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| Aizaz Cheema man of the match vs. Sri Lanka. Pakistan |
Even though it was skipper Misbah Ul Haq and Umar Akmal who cornered
the glory as Pakistan vanquished Sri Lanka by six wickets with 10.3
overs to spare, the credit for their second Asia Cup win at the
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday must go to the bowlers.
Pakistan
had the match half in the bag when they dismissed Sri Lanka for a
sub-par 188 courtesy of a fine all-round bowling display, especially
from pacer Aizaz Cheema and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who claimed four
and three wickets respectively. Then it was a strong show from Misbah
and Akmal, who rescued the team from the difficulty of 33 for three
through a 152-run fourth-wicket partnership that sealed the deal.
“The
bowlers gave us the edge, especially getting them out for 188,” said a
relaxed Misbah after the match. “Then we struggled a little bit at the
top, losing three early wickets. They were in the hunt but I think that
partnership [between him and Akmal] really brought us back into the
game.”
The big win against a top side after the failures in the
recent ODI series against England pleased the Pakistan captain,
particularly the resurgence in the middle order. “It was a much-needed
performance by the middle order, especially me and Umar Akmal. Most of
our batsmen struggled through the England series. We could not finish
games off, so I think this performance is really a confidence builder
for us and we needed that very much,” said the Pakistan captain, who
scored an unbeaten 72 in Pakistan's successful chase, while his partner
Akmal lashed a 77 off 72 balls.
The win takes Pakistan almost to
the final and even more importantly for an Asian cricket tournament,
sets up the prospect of two India-Pakistan matches in a matter of days,
after the great arch-rivals last met in the World Cup semifinal more
than a year ago. Questions were coming thick and fast at the Pakistan
skipper regarding the marquee encounter, and that forced the usually
stone-faced Misbah to crack a smile.
“Are you trying to put
additional pressure on me?” Misbah asked with a smile, but said that the
intensity won't be diminished between the great rivals just because
they may be playing a dress rehearsal for the finals on Sunday. “It is
an important match for both teams, even if it is a friendly both teams
will try their hardest to win. We should play as usual and focus on the
next match. That is the way forward.”
Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri
Lanka skipper, was obviously disappointed with his team's performance
and said that it was a batting failure that cost them the game.
“It
was pretty obvious, [the problem lay] with the bat. When you win the
toss and bat first the challenge is to get a good score on the board
that your bowlers can bowl at,” Jayawardene said. “I think the par score
on this pitch is 250, and we didn't get anywhere near that. It is tough
to then come back and do something magical.”
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