Four turning points in the Pakistan-Sri Lanka tussle
Lady luck favored Pakistan as they carved out a famous win.
(Web Desk) - With the Pakistan cricket team, you are never too sure as to what team will show up on the field. On their day, Pakistan could be 35/5 and end up at 300 and on some days they could be cruising at a decent run-rate, sitting comfortably at 73/0 and all of a sudden find themselves at 157/7. It seemed as though, yesterday in Cardiff, the latter side showed up but once again it was the Pakistani captain to the rescue. This time Pakistan were not saved by Misbah Ul Haq but rather the hero came in the shape of thier new skipper Sarfraz Ahmad who carved his team through to the semi finals of the Champions Trophy.
The victory came as a huge relief for the entire team as well as the entire nation but it wasn’t only Sarfraz or the unlikely hero in Mohammad Amir, who backed his captain brilliantly and defended for his life, that helped Pakistan through but rather some mediocrity shown by the lethargic Sri Lankan unit that ultimately gifted Pakistan a spot in the semi final.
It was all about who wanted to lose the most yesterday in Cardiff and as Angelo Mathews’ men ultimately showed, Sri Lanka weren’t ready to go through. Here are some crucial incidents that turned out to be the turning points in the all important match.
4) Mathews’ Dismissal:
The wicket of Angelo Mathews started a sorry Sri Lankan collapse.
It seemed as though, with Mathews stuck at the crease, that Sri Lanka would post a huge total in excess of 300 but that wasn’t to be as Mathews fell prey to ace Pakistani bowler Mohammad Amir. Mathews looked to guide the ball down leg-side but he got a thick inside edge in the process, the ball hitting the middle stump and a sorry looking Mathews walking back soon after with Mohammad Amir rejoicing in the background. The dismissal turned the game around for Pakistan as the Pakistani pacers got four wickets in very quick time conceding only six runs from then on.
3) Fakhar Zaman’s maiden 50:
A maiden fifty for Fakhar Zaman helped Pakistan pull off a famous victory.
It looks like Pakistan has found a replacement for Sharjeel Khan, who has been banned from playing cricket owing to alleged match-fixing charges, in the shape of Fakhar Zaman, who is not only giving the opposition food for thought but is also single handedly carrying his side to good starts; something that proved crucial in yesterday’s encounter. Fakhar kept the score board ticking at a good rate as he slapped the Sri Lankan pace-men for runs. He played every ball according to merit and was particularly quick in dispatching the bad balls to the boundary. Fakhar was particularly good on the offside and felt at ease playing against the likes of Malinga and Lakmal. The 27-year-old helped his fellow senior batsman, Azhar Ali, find his feet at the other end and soon reached his first half century with fair comfort. Fakhar Zaman’s maiden fifty that came at a whopping strike rate of 138, helped his side maintain a decent rate; something that pooled in Sarfraz’s heroics later in the game.
2) Middle order collapse:
Sri Lanka were soon back in the game owing to some poor shot selection from the Pakistani batsmen.
Everyone and anyone who follows Pakistan cricket must already know that the only thing predictable about Pakistan is that they are very unpredictable. Now, one would think that a side playing at a grand stage chasing a modest total of just 236 with a brilliant platform already provided by their openers would be fairly easy, right? But the Pakistani middle order had other plans. As always, the fragile middle order could not capitalize on a solid start and instead invited pressure on themselves. One wicket after another, Pakistan tumbled from 90/1 to 157/7 within no time. The collapse, although nothing new for a team like Pakistan, was indeed a huge cause for concern as the Lankans were back in with a very strong chance of taking the game away. The Pakistani batsmen had only themselves to blame as irresponsible shot selection and poor thinking caused what seemed to be a match defining landslide.
1) Lethargic Sri Lankan fielding:
The men in blue let the game literally slip out of their hands.
It was fair to say that apart from the valiant effort put in by Sarfraz and Amir to stretch Pakistan home later in the day, the Sri Lankan fielders, too, contributed in the famous turn around yesterday at Cardiff. When Pakistan captain was trying to negotiate singles off the bowling of Lasith Malinga, the pace-man cleverly varied his pace that resulted in Sarfraz’s bat turning in his hand. The ball looped to Thisara Perera, who was standing on the on-side, and gently landed in his palms only to slip out of his hands and being put down to ground in the process. Perera dropped at what could have been the catch that would have won Sri Lanka the game. The Lankans had another chance in the next Malinga over. Sarfraz was facing the veteran again as he bowled a good bouncer that resulted in a difficult opportunity for the fielder with the ball again being put to ground. This happened throughout the game, as the Sri Lankans put down three catches and missed quite a few chances with run-outs as well.
