Shahid Afridi

Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it, many wanted an upset to occur in this ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and here is it; Sri Lanka was beaten by Pakistan by 11 runs.

Many people thought and some still probably think that Sri Lanka will win this World Cup, but how is it possible for a team which has such a weak middle order to win a tournament where everyone is peaking at their best.

Sri Lanka’s downfall in this match was equally the batting along with the bowling, it was just not penetrating enough and wickets were not taken at regular intervals so as to stop key players from making partnerships.

This day and night match took place at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.

Opener Ahmed Shehzad made only 13 runs of 23 balls, his wicket was claimed by Thisara Perera and second opener Mohammad Hafeez was involved in a run out which is the worst way to get out, especially when it isn’t your mistake, Hafeez’s eyes were on the ball however Kamran Akhmal who was on the opposite side ran like a horse with blinders didn’t even bother to look if Hafeez was running or not, Hafeez on the other hand saw that their was no run in it and was safely in the crease until he saw Karman Akhmal running ahead of him by which time it was too late, he left his crease to take the run and was run out by a mile by Herath, Jayawardene and Sangakkara  , Hafeez made 32 runs of 31 balls.

Kamran Akhmal thankfully made a useful contribution of 39 runs of 48 balls and Younis Khan made a brilliant 72 runs of 76 balls, both batsmen were dismissed by Rangana Herath. Misbah-Ul-Haq made the match winning contribution of 83 runs of 91 balls, his partnership with Younis Khan made all the difference and resulted in Pakistan’s victory. Misbah remained not out till the end of the Pakistan innings.

So Pakistan were able to made a highly competition total of 277 runs at the loss of 7 wickets, this total could have been chased by Sri Lanka in 5.54 runs per over.

Sri Lanka’s innings was shockingly hap hazard, their batting power play could have been taken before and their weak middle order finally made an appearance. Opener Upul Tharanga made 33 runs of 43 balls a good score but not enough to win a match, his wicket was taken by Mohammad Hafeez. Tillaharatne Dilshan also made a good score of 41 runs of 55 balls, but even he couldn’t be as piercing to take his team to triumph, his wicket was claimed by Shahid Afridi.

Captain Kumar Sangakkara made an average 49 runs of 61 balls but at least a century was required from him in this match which he couldn’t make, his wicket was also taken by Shahid Afridi. Aside from these top order batsman’s wickets Shahid Afridi took two more wickets giving him a four wicket haul, he also dismissed Thilan Samaraweera who made just 1 run of 4 balls and Angelo Mathews who made 18 runs of 20 balls.

The Rawalpindi express, Shoaib Akhtar took two wickets that of the dangerous Mahela Jayawardene who made only 2 runs of 10 balls and Thisara Perera who made 8 runs of 6 balls.

The crucial wicket taken towards the end was of Chamara Silva who could have tried to bring the match back in Sri Lanka’s reach, but his wicket was taken and the runs required per over went up to 8, Silva made the highest individual score in the Sri Lankan side i.e., 57 runs of 78 balls his wicket was taken by the ecstatic Abdur Rehman.

Herath and Muralitharan remained not out at the end of the Sri Lankan innings but the team had already lost making 266 runs for the loss of 9 wickets at the end of the 50 overs.

The man of the match award went to captain Shahid Afridi for his 4 for 34 runs.

Pakistan will need to work on their fielding which was dreadful in this match, it might have been over much before if so many catches, run outs and stumping’s weren’t missed.

Sri Lanka on the other hand needs to do something about their appalling middle order that is at the moment threatening to end their World Cup dreams.

Tags: Colombo, Cricket, Cricket World Cup, Man Of The Match, PAK, Pakistan, R Premadasa Stadium, Shahid Afridi, SL, Sri Lanka