Pakistan vs Sri Lanka at the ICC Academy
Sri Lanka bowlers pull off exciting win over Pakistan
Sri Lanka’s win over Pakistan was a brilliant exhibition of determination to defend a moderate total. They won the toss and elected to bat but could not post a big total. They lost an early wicket when Pakistan medium pacer Ahmad Khan clean bowled opener Shevon Daniel with the fourth ball of the second over.
One drop Anjala Bandara joined in-form Chamidu Wickramasinghe, who had scored 54 runs against Kuwait and 111 against Nepal. Left-handed Wickramasinghe and Bandara began by picking singles and doubles and took the score to 30 when Ahmad Khan struck again. Bandara got out caught behind by wicketkeeper Haseebullah Khan at unlucky 13. At the same score, medium pacer Awais Ali dimissed Wickramasinghe who was batting fluently, caught by Mohammad Irfan Khan.
In walked another Sri Lanka’s in-form batsman Sadisha Rajapaksa, who had cracked 131 against Nepal. Pawan Pathiraja and Rajapaksa began to repair the damage caused by the fall of quick wickets but could add only 19 runs for the fourth wicket. Medium pacer Zeeshan Zameer, who had produced a five-wicket spell against India, had Rajapaksa caught behind for 11.
Four wickets down for 49 in 15.2 overs, Sri Lanka needed a stubborn partnership. But the Pakistan pacers bowled tightly and even generated excellent bounce off the wicket. Ranuda Somarathne and Pathiraja had to duck and sway to the pace of the bowlers before Awais Ali picked his second wicket to have Somarathne caught behind for 8.
Pathiraja became Zameer’s second victim getting caught by Abdul Wahid for 11. When Raveen De Silva too fell for a duck to Zameer caught by Mohammad Irfan Khan, Sri Lanka slipped to 65 for 7 in 21.1 overs. Sri Lankan skipper Dunith Wellalge lasted only four balls to score two runs before falling as Zameer’s fourth victim getting caught by Abdul Bangalzai.
Yasiru Rodrigo and Matheesha Pathirana resisted the Pakistan attack and steered Sri Lanka total past the 100 run mark in the 30th over. Pathirana kept the scoreboard moving with well-placed shots. Left-arm Maaz Ahmad Sadaqat ended the 47 runs partnership for the ninth wicket by trapping Pathirana leg before for 31. Pathirana’s knock came off 30 balls with five boundaries.
The last wicket pair of Rodrigo and Treveen Mathew stayed on by playing out 53 balls and put on 30 runs before off spinner clean bowled Mathew for 12. Rodrigues remained unbeaten through a patient unbeaten 31 off 81 balls without scoring any boundaries to ensure a total of 147. Zameer stood out with fine spell of 4 for 32 from his 10 overs
Chasing the moderate total and a run rate of 3.27, Pakistan lost opener Maaz Ahmad Sadaqat for a duck, caught by Ranuda Somarathne to off spinner Treveen Mathew in the fourth ball of the second over. Mathew then clean bowled opener Abdul Wahid for 1 with the first ball of his third over, and with the next ball also clean bowled Haseebullah Khan. Pakistan skipper Qasim Akram averted the hat-trick from Mathew, who had bowled a wicket-maiden.
Muhammad Shehzad, who was the hero of Pakistan’s win over India with 81 runs, and skipper Akram, who had cracked a 50 against the UAE in the previous match, batted with caution. Mathew bowled his third maiden over in the eighth over. So tight was the Sri Lankan bowling with their skipper Dunith Wellalage too bowling tightly, Pakistan could score only 15 runs in the first 11 overs.
Shehzad and Akram kept the scoreboard moving with singles and doubles and added 32 runs in 82 balls before leg spinner Raveen De Silva had Akram caught by Wickramasinghe for 19 runs. He had stayed at the wicket for 49 balls to take the score to 42 in 18.6 overs. Four wickets down for 42 in 18.6 overs, Iran Khan and Shehzad pushed the score slowly against the tight bowling from the Sri Lankans. Pakistan inched past the 50 run mark in the 22nd over.
Shevon Daniel removed the danger man Shehzad by clean bowling him for 30. He had withstood the attack for 75 balls. With half the side back in pavilion for 62 at the half way mark, Sri Lanka went for the kill putting pressure on Mohammad Irfan Khan and Ahmed Khan. Irfan Khan succumbed to it falling leg before to Wellalage for 13.
Ahmed Khan and Rizwan Mehmood Syed played 68 balls to produce 25 more runs before Mathew had Syed caught and bowled for 6. All eyes were on Ahmed Khan, who had lifted Pakistan to victory over India with an unbeaten 29. He carried Pakistan past the 100 run mark in the 44th over.
Pakistan needed 45 runs in the last six overs with Ahmed Khan trying hard to pull his team towards the target with Arham Nawab. The fighting eighth wicket partnership of 24 runs in 36 balls ended when Wellalage trapped Ahmed Khan leg before for 36. Ahmed Khan's dismissal ended Pakistan’s hopes too. Pathirana had Zeeshan Zameer caught by Mathew for 2 while Wellalage had Awais Ali caught by Pathirana at mid-off for 2 to wrap up the Pakistan innings.
Player of the match Treveen Mathew is proud that he produced a fine spell in the semifinal. “I feel proud that I could produce such a tight spell. It was possible as my teammates supported me all the way encouraging to bowl better. I bowled a tight length and that resulted in getting those wickets. My mind was telling me all the time that I should do well and help Sri Lanka lift the Asia Cup this time.”
Sri Lankan skipper Dunith Wellalage attributed his team's success to good preparation. “We have reached the final purely due to our good preparation and hard work. Everyone has contributed to the success. It was a good show by all our bowlers. We put tremendous pressure bowling the right length and won the match.”
Pakistan skipper Qasim Akram said his team will learn from this defeat. “We did fight but there were certain areas in which we failed. Although we restricted Sri Lanka, our batsmen should have taken the team to the target. We will learn from this defeat and put up a strong show in the coming World Cup.”
SF1: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at ICC Academy 1
SRI LANKA WON BY 22 RUNS
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat
Sri Lanka: 147 all out off 44.5 overs (SZ.Zameer 4-32)
Pakistan: 125 all out off 49.3 overs (T.Mathew 4-14, D.Nethmika 3-31)
Man of the Match: Traveen Mathew (Sri Lanka)
http://asiancricket.org/index.php/tournaments/acc-u19-asia-cup-2021/3509