamam said captains need to be backed since they get better with time.

"Even in the last World Cup I felt the captain and players were under pressure because they were thinking if we don't do well in the tournament we will be out. That environment was created and this is not good for cricket," Inzamam said.

"Sarfaraz achieved some notable victories for Pakistan and was learning to be a good captain but unfortunately when he had learnt from experience and mistakes he was removed as captain," the former captain told a TV channel.

Inzamam remained chief selector from 2016 till the 2019 World Cup. During his tenure, most of the time Sarfaraz remained captain.

Soon after Inzamam was replaced by head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan Cricket Board removed Sarfaraz as a player and captain from all three formats.

"Sarfaraz won us the Champions Trophy and also made the team number one in T20 cricket. He got us some good wins. He should have been given more time as captain by the board but it acted in haste and didn't give him confidence or patience."

The PCB has now given the Test captaincy to senior batsman, Azhar Ali while young batsman Babar Azam leads the side in the white ball formats.

Inzamam, the most capped player for Pakistan, also said that the captain's own performance can dip as he had to focus a lot on other players.

"But a captain learns all this with time. There is no shortcut to it."

He pointed out that people praise Imran Khan’s leadership qualities and captaincy but he also won the World Cup on his third attempt as captain.

"He won the 1992 World Cup because by that time he had become a seasoned captain and learnt to motivate his players and get them to fight in every match."

Inzamam said giving confidence to new players and youngsters is very important for the selectors. He gave the example of Babar Azam.

"Babar struggled initially in Test cricket but we never had any doubt about his ability so we persisted with him and see today where he is standing in all formats."

He also described Babar and pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi as and future stars.

"Babar is always compared to Virat Kohli but the latter has played a lot more cricket and if you look at their stats and performances at the stage Babar is now, he has not done badly at all."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has donated an undisclosed amount to financially help 4,000 underprivileged people, including children from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tendulkar made the donation to the Hi5 Foundation, a non-profit organisation based out of Mumbai.

“Best wishes to team Hi5 for your efforts in supporting families of daily wage earners,” Tendulkar tweeted.

The organisation, through a tweet, thanked Tendulkar for doing his bit for the needy.

“Thanks @sachin_rt for proving once again that #sports encourages compassion! Your generous donation towards our #COVID19 fund enables us to financially aid 4000 underprivileged people, including children from @mybmc schools. Our budding sportspersons thank you, Little Master!”

The legendary batsman had earlier contributed Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the country’s fight against COVID-19. Tendulkar had earlier pledged to bear the cost of feeding 5,000 people for a month in a couple of areas in Mumbai.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.