Pakistan146;s dug a neat pit for themselves

Before they started the Asia Cup tournament, Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu was hopeful of a victory over either India or Pakistan. Beati...

Before they started the Asia Cup tournament, Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu was hopeful of a victory over either India or Pakistan. Beating both sides within four days was stretching things a bit.

But how far can it stretch now that the deed8217;s done? Well, as far as the imagination can go. A mixture of indifferent to rubbish batting, some tight and tidy bowling on a Premadasa pitch carrying far more grass than normal, and with pace and bounce8230;. The result: Sri Lanka winning by seven wickets as they chased down the paltry 123 runs needed to win within the 33rd over.

It was about as lopsided as India8217;s victory over Bangladesh on the other side of the city earlier in the day and certainly did not fit into Pakistan8217;s scheme of how to defend the trophy won in 2000. It can also be guaranteed that a scoreline of 88 for seven wickets in the 30th over was not one of the personal goals Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer set his charges when the Super Four series of the event started today.

He emphasised how he saw Pakistan moving forward and being competitive. Instead they performed abysmally, being dismissed for 122.

As was the case against India in Dambulla on Sunday night, it was Nuwan Zoysa, with three for 29 in 10 overs, who collected his second man of the match award in successive games. Atapattu took a gamble by bowling the young man out and the move paid off.

Pakistan, however, displayed their typically erratic style and they will need to think deeper if they are to pull themselves out of this particular messy pit. Woolmer may have taken over as coach, but so far, against a top side, it is business as usual. They have faltered yet again. If Atapattu cannot believe the victory, or its impressive margin, the sceptics among the Sri Lanka public also remain to be convinced that their side has shown a lot more spirit and fight these last two games than they would have hope.

Brief scores

Pakistan:

122 in 39.5 overs Y Hameed 22, A Razzaq 43; Zoysa 3/29, Maharoof 2/25, Muralitharan lost to Sri Lanka: 123-3 in 32 overs A Gunawardene 26, S Jayasuriya 20; Razzaq 2-21