Sri Lankan batting pulverises Pakistan

Arjuna Ranatunga wrested the advantage for his side before a ball was bowled by winning the toss, and what was set rolling by that muscle man from Matara, Sanath Jayasuriya, snowballed into a frightening avalanche of 339 runs. In reply, a shell-shocked Pakistanis stumbled along a long, dark path till they folded up at 224, still 115 runs away from the target.

There was ever so slight a flicker in the beginning of the Pakistani run chase as Shahid Afridi swung his bat around.

There was also considerable speculation on how the 194-run man Saeed Anwar would react in this situation. But that hope was snuffed out quickly by young left-arm pacer Sanjeewa de Silva who dismissed both inside the first 10 overs. At this point, the mental battle was more or less over.

However, the on-filed tussle meandered on, especially since part-time skipper Rameez Raja seemed to have a point to prove. But, his 42 was a pittance, considering the demand of the occasion.

Besides, there was typically gritty late order act from ‘keeper Moin Khan. But, with no help forthcoming from other matchwinners — Ijaz Ahmed, Salim Malik and Inzamam-ul-Haq (who did not bat because of a fractures right thumb) — Pakistan were pursuing a lost cause.

In between, there was an interesting move by the Pakistani think-tank as their left-arm spinner Mohammed Hussein walked in after Afridi fell. Unfortunately, young Hussein’s batting talents remained a mystery after he yorked himself for eight runs. The gamble had failed and the Pakistanis did not dare another.

After the opening Lankan salvo in form a record opening partnership of 148 between Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu, Aravinda de Silva decided to obey the law of averages and come good after a string of poor scores. Then, when skipper Arjuna Ranatunga decided to join the party with a relaxed 80, the Pakistanis’ misery was complete.

Aravinda’s 90 was replete with images of his exhilarating knock in the World Cup final in Lahore. The same arrogance on the backfoot, that supreme confidence in his strokes, and each stroke with that Aravinda patent written all over it. However, like Jayasuriya, de Silva too failed to touch down on a well-deserved century.

On the other side, a relaxed Ranatunga seemed content in keeping company to his more belligerent partner. Though, those who are aware of the Lankan skipper’s methods, were not fooled a bit as the runs kept adding against his name with monotonous regularity.

Much has been said and written the method and manner of Jayasuriya. Yet, even as the Lankan opener walked away from middle, almost in tears for missing his century by four runs, it was obvious that it was not one of his best knocks in recent times. Probably, the sand storm that lashed the ground in the start of the Lankan innings may have upset his co-ordination.

The timing was just not there and it was only that brute strength in his huge forearms that saw the ball defy gravity occasionally.

Besides, the Pakistanis also chipped in significantly to Jayasuriya’s casue by letting down two catches by the fourth over. The first one was a difficult chance which Saeed Anwar could not latch on to at covers. But Abdul Razzaq can claim no such leniency in dropping a slash at backward point after having got both his hands to it.

In between, there was lady luck lending a hand as skipper Rameez Raja’s look of glee at pouching a straightforward catch at mid-on off Razzaq turned into a scowl of dismay as umpire Steve Dunne signalled a no ball.

All this in the first 10 overs, and the Pakistanis were a stunned lot. Needless to say, it was sheer murder from then on. The 50 was up in 7.1 overs and the 100 in the 14th over and by the 20th over, all the Pakistani bowlers, including Salim Malik had had a go at the Lankans.

If Jayasuriya’s knock was an celebration of raw power, Marvan Atapattu’s was a statement of class. The compact right-hander is a transformed man after that knock of 94 against Akram and Co in Sharjah this year. In fact, skipper Ranatunga has been repeatedly stressing the value of Atapattu in various press meets. The elegant timer once again justified his captain’s faith in his abilities with a neat 53, studded with some delightful punches on the off-side and a couple of elegant flicks.

SCOREBOARD

SRI LANKA: S Jayasuriya c Mohd Waseem b Mohd Hussain 96, M Atapattu lbw Mohd Hussain 53, A de Silva st Moin Khan b S Mushtaq 90, Arjuna Ranatunga b S Mushtaq 80, R Kaluwitharana not out 1, D Liyanage not out 0, Extras: (nb-2, w-8, lb-8) 18. Total (for four wickets in 50 overs): 339

Fall of wickets: 1-148, 2-184, 3-327, 4-338

Bowling: A Javed 9-0-64-0, S Mushtaq 8-0-53-2, S Afridi 10-0-63-0, Mohd Hussain 10-0-56-2, S Malik 6-0-53-0

PAKISTAN: Afridi c Atapattu b S de Silva 18, Saeed Anwar c Liyange b S de Silva 14, Mohd Hussain b S de Silva 8, Rameez Raja run out 42, Ijaz Ahmad c Chandana b Dharmasena 23, Salim Malik b A de Silva 29, Moin Khan not out 58, Saqlain Mushtaq c Atapattu b A de Silva 18, Aaqib Javid lbw Dharmasena 5, Extras: (nb-1, w-8, lb-1) 10; Total: 224 all out in 43.5 overs (Inzamam and Razzak did not bat due to injury)

Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-41, 3-41, 4-49, 4-85, 5-141, 6-143, 7-212, 8-224Bowling: Liyanage 6-0-40-0, S De Silva 7-0-40-3, Dharamsena 6.5-0-33-2, Muralitharam 7-0-48-0, A De Silva 10-1-39-2, Jayasuriya 7-0-23-0