Tags:
Journalism of Courage
In what will now be a perfect finish to the Eurasia cricket series, Pakistan A will clash with arch-rivals India A in the final of the tournament to be played on Friday, at the Sheikh Zayed stadium, here.
Having restricted Sri Lanka A to a mere 209, Pakistan A rode on Muhammed Hafeez’s aggressive, unbeaten 105 to win the all-important match by eight wickets.
Tagged as a semi-final after both teams were stuck at 13 points each, it was a do-or-die battle for both teams as Pakistan A managed to easily get through in the end.
Earlier in the day, Pak speedsters Umar Gul and Samiullah Khan whipped up considerable pace to wreck the Lankan top order. That pace will now bother the Indians when they take the field on Friday.
Later, as they chased a paltry total, Hafeez took it on himself to tear the Lankan attack apart with considerable support coming in from Hasan Raza at number four.
His strokes made the Lankan bowlers look like mere bystanders in this one-sided match.
Pakistan, with this victory, have now prepared themselves in the perfect manner for Friday’s match. With the Indian team doing well on all fronts, it will be important for Pakistan to keep the good form going.
‘‘We are happy with the way this game went. The bowling was good and going by the way we batted, it should hold us in good stead for the match against India,’’ Man of the Match Hafeez said.
Brief scores
Sri Lanka A 209 in 40.6 overs (Malinda Warnapura 49, Kaushal Silva 41, Dilhara Lokuhettige 33; Umar Gul 2/45, Samiullah Khan 2/22, Mansoor Amjad 2/48) lost to Pakistan A 210/2 in 45.2 overs (Md Hafeez 105 n.o., Hasan Raza 62 n.o.) by 8 wkts.
