A truly special knock by ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi, the newly installed captain of Pakistan, was not enough to lead his team to victory, as defending champions Sri Lanka edged out the men in green by 16 runs in the opening match of the Asia Cup cricket tournament at Dambulla.
Afridi produced one of the best knocks in One-Day Cricket, smashing 109 runs off a mere 76 balls, yet was dismissed just when it looked like he would lead his team to an improbable win.
His demise led to a collapse as the tail-enders found the searing yorkers of Lasith Malinga too hot to handle, enabling the hosts to clean up Pakistan’s batting line-up with three overs to spare.
Afridi’s blitz brought Pakistan back in the game after they were left tottering at 32 for 4, as their inexperienced top order found batting almost impossible against the wobbling ball under lights at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.
The captain then proceeded to play one of the finest rearguard innings in International cricket, smashing 7 sixes and 8 fours in a breathtaking display of batting that left the hosts bewildered.
The brunt of Afridi’s stunning assault was borne by Muttiah Muralitharan, with the veteran spinner going for five of Afridi’s maximums.
However, it was Muralitharan who brought an end to his innings courtesy a stunning catch by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara.
Other than Afridi, Umar Akmal was the only batsman to offer any semblance of resistance; the right-hander was run out after making 30 runs, while all-rounder Abdul Razzaq remained undefeated on 26, as Malinga breezed through the Pakistan tail.
Earlier, when the Lankans won the toss and elected to bat on a batting surface, the host were in trouble after crumbling to 168 for 7 at one stage, before a special rescue act by Angelo Mathews took them to a fighting score.
Matthews made an unbeaten 55; the all-rounder was provided stellar support by fast bowlers Kulasekara and Malinga, as the trio helped add 74 runs for the last three wickets, setting Pakistan a target of 243 runs in the allotted 50 overs.
The match marked the return of the Rawalpindi Express, Shoaib Akhtar. The maverick pacer looked fit and bowled with sustained hostility, proving for the umpteenth time that he is the “King of comebacks”.
He returned figures of 3 for 41 off his ten overs, and brought Pakistan back in the game after openers Tharanga and Dilshan had gotten off to a decent start.
The backbone of the Sri Lankan effort was the 85 run third wicket stand between the current captain Kumar Sangakkara and the former captain Mahela Jayawardene.
Jayawardene was dismissed for 54 when he was controversially given out lbw off Shoaib Malik, who was playing for Pakistan for the first time after his one year ban was revoked last month.
Sangakkara made 42 runs, and Pakistan bowlers maintained a tight leash on the home batsmen, with Asif, Razzaq, Afridi and Shoaib Malik all claiming one wicket apiece.
Left-armer Mohammad Aamer had a fine comeback spell, in which he claimed two scalps after going for some cheap runs in his opening spell.
Pakistan fielded three pace bowlers besides the three all-rounders Afridi, Malik and Razzaq, and surprisingly left out their most successful spinner in limited over cricket for the last two seasons, Saeed Ajmal.
Meanwhile, this was the first time that an Afridi hundred has gone in vain; the Pathan from Karachi scored his first ton since his special hundred in Kanpur in 2005, and amazingly totally took the difficult wicket out of plat with some astonishing stroke play.
It was a pity that he had to end on the losing side, as it is indeed rare that a 76 ball ton fails to win a match.
The next match of the tournament will be staged on Wednesday between four time champions India and minnows Bangladesh.
SCORES:
Sri Lanka 242/9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 226 all out in 47 overs
Sri Lanka won by 16 runs
Man of the match: Shahid Afridi
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