Sri Lanka vs Pakistan- Hits and Misses

So, as it has panned out, Sri Lanka are through to the finals and will face the winner of the clash between Australia and West Indies slated to take place later today.

Earlier, the captains winning the toss preferred to chase owing to the fact that the ball came onto the bat a lot better under lights, but due to the Premadasa wicket slowing down considerably over the course of the tournament, Sri Lanka chose to bat first. Sri Lanka were looking for a score somewhere in the region of 140-150, which would have been considered a good total considering the slowness of the track, the quality of bowling at their disposal and also the inconsistent batting form of the Pakistan batsmen.

Sri Lanka went on to score 139, helped by some quality batting from their captain Jayawardene. Pakistan managed only 123 and lost by 16 runs, as their batting lineup once again failed to apply themselves.

Let’s look at some of the Hits of the match:

1) Mahela Jayawardene: One would be foolish not to begin with him for two reasons; one being he was awarded the Man of the Match, and the other the quality of batting he displayed on a slow, turning wicket against a quality Pakistani bowling lineup. He used a range of shots to score his runs, as his sweeps, reverse sweeps, cover drives, and straight drives were a spectacle. His 36-ball 42 helped Sri Lanka reach, what would be termed as a par score. Then, in the field he was excellent with his captaincy, ringing in bowling changes at just the right time, while his decision to include Herath indeed proved to be a masterstroke.

2) Rangana Herath: He bowled a match winning spell, taking three wickets and just giving away 27 runs from his four overs. He began with the wicket of Malik with an absolute peach of a delivery that pitched just around the middle and leg stump before uprooting the off stump. Hafeez and Afridi were his next scalps off consecutive balls, taking away from Pakistan, any chance they still had of winning the game. The wicket of Hafeez was crucial as he was playing well and was settled.

3) Angelo Mathews: He came in to bat quite late in the innings, and scored 10 off six balls on a difficult wicket. These quick runs make a difference in the end. Then, when he came on to bowl in his second spell, he removed the in-form and dangerous Jamshed and Kamran Akmal in a single over, though in truth he was a bit lucky to get Jamshed. He took two wickets, giving away just 27 runs.

4) Mohammad Hafeez: He gave Pakistan a much-needed breakthrough when he removed the dangerous looking Sangakkara, who was trying to up the ante and was playing a lot of shots. Then when he came on to bat, started slow, but then picked up, tried to break the shackles hitting Herath in 1 over, but then fell to him. He was the one who kept Pakistan alive in the game.

Now, a look at the misses:

1) Saeed Ajmal: He was the biggest disappointment in the match, taking just one wicket and giving away 33 runs from his four overs on a track where even an average spinner could have done well. He didn’t read the slowness of the wicket, and bowled a little too short at times. He has been instrumental in Pakistan’s success story and the day he failed, the side were bound to be in a difficult position.

2) Shahid Afridi: An excellent talent, who failed to deliver just at the right time. He has been disappointing throughout the tournament, but as the saying goes, “Cometh the hour, cometh the man.” Pakistan would have been hoping for this, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.

3) Kamran Akmal: Pakistan had high hopes resting on him when he came out to bat, but instead of settling in on a difficult wicket, Afridi played a rash shot to get out. He sure goes down as a miss.