Misbah and Afridi sink Sri Lanka

Anyone still out there who thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, to a strong 276 with tremendous poise and skill in the middle overs before Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar produced a bit of magic to derail the chase. Chamara Silva threatened to pull off a thrilling heist, with a flurry of boundaries in the end, and Nuwan Kulasekara made one heroic last-ditch effort to reduce the equation to 18 runs from the final over, but Umar Gul held his nerve to steer Pakistan home. 

Shoaib Akhtar hit strangling lines and lengths and Shahid Afridi produced a bit of magic to leave Sri Lanka staring down the barrel at the half-way mark of the chase. Sri Lanka's hopes rested on their captain Kumar Sangakkara, who was trying hard to prevent them from disintegrating on a slow pitch that was increasingly aiding turn. There was just one bad over from Pakistan - Umar Gul leaked 16 runs the 12th over- as the bowlers seemed determined to ensure the good work of the batsmen didn't go waste. The new-ball bowlers Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq didn't give any width to Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sri Lanka reached 28 from seven overs. Dilshan seemed to go hard at deliveries and couldn't find any elbow room to manufacture his trademark off-side hits and though Upul Tharanga was marginally better with his timing, the runs were hard to come by. Perhaps, they should have tried to take singles but it has to be said that the bowling was asphyxiating. To their credit, Sri Lanka didn't panic and didn't gift any early wickets. The openers gradually began to find some touch and recovered to 48 from 11 overs before breaking free in that Gul over. Dilshan upper cut the first ball past backward-point boundary, upper cut the fourth for another four, and there was a high bouncer that yielded five wides off a free-hit delivery. Suddenly, Sri Lanka were up and running but Pakistan reacted equally quickly to place the speed breakers. 

Mohammad Hafeez drew first blood by luring Tharanga to drive straight to extra cover where Afridi pouched the catch, looked up to the skies, and roared. Soon Afridi was involved in yet another potentially game-breaking moment when introduced himself into the attack in the 18th over. He got one to skid on, just outside off and Dilshan made a fatal error of cutting, and dragged it onto his stumps. Akthar returned to deliver a vital blow with a skilful, and slightly slower off cutter, to breach the defences of Mahela Jayawardene in the 21st over. Afridi's fire wasn't extinguished yet. He produced a gorgeous leg break to remove Thilan Samaraweera in the 22nd over. He followed a delivery that held its line with a loopy leg break that dipped rapidly on Samaraweera, who was sucked out of his crease, only to be left stranded as Kamran Akmal effected a smart stumping.  The World Cup came alive with a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, with superb poise and skill in the middle overs, before Muttiah Muralitharan pulled them back in the end to leave the game fascinatingly poised. This innings had everything: rapid start, brain fade, tranquil middle overs and finally fabulous end-over bowling. Shahid Afridi said at the toss that he would be happy with 280 and Kumar Sangakkara said he would be happy to chase that total. Pakistan's innings stood out for its handling of the middle overs. Serenity blew across the ground after the fall of Kamran Akmal. Mohammad Hafeez had run himself out after a moment of madness and Kamran, who inexplicably withdrew into his shell after that mix-up, soon combusted, going for an ugly slog against Pakistan's bogeyman Rangana Herath to leave Pakistan in a tricky spot. It wasn't quite a crisis situation but it definitely needed calm heads. Luckily for Pakistan, you can't find better men than Misbah and Younis to handle these moments. What followed was a perfect advertisement for the much-abused middle overs in an ODI. Two of the oldest members of the side ran beautifully, worked the angles intelligently, pinged the gaps frequently with the nudge-drive-and-sweep routine, and breathed life into an innings that could have, perhaps otherwise, succumbed to adrenalin rushes. If Misbah pressed back to play Murali, Younis leaned forward to tackle him; If Misbah backed to leg to create room, Younis shuffled to off to work to the leg; if Misbah tapped wide of midwicket for the quick single, Younis nudged just wide of backward point; if Misbah deployed the reverse-sweep, Younis stayed conventional. They always ran well; the runs kept ticking over, the opposition grew increasingly restless, and Pakistan secured ownership of the innings. What further spiced up this partnership was the knowledge that the imperious lower order were waiting in the dressing room. When Younis fell in the 41st over, with Pakistan on 213 for 4, it even seemed like good news for Pakistan - Shahid Afridi and co to follow, unleash violence and 300 would be a formality. Or so it seemed. Here is where Sri Lanka sparkled. Here is when that man Murali and the doughty Nuwan Kulasekara stepped in to do damage control. If Pakistan's handling of middle overs was a treat to watch, Sri Lanka's skill in the end overs was awe-inspiring. Murali ripped his off breaks, altering the trajectory, pace, and the extent of turn, and Kulasekara punctuated his yorkers with slower cutters to keep Pakistan in check. Murali gave just two runs in the 44th over, the first of the batting Powerplay, and only three, including the wicket of Umar Akmal in 46th and Kulasekera gave away just five in the 47th, keeping Afridi quiet with a series of yorkers. Misbah responded to Murali's magic by growing more innovative. He shuffled to the off and whipped Thisara Perera and Angelo Mathews for boundaries as Pakistan collected 32 runs in the last three overs. Only time will tell whether the total will be enough.