ABU DHABI, 19 May 2007 — Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi smashed a classic unbeaten 73 off just 34 balls to help his side seal a convincing five-wicket victory in the first One-Day International at Abu Dhabi with eight overs to spare.
Afridi picked up 32 in an over off Malinga Bandara — the second-highest number of runs scored in an over — in his blitzkrieg as Pakistan overhauled Sri Lanka’s 235 for 9 at a canter.
A timely half-century from Farvez Maharoof stemmed the early inroads by Pakistan pace battery and helped Sri Lanka post a reasonable total. Maharoof’s unbeaten 54-ball 69 provided the impetus for the Lankan late order to shore up the innings. Umar Gul, with three wickets, had earlier enabled Pakistan to put the brakes on Lanka, which had slipped to 103 for five after 26 overs.
Earlier, Maharoof’s 54-ball knock contained nine hits to the fence and one six. He smashed Umar Gul, Pakistan’s most successful bowler, for 14 runs in the last over, including a six over long off and two fours. He and Chamara Silva, who chipped in 47, revived the World Cup runner-up after Pakistan’s pacemen reduced Sri Lanka to 105-3 in the packed 20,000-seat stadium. Sri Lanka elected to bat after winning the toss, with temperatures steaming above 40 degrees C (104 F).
They must have regretted it early when Sanath Jayasuriya was trapped in front for 1 by a Mohammad Asif delivery which came in at the left-hander with the total on 4. Fellow opener Upul Tharanga departed for 17 at 34-2 when Salman Butt beat him for the second run with a neat throw from the deep to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.
Gul provided a double blow by removing Chamara Kapugedera and skipper Mahela Jayawardene to have the Sri Lankans struggling at 72-4. Gul finished with 3-61 off 10 overs, and Pakistan fashioned three runouts. Sri Lanka were without Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara, who are on duty for English counties. Their absences paved the way for middle-order batsman Kapugedera and two new faces in the squad, Malinda Warnapura, the left-handed middle-order batsman and Ishara Amerasinghe, the right-arm fast-medium bowler, from the A side.
Inzamam Slams Panel Findings on World Cup Failure
In Karachi, former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq has hit back at accusations that his “autocratic” leadership was responsible for his team’s poor performance at the World Cup in the Caribbean.
On Thursday, Inzamam was described as a poor leader and unfit to play one-day cricket by a three-member probe committee that was formed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to look into the causes behind the side’s mediocre display.
The 37-year-old batsman, who retired from One-Day Internationals and stepped down as captain of the Test side after Pakistan made a first round exit from the March-April tournament, dismissed the criticism of his leadership. “All the gentlemen on this probe committee are my elders and I respect them, but the truth is that none of them have any experience of captaincy,” Inzamam told Reuters yesterday.
