Related Links : ICC Champions Trophy 2006 : Scorecard
A turbulent Pakistan side has bounced back in great style after a series of ugly episodes off the field to beat a jubilant Sri Lankan side in their first game of the Champions Trophy. It was a close encounter that Pakistan had won with Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq steering their side through some anxious moments through their ice cool batting under pressure. The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur surprisingly had a great crowd turn out which only added spice to an exciting finish under lights. It was an emotional moment for the members of the Pakistan side when Abdul Razzaq had smacked Dilhara Fernando over long off for a sixer as Pak overtook Sri Lanka’s challenge of 253.
The atmosphere was nervous with the Pakistan Side coming from the shock of losing its two spearheads Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif to a doping test where they were tested positive for a banned steroid called Nandrolone. The replacements for these two bowlers were Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Rao Iftikhar Anjum who got picked in the playing eleven. Sri Lanka had won the toss and they took the bold decision of batting first which was primarily a questionable decision considering the impact of the dew on their spinners in the evening. The Lankans were a settled side and they went unchanged into this match.
Sanath Jayasuriya seized the moment perfectly as he feasted on the nervy Pakistani bowling. The left hander dictated terms to the two Pakistani new ball bowlers Rana and Iftikhar by smacking both bowlers for a six each. However Pakistan escaped some big time caning from the Master Blaster as he was clean bowled after charging down to Iftikhar Anjum in the 10th over. Jayasuriya could race away to a 35-ball 48 which included 5 fours as well. Sri Lanka then consolidated the good start provided by Sanath with Tharanga and Jayawardene going on smoothly. Tharanga had shifted gears playing on the up and getting the boundaries thick and fast. He couldn’t control his adrenalin flow this time around failing to convert his start into a big one as he slashed a short delivery from Razzaq to the keeper. Tharanga made a good looking 38 from 48 balls with 6 hits to the fence.
The Sri Lankan middle order batsmen got good starts to their innings but couldn’t really score the big ones as they were bogged down slightly by the Pakistani spinners Malik and Afridi. One thing Sri Lanka could do was to produce tiny but useful partnerships to keep the scorecard ticking. Jayawardene and Sangakkara both fell making attractive 30s before they paid penalty for their bad shots. Pakistan had eventually bowled out Sri Lanka for 253 with four more deliveries to come with Abdul Razzaq ending up with four wickets. Former Skipper Marvan Atapattu contributed 36 good runs as well. For Pak, Razzaq was very nippy today and looked like a completely different bowler as he worked up a good pace of around 135kmph plus. Mohammad Hafeez bowled his off breaks smartly giving away just 24 in his 7 overs which was during the last 15 overs of the innings when Sri Lanka were looking to cut loose.
Pakistan were off to a terrific start from Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat with both batsmen playing some flamboyant shots to keep the dangerous Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga at bay. For once Sri Lanka just couldn’t get the early breakthrough. But Mohammad Hafeez did provide the opportunity for Sri Lanka to taste first success as he poked at an away going delivery from Vaas to Sangakkara who was standing up to the stumps to the left armer. Hafeez made a 15-ball 22. Pakistan were going along nicely with Imran Farhat taking some risks that paid off but it did look needless at times. It was only in the 13th over that the Lankans could find their next breakthrough with Farveez Maharoof striking with the first ball of his match. It was the big wicket of the Pakistan Skipper Younis Khan who steered Maharoof’s delivery into the keeper’s hands to leave Pakistan at 71 for 2. Few more fireworks followed from Imran Farhat’s blade which forced Mahela Jayawardene to hold the third and final powerplay back and get on his match winner Muralitharan. And the magician did respond to his captain’s call by inducing Imran Farhat in playing a nonsense shot after charging down the track to hole down at sweeper covers. Farhat made 53 from 64 balls with 8 fours which wasn’t the innings his side wanted. A surprise move saw Shahid Afridi come much early in the batting than expected backfired as Afridi lost his head to step down wildly to loft Jayasuriya straight to long off. Afridi’s dismissal meant that Pak were in a crisis, this time on a cricket field, at 114 for 4.
Any further damage at this stage was kept aside by Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik and with Murali and Jayasuriya not getting any turn with the wet ball, the batting was getting easier. The runs required came down under a hundred but the required run rate was slowly creeping up due to some tight bowling. Sri Lanka were lucky soon as they got rid of Mohammad Yousuf through a mix up after he was stranded by Malik in an attempted third run off a misfiled. Yousuf was run out for 49 which came from 78 balls with 5 fours and after his exit, the running between the wickets from Malik became very vulnerable. But he found a good partner in Kamran Akmal and both succeeded in getting the target under control. Kamran Akmal was dismissed when Chaminda Vaas was brought back into the attack after the right hander looked to have pulled him very well but Farveez Maharoof at deep mid wicket ran in 20 yards atleast to his left to take a fantastic catch under pressure. Kamran Akmal fell after scoring 20 and he took Pakistan to 201 for 6.
Abdul Razzaq joined Shoaib Malik in the middle with the runs required to win more than the balls left. Both batsmen ensured that they didn’t give their wicket away to get Pakistan close to the comfort level. Pakistan reached near safety with Razzaq smacking a six and Malik following it up with a flick for a boundary off Vaas in the 47th over. There was absolutely no stopping for Razzaq who went for the full blooded shots almost every ball he faced and the victory was achieved without any further drama in the end. Abdul Razzaq was the Man of the Match as he had followed his four wickets with a match winning 38 from 24 balls which had a couple of fours and sixes. His partner Shoaib Malik played an equally important innings to remain unbeaten on 46 from 59 balls including an almighty six off Murali that parked on the roof in the long on region.