Pak reign after dope cloud

Turn around boys, I want to capture your smiling faces,8221; Bob Woolmer, armed with a handycam, tells his 8220;boys8221; as they wait for the post-match presentation ceremony.

Turn around boys, I want to capture your smiling faces,8221; Bob Woolmer, armed with a handycam, tells his 8220;boys8221; as they wait for the post-match presentation ceremony. 8220;This one is for the files, wait, I want to send it to Javed Miandad and Imran Khan,8221; he jokes.

The coach knows that tonight8217;s four-wicket win over Sri Lanka has not only shut the mouth of two of the most vocal critics of this team, but also showed the world that Pakistan have firmly pushed the doping controversy behind them. It began with an unsual huddle, a quick prayer, and some words of encouragement before the match. And it ended with a quick celebratory jiggle inside the dressing room, followed by namaaz.

It was the same old Pakistan 8212; fighting for every wicket with flashes of individual brilliance. So what if Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were missing; there was skipper Younis Khan, confident, leading from the front, there was the bubbly Shahid Afridi, the chief motivator, and 8220;old man8221; Abdul Razzaq, the star performer with an unbeaten 38 after claiming four wickets.

Wearing his Pakistan cap turned back under his helmet, Razzaq made most of a dropped chance 8212; on 5 by Dilshan at point off Vaas 8212; as he took his side home in a 24-ball cameo, and got them the two invaluable points in their first league match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. And, as Pakistan hunted down Sri Lanka8217;s total of 253 on a wicket that held up, they also showed what makes them a real force in international cricket 8212;-a dangerous combination of seven bowlers and eight batsmen in a team of 11.

Coming to the crease when Pakistan were wobbling at 201/6, requiring another 53 in 47 balls, Razzaq and Shoaib Malik put on 54 off just 36 balls as the match ended 11 balls from the finish line. And when umpire Billy Bowden raised his hands up in his trademark style to signal Razzaq8217;s second six, it was also the winning shot.

Razzaq had taken the Lanka8217;s bowling by the scruff, mauling Vaas, Fernando and Malinga as Pakistan, once in danger of frittering away a sound start, clawed back. Young Imran Farhat made a good half-century first up but the quick dismissals of Younis Khan and Afridi rocked Pakistan in the middle overs. Malik and Yousuf steadied the boat again, but the latter8217;s run-out and Akmal8217;s dismissal put the match back on the wire. And then Razzaq walked in to bat.

In fact, Pakistan simply refusing to roll over from the beginning, even when they were staring at 120/2 at one stage.

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When Sanath Jayasuriya was going at top gear, Younis stepped in decisively. He switched his main bowler Rana Naved for Umar Gul but continued with Rao Iftikhar Anjum 8212; Pakistan8217;s fifth choice bowler 8212; from the other end. And Rao, known for keeping his place in the ODI side for his nagging line and length, backed his skipper with the crucial wicket of Sanath Jayasuriya, the leg-stump cartwheeling after a vintage innings of 48.

Then their spinners, spearheaded by Afridi8217;s leg-breaks and Malik8217;s off-breaks cut the pace down, literally. They were helped by the fact that the top four Sri Lankan batsmen, Jayasuriya, Kumara Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene 8212; who have shared 4,000 runs between them this year played needless shots against a bowling attack that was quite happy keeping a check on the scoring.