Toss Dhoni has chosen to bat. "We will put up a
good score and try to put pressure on the flashy West Indies batting side.
It’s an unchanged squad."

Gayle: "I would have liked to bat first. Hopefully, we
can restrict them …"

0.1

Taylor to Gambhir, no run, lovely delivery to start
off. From round the stumps, Taylor curved it in towards the off stump,
defended to the off side

0.2

Taylor to Gambhir, FOUR,
But he strays to the pad this time and Gambhir whips it off his hips to
fine-leg boundary. The short fine-leg is in.

0.3

Taylor to Gambhir, no run, 142.7 kmph sharp bouncer,
coming at the face of Gambhir who hops to push it down to the off side.
Taylor has a lovely slow bouncer as well.

0.4

Taylor to Gambhir, 1 run, 139.6 kmph kicking up from
back of length, tapped close on the off side, towards point and they rush
across for the single

0.5

Taylor to RG Sharma, 1 run, Taylor stays round the
stumps to Rohit as well. Interesting. He slips in a slower one, that dips
full on the middle stump line, Rohit lunges out to adjust to it and pushes
it to wide mid-on where Chanders fields

0.6

Taylor to Gambhir, 2 runs, just over second slip
What a cracker of a bouncer. That almost took out Gambhir. Superb delivery.
Gambhir hopped in alarm, taking the eyes of it and fended it in an ungainly
manner but the ball popped just behind the leaping slip fielder.

1.1

Edwards to RG Sharma, FOUR,
Fidel serves a short-pitched delivery to his IPL team-mate and Rohit
responds with a pull through midwicket. It was quite pacy delivery, 149.4
kmph, and Rohit did well to play the horizontal shot

1.2

Edwards to RG Sharma, OUT,
Undaunted by the pulled four, Fidel simply cranks up another short-pitched
delivery from back of length.. Rohit is beaten for the pace and by the extra
bounce, top edges the pull to square leg. Great start from Windies. Taylor
served up a fiery first over and now, Fidel has started in a similar vein.

RG Sharma c Simmons b Edwards 5 (6m 3b 1×4 0×6) SR:
166.66

And I am Sriram Veera, your commentator for the game.
Binoy George is on the scoring duty.

1.3

Edwards to Gambhir, no run, short of length and outside
off stump, left alone

1.4

Edwards to Gambhir, no run, 146.5 kmph bouncer over the
middle stump line, Gambhir ducks

1.5

Edwards to Gambhir, 1 run, pushed to the off side for a
single

That Rohit dismissal wasn’t a bouncer. It kicked up
from short of length and around the off stump, Rohit went for the pull and
was done in …

1.6

Edwards to Raina, 1 run, short of length outside off,
tapped to point region

2.1

Taylor to Raina, 1 run, The slower bouncer now. He has
a great control of it. Raina is made to wait and he waits before swatting it
past square leg

2.2

Taylor to Gambhir, 1 wide, Gambhir walks down the track
and Taylor hurls a high bouncer that sails well above Gambhir

2.2

Taylor to Gambhir, 1 leg bye, Again, he walks down the
wicket, Taylor keeps it fuller this time but drifts towards the pad, rolls
away to short fine-leg and Ramdin rushes after it and stops with a dive

2.3

Taylor to Raina, 3 runs, slower one, full in length
this time and Raina leans forward to chip it high over mid-off

2.4

Taylor to Gambhir, FOUR,
short and wide this time, not a great delivery that, and Gambhir slaps it
over point. Indians on the counterattack here.

2.5

Taylor to Gambhir, 1 run, walks down and towards off
stump and turns the length delivery towards midwicket for a single

2.6

Taylor to Raina, no run, shapes to off drive on the up
but mistimes it and edges it away to the on side

3.1

Edwards to Gambhir, 1 run, short in length, outside
off, tapped to third man

Rana Ray: "Going to be a pretty interesrting battle
with no Sehwag and a resurgent West Indies with Chris Gayle. The Indian
youngstars hardly played any good pace attack recently and India hardly has
any tall batsman to better handle the bouncers."

3.2

Edwards to Raina, no run, 150.6 kmph sharp bouncer on
the middle stump, Raina ducks. Raina has had problems in the past against
the bouncer. Let’s see how he goes today.

3.3

Edwards to Raina, no run, length delivery on the off
stump line, opens the bat-face and guides it to point

3.4

Edwards to Raina, no run, 151.1 kmph bouncer and there
we go. Raina is in trouble. He looks uncomfortable as he swats it away
limply to square leg

3.5

Edwards to Raina, 1 wide, fuller but just down the leg
side and in T20, it’s a wide

3.5

Edwards to Raina, OUT,
Full in length and slanting away from Raina, who after the bouncers, was
hanging on the back foot. He simply hung his bat out to dry and Ramdin says
thank you as he dives neatly to his left to take it inches off the turf.
Raina stood his ground, the umpires weren’t sure whether it carried and they
went upstairs. Replays confirm it went in cleanly. Gone! Ramdin almost
knocked Gayle off in attempt to throw the ball up in the air, while
celebrating.

SK Raina c †Ramdin b Edwards 5 (12m 8b 0×4 0×6) SR:
62.50

3.6

Edwards to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, on the middle and leg,
from short of length, tucked to backward square leg

4.1

Bravo to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, short in length moving
away from Yuvraj who runs it down to third man

4.2

Bravo to Gambhir, OUT,
Three down now. What a delightful start by the Windies. It was the
short-pitched delivery that did the trick. Gambhir top edged the pull and
Lendl ran back from square leg and lunged forward in the end to take a very
fine catch. First Ramdin and now Lendl; the West Indian fielders are doing a
great job.

G Gambhir c Simmons b Bravo 14 (23m 13b 2×4 0×6) SR:
107.69

4.3

Bravo to Yuvraj Singh, no run, short in length, around
the off and middle, Yuvraj leans forward to defend to the off side

4.4

Bravo to Yuvraj Singh, no run, full and swinging down
the leg side. Ramdin appeals for a catch. Yuvraj is bemused that it has not
been given a wide. The replays seem to suggest that the ball didn’t hit bat
or pad

4.5

Bravo to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, another single, down to
third man.

4.6

Bravo to Dhoni, no run, short in length, coming in
towards middle stump, Dhoni leans forward to push it to the on side of the
pitch

Emran: "I think the issue of height is over-rated.
Sunil Gavaskar was not a tall person at all; yet, he had no problem dealing
with bouncers from much better bowlers than the current West Indian duo. The
main issue is whether a batsman knows how to deal with them." Amen.

5.1

Edwards to Yuvraj Singh, 2 runs, short in length, on
the middle and leg, Yuvraj wrists it past square leg for couple of runs.

5.2

Edwards to Yuvraj Singh, no run, beaten outside off
stump. Full in length and moving away from Yuvraj who flirts

5.3

Edwards to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, banged in short and at
the body, Yuvraj hops to tuck it down to square leg

5.4

Edwards to Dhoni, 1 run, moving towards the pads,
clipped to deep backward square leg for a single

5.5

Edwards to Yuvraj Singh, 2 runs, dug in short and
Yuvraj miscues the pull shot but will pick up some runs as the ball rolls to
deep midwicket region

5.6

Edwards to Yuvraj Singh,
FOUR, backs away outside leg, Fidel goes for the stumps and Yuvraj
crashes it past mid-off. It’s all happening.

6.1

Gayle to Dhoni, no run, flighted around off and middle,
Dhoni doesn’t take the bait; pushes it down the track

6.2

Gayle to Dhoni, no run, tries to pinch a single with a
tap to the on side but midwicket fielder rushes in quickly

6.3

Gayle to Dhoni, 1 run, And so, he uses the wrists more
this time and turns the ball past square leg

6.4

Gayle to Yuvraj Singh, no run, floated full outside
off, nudged to the off side

6.5

Gayle to Yuvraj Singh, 2 runs, tossed up full around
the off stump, Yuvraj goes for the sweep, topedges it and would have had his
heart in his mouth as the ball hung in the air for a long time but
eventually, fell clear of Sarwan running across from deep backward square
leg

6.6

Gayle to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, leans forward to push it
to the on side

7.1

Pollard to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, short and wide, forced
off the backfoot but straight to sweeper cover

Sachin Tendulkar is in audience with his family. Ravi
Shastri is also sitting next to him

7.2

Pollard to Dhoni, 1 run, punched to extra cover for a
single

7.3

Pollard to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, slower one, curving
away from Yuvraj who dabs it to third man

7.4

Pollard to Dhoni, no run, another slower one, Dhoni
walks into the shot, is made to wait and he jabs it to cover

7.5

Pollard to Dhoni, no run, mediumpace on the off stump
line, punched to cover.

7.6

Pollard to Dhoni, no run, around 121 kmph length
delivery, again Dhoni is early into his punchy drive and the ball rolls to
the off side

8.1

Gayle to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, stays back to punch a
skidding delivery to right of long-on. Dhoni wanted the second, Yuvraj says
no

8.2

Gayle to Dhoni, no run, Again, confusion between the
two batsmen. Dhoni pushed it towards cover and set off and had to rush to
get back in

8.3

Gayle to Dhoni, 1 run, worked past square leg for a
single

8.4

Gayle to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, leans forward to drive to
long-off for a single

8.5

Gayle to Dhoni, no run, on the off and middle line,
pushed gently back to Gayle

8.6

Gayle to Dhoni, no run, again Dhoni sets for a
non-existent run. It was pushed towards midwicket and Yuvraj sent him back
quickly

Dhoni changes his bat

9.1

Pollard to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, leans back to chop it
down to third man

9.2

Pollard to Dhoni, no run, length delivery outside off,
Dhoni tries to punch on the up but is beaten and Ramdin, standing up to the
stumps, collects.

9.3

Pollard to Dhoni, 1 run, short in length, cut away to
deep cover

9.4

Pollard to Yuvraj Singh, 2 runs, short in length,
outside off stump, mistimes the pull shot towards long-on and the mistime
gives them time to come back for the second run

9.5

Pollard to Yuvraj Singh, no run, full in length,
angling away, Yuvraj tries to dab it to third man and is beaten

9.6

Pollard to Yuvraj Singh, no run, And again. Ramdin
collects and rushes to congratulate the bowler. This one cut away from
Yuvraj who couldn’t put bat to ball.

10.1

Gayle to Dhoni, 2 runs, walks into his shot which was a
swat past square leg and he turns back for the second run

10.2

Gayle to Dhoni, 1 run, fires in a yorker length
delivery, dug out but gets enough meat to get it past the bowler and it
rolls towards long-off

10.3

Gayle to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, floated full on the leg
and middle, flicked away nicely but straight to deep backward square leg

10.4

Gayle to Dhoni, 1 run, charges down the track, Gayle
slows up the pace and shortens the length, Dhoni lunges out to drive to
long-off

10.5

Gayle to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, quicker, outside off,
full, driven to long-off

10.6

Gayle to Dhoni, no run, leans forward to defend to the
off side of the pitch. Another tight over from West Indies. The strangle is
on.

Chandra: "Please tell me what Dhoni is doing? 14 balls
3 runs, is he not able to rotate stike with single. Too many dot balls.
Below six is not acceptable with this team. Even wickets fall they should
maintain atleast 6 plus run rate. "

11.1

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, no run, goes back to punch it to
midwicket

11.2

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, 3 runs, turns it from outside off
stump, Yuvraj reverse sweeps it past short third man. Good fielding near the
ropes to pull the back in. By Chanderpaul.

11.3

Benn to Dhoni, no run, top spinner just outside off,
Dhoni backs away to cut but the ball skids and bounces over the flashing
blade and Ramdin gathers

11.4

Benn to Dhoni, 1 run, stretches forward to drive to
long-off

11.5

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, slightly short and Yuvraj
cuts to deep backward point

11.6

Benn to Dhoni, 1 run, straighter one, skidding in off
the length, Dhoni lunges to push it to cover point.

12.1

Bravo to Dhoni, OUT,
And Dhoni falls after a painful little knock. It was banged in short and
outsdie off and Dhoni, actually played his best shot of the day. A shot full
of intent. He rocked back to cut it hard and flat but couldn’t clear the man
stationed near the ropes at deep backward point. The captain is gone and
Windies celebrate.

MS Dhoni c Fletcher b Bravo 11 (24m 23b 0×4 0×6) SR:
47.82

12.2

Bravo to YK Pathan, 1 run, The sharp bouncer and Yusuf,
who has also problems against the bouncers, fends it off somehow to the on
side

12.3

Bravo to Yuvraj Singh,
FOUR, Stop the press! it’s the first boundary in seven overs! Short
and wide, Yuvraj rocked back to cut it hard and to deep backward point
boundary

12.4

Bravo to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, Dropped by
Fletcher at deep square leg region. Yuvraj flicked the full delivery in the
air and Fletcher ran towards his left, appeared to have reached in time but
threw in a dive instead of a lunge and the ball spilled out of his palms. He
recovers to fire in a throw at the striker’s end to try get a run out. Yusuf
Pathan dives to get in the crease but seems to have injured his shoulder in
the process. He is in tremendous pain. The physio is out there to treat the
right shoulder.

Keegan: "Great bowling by West Indies." And some fine
fielding, despite that Fletcher effort.

12.5

Bravo to YK Pathan, no run, tails in towards the hips
and bounds away off the thigh pad to Ramdin

12.6

Bravo to YK Pathan, 1 run, pushed to the on side for a
single.

13.1

Benn to YK Pathan, no run, leans well forward to tap it
to the on side

13.2

Benn to YK Pathan, 1 run, really full in length, pushed
past midwicket, where Gayle lunges to his left but doesn’t stop it.

13.3

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, 1 wide, pushed well outside off
stump,

13.3

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, no run, again outside off, turns
in slightly, Yuvraj misses the cut shot

13.4

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, no run, yorker length on the
middle, dug out back to the bowler

13.5

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, no run, really full up to Yuvraj
who drives it hard but straight to the bowler

13.6

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, SIX,
Top shot! His signature slog sweep. He went down on his knee to send the
ball soaring into the midwicket stands.

14.1

Bravo to YK Pathan, no run, from round the stumps,
slower one outside off, Yusuf is early into the big drive and misses it
completely

14.2

Bravo to YK Pathan, 1 run, the short-pitched delivery
again has Yusuf in trouble. Plus that angle from round the stumps as well.
He took his eyes off the ball and jabbed it away to the point region

14.3

Bravo to Yuvraj Singh,
FOUR, very skilful shot. It was drifting towards middle and leg,
full, and Yuvraj used his wrists superbly to flick it in the air but well to
the left of the deep square leg fielder.

14.4

Bravo to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, moves outside leg, Bravo
hurls across a yorker, dug out towards long-off

14.5

Bravo to YK Pathan, FOUR,
Yusuf adapts much better to the bouncer this time. Perhaps, he was expecting
it. It was slanting away from him, he stayed adjacent to the line, opened
his bat-face and guided it through the vacant slip region

14.6

Bravo to YK Pathan, SIX,
Yusuf goes down town now. Big over for India. It was full and Yusuf lifted
it high in the air and the long-on fielder tumbled over the boundary while
trying to take it.

15.1

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, 1 run, slightly short in length,
pulled away to deep midwicket

15.2

Benn to YK Pathan, no run, on the middle, slower this
time, tapped to cover

15.3

Benn to YK Pathan, FOUR,
floated full and Yusuf drills it hard and well to the left of the long-on
fielder. four more. The crowd roar.

15.4

Benn to YK Pathan, 1 run, slows up the pace, Yusuf
waits before steering it to point region

15.5

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, 2 runs, quicker one, but on the
leg and middle, Yuvraj tries to paddle it away and gets a top edge to
fine-leg region

15.6

Benn to Yuvraj Singh, FOUR,
Shot! flighted full on the middle, Yuvraj cleared the front leg and scythed
it to the cowcorner. Lovely swing of the bat. 50 up. What a fine innings
this has been.

16.1

Taylor to YK Pathan, 1 run, short in length and pulled
away to deep square leg region

16.2

Taylor to Yuvraj Singh,
FOUR, 137.8 kmph full delivery outside off stump, Yuvraj partly edges
it, partly steers it through vacant slip region. The runs are coming in a
flood now.

16.3

Taylor to Yuvraj Singh, 2 runs, The bouncer nearly does
the trick again. Yuvraj top edges the pull but luckily, for him, it flies
behind the keeper

16.4

Taylor to Yuvraj Singh, no run, fullish, outside off,
Yuvraj tries to square drive but doesn’t connect. Great buzz around the
arena. The Indian fans are clearing thier throat. Singh is King, says one
banner.

16.5

Taylor to Yuvraj Singh,
FOUR, Fabulicious pull. He cleared the front leg and swat-pulled it
superbly to the midwicket boundary.

16.6

Taylor to Yuvraj Singh,
SIX, Oh gorgeous pick-up flick to midwicket boundary. It’s the shot
that Dhoni used to play a lot, that twirl of the bottom-hand. Yuvraj added
beauty to it now. Lovely bat swing and he whipped the full delivery to the
boundary.

17.1

Edwards to YK Pathan, no run, swing and a miss. 142.1
kmph length delivery outside off, Yusuf tries to lift it over the bowler but
misses it completely.

17.2

Edwards to YK Pathan, 2 runs, the chest-high bouncer,
Yusuf stabs it wide of third man where Chanders makes the stop

17.3

Edwards to YK Pathan, 1 wide, goes for the yorker but
slips it down the leg side and Ramdin gets across in time to gather

17.3

Edwards to YK Pathan, 1 run, bouncing into the
rib-cage, Yusuf is cramped and jabs it away to square leg

Vineet: "Y power at work !"

17.4

Edwards to Yuvraj Singh,
OUT, Fidel terminates a superb innings from Yuvraj. Again, it was the
short-pitched ball that did the trick. Yuvraj top-edges the pull and this
time it lobs straight to the on side and Fidel positions himself under it. A
very fine entertaining knock comes to an end.

Yuvraj Singh c & b Edwards 67 (55m 43b 6×4 2×6) SR:
155.81

17.5

Edwards to YK Pathan, 1 run, The bouncer troubles Yusuf.
Again. He hopped, eyes off the ball and stabbed it off the outer edge to
gully

17.6

Edwards to IK Pathan, no run, Another short-pitched
delivery, head high at 90 mph, Irfan is late on the pull and the white ball
flies to Ramdin. Irfan is a good player of the short-pitched bowling. So it
should be interesting few overs.

18.1

Taylor to YK Pathan, FOUR,
from round the stumps, the slower bouncer but Yusuf has killed that one. He
picked it early, waited and thrashed it to the wide midwicket boundary.

18.2

Taylor to YK Pathan, 2 runs, fuller, quicker, on the
leg and middle though, flicked away to deep square leg region

18.3

Taylor to YK Pathan, no run, dropped by Taylor.
It kicked up from short of length, Yusuf mistimed the pull and Taylor jumped
but ended up palming it.

18.4

Taylor to YK Pathan, no run, Big swing and a miss.
Yusuf moved outside leg, Taylor followed him with a full delivery, Yusuf
tried to slog it across the line but couldn’t connect

18.5

Taylor to YK Pathan, 1 run, the chest hight bouncer,
almost 140 kmph, Yusuf mistimes the pull and it falls well short of deep
square leg

18.6

Taylor to IK Pathan, 2 runs, almost a yorker length
delivery, dug out towards long-on and by the time Bravo runs in from the
deep to mid-on, they collect two runs

19.1

Bravo to YK Pathan, OUT,
Bravo cleans up Yusuf. 129.3 kmph yorker from round the stumps pegs back the
off stump. Yusuf swung early, the bottom-hand coming off the handle in the
end but no wood on leather. TImber!

YK Pathan b Bravo 31 (27m 23b 3×4 1×6) SR: 134.78

19.2

Bravo to Harbhajan Singh, 1 run, slower one outside
off, Harbhajan adjusts to punch it to deep point region

Yusuf is getting some treatment from the physio.

19.3

Bravo to IK Pathan, OUT,
And in the middle, his brother holes out to deep midwicket. He planted his
front leg outside the leg stump, hit the full delivery straight to the man.

IK Pathan c Simmons b Bravo 2 (7m 3b 0×4 0×6) SR:
66.66

19.4

Bravo to Harbhajan Singh,
FOUR, Third man was in the circle and Bravo pushes it wide outside
off from round the stumps. Harbhajan lunged out to slice it away past short
third man

19.5

Bravo to Harbhajan Singh,
FOUR, back over the stumps now, fullish delivery outside off stump
and Harbhajan unfurls a very fine square drive. he hung on the back foot,
opened the bat-face and wristed it past point

19.6

Bravo to Harbhajan Singh,
FOUR, Three in a row. Harbhajan finishes the innings in style. He
read the slower one early, went down on his knee and crashed it to the
cowcorner.

West Indies ruled the first part of the innings, India
broke free in the end to finish on 153. Will it be enough or will Gayle & co
do the job for Windies? Join us in a short while for the chase.

Yashwanth: "Srilanka made only 150 but won on this same
ground, some early wickets will give break. lot depends on Ojha."

0.1

Khan to Gayle, no run, really full delivery, shaping
away a touch, Gayle is caught at the crease, manages to stab it to the off
side

0.2

Khan to Gayle, no run, sliding down the leg side,
brushes the pad en route to Dhoni

0.3

Khan to Gayle, no run, nagging delivery, coming in
towards the off and middle, Gayle gets behind the line to defend it to the
off side of the pitch

0.4

Khan to Gayle, FOUR,
And there goes Gayle. A nonchalant swing of the bat and the length delivery
disappears over mid-on. He made it look so easy.

0.5

Khan to Gayle, no run, short of length, around 141 kmph,
coming in from outside off, mistimes the forcing shot to cover

0.6

Khan to Gayle, FOUR,
goes for the yorker, ends up short of the blockhole and Gayle punishes the
mistake by drilling it straight past the bowler. Gayle is off to a start
here. Can Fletcher keep him company?

1.1

IK Pathan to Fletcher, 1 wide, pushed well outside off
stump and Rudi extends his arms.

1.1

IK Pathan to Fletcher, no run, The ball goes to the
fine-leg boundary but Rudi says it’s a dead-ball as Fletcher wasn’t offering
a shot. It was a length delivery curving in towards pads, Fletcher shaped to
play before taking his bat away from the line and the ball bounded away to
fine leg

1.2

IK Pathan to Fletcher, OUT,
Irfan takes out Fletch. It was full and around the off stump, Fletcher
wanted to drill it over mid-off but mistimed it completely to push it tamely
to the fielder there. Soft dismissal.

ADS Fletcher c Yuvraj Singh b IK Pathan 0 (6m 2b 0×4
0×6) SR: 0.00

1.3

IK Pathan to Simmons, 1 run, curving in, nudged to the
on side

1.4

IK Pathan to Gayle, no run, full in length, just
outside off, Gayle stays back to push it to point

Asad: "Sri Lanka were able to defend 150 cause Pakistan
didnt have the same batting fire power that a team like West Indies has,
especially with Gayle up top in the order"

1.5

IK Pathan to Gayle, 1 run, stays back to push this one
wide of midwicket for a single

1.6

IK Pathan to Simmons, 1 run, Leg slip in place for
Lendl who flicks it to backward square leg region

Yusuf to bowl his quick off breaks

2.1

YK Pathan to Simmons, 1 run, floated outside off stump,
driven to Ishant at mid-off for a single

2.2

YK Pathan to Gayle, no run, on a length around off
stump, carefully defended to the off side of the pitch.

2.3

YK Pathan to Gayle, 1 run, gets on the front foot and
turns this through midwicket

2.4

YK Pathan to Simmons, no run, quickish, on the middle
and off, punched to cover

2.5

YK Pathan to Simmons, FOUR,
makes room by going outside leg and lifts the full delivery over mid-off.
Gayle and Lendl have a chat.

2.6

YK Pathan to Simmons, no run, again, just outside leg,
Yusuf pushes this quicker, punched to cover

3.1

IK Pathan to Gayle, FOUR,
Crash. It was slighty short in length, Gayle punched it to covers where
Harbhajan over runs the ball and slips and the ball rushes to his left and
runs to the boundary

3.2

IK Pathan to Gayle, no run, ooh .. risky … almost lbw.
Gayle moved around in his crease, opened up his stance and the ball almost
skidded to his pad, he managed to get some bit of the bat on the ball and
edged to his pad. There is a long-on in place and he is opening up his
stance to try to go wider of the man. Risk.

3.3

IK Pathan to Gayle, 1 run, again he opens up his
stance, drags the length delivery to Raina at long-on

3.4

IK Pathan to Simmons, no run, length delivery, Lendl
goes for the pull nevertheless and mistimes it to Ojha at mid-on

3.5

IK Pathan to Simmons, 1 leg bye, he moves towards off
stump, tries to paddle scoop it but the ball kept coming towards his body
and he ends up dabbing it away. Given leg byes, though.

3.6

IK Pathan to Gayle, no run, full length delivery
outside off stump, driven to mid-off

4.1

YK Pathan to Simmons, 1 run, short in length, drags the
pull to deep backward square leg

4.2

YK Pathan to Gayle, FOUR,
What a piece of timing. He took a couple of steps down the track, Yusuf
fired it in and Gayle just seemed to punch it. Single to left of mid-on? No
it raced away past the diving fielder. Surely the deep midwicket would come
across in time? No, it goes past his desperate dive

4.3

YK Pathan to Gayle, no run, skids on towards the pad
and rolls away to the leg side

4.4

YK Pathan to Gayle, 1 run, on the leg stump again,
chipped in the air but safely towards mid-on

4.5

YK Pathan to Simmons, no run, quicker one, hit hard but
straight to Rohit at cover

4.6

YK Pathan to Simmons, 2 runs, backs away a bit and
carves a quick delivery over point for couple of runs

5.1

Harbhajan Singh to Gayle, no run, from round the
stumps, short and wide, mistimes the cut to backward point. He missed out on
the four there.

5.2

Harbhajan Singh to Gayle, no run, outside off, skidding
on, dabbed to backward point

5.3

Harbhajan Singh to Gayle, no run, on the off stump,
slight turn away, punched to the off side of the pitch where Harbhajan makes
a sliding stop

5.4

Harbhajan Singh to Gayle, no run, comes in with the
arm, towards off stump, punched straight to mid-off. Four dot balls now.
Pressure.

5.5

Harbhajan Singh to Gayle, no run, leans forward to push
to mid-off again

5.6

Harbhajan Singh to Gayle, no run, slower this time,
loopy delivery on the middle, Gayle leans forward to defend. A maiden over
from Bhaji. Fine start by him.

Brian: "I hope Mr Gayle realises he doesn’t need to
crash every ball 105 metres for six here. India haven’t made 200 and if he
plays a normal test match innings for him (although he hates the game!),
depending on the pitch, West Indies should do this. Come on!"

6.1

I Sharma to Simmons, FOUR,
Fine shot by Lendl. It was slightly short in length and just outside off, he
arched back to create room and cut it past diving Yuvraj at backward point

6.2

I Sharma to Simmons, 1 run, cuts into Lendl who tucks
it to deep backward square leg

6.3

I Sharma to Gayle, no run, back of length, moves
towards off stump, Gayle punches it to point. Anil Kumble drawls on air,
"seven dot balls in a row for Chris Gayle" !

6.4

I Sharma to Gayle, no run, short in length and cutting
across Gayle who swats it back to Ishant.

6.5

I Sharma to Gayle, 1 run, the slower one this time,
full and outside off, Gayle was setting himself for the big hit, checked
himself, adjusted to the slower one and pushed it through cover point

6.6

I Sharma to Simmons, 1 run, Ishant tries the bouncer,
the tactic that worked for the Windies, and nearly gets his man. Lendl was
in no position to play the pull, went for it , though and edged it just past
square leg

7.1

YK Pathan to Simmons, 1 run, turns in sharply this time
from outside off, dabbed to short third man. He usually doesn’t turn it this
much as he looks to fire ‘em in. This time, he slowed up the pace and gave
it a tweak

7.2

YK Pathan to Gayle, 1 run, quicker, short in length
outside off, punched away to long-off

7.3

YK Pathan to Simmons, 1 run, slower, fuller, on the
middle, worked to deep midwicket for a single

7.4

YK Pathan to Gayle, OUT,
The big fish has been caught. India roar in celebration. It was the
short-of-length quick delivery on the leg stump line and Gayle went for the
pull. Fatal top edge. It lobbed high to short fine-leg where Zaheer Khan
took the catch.

CH Gayle c Khan b YK Pathan 22 (33m 28b 4×4 0×6) SR:
78.57

Sam Cox: "The first maiden of the tournament was bowled
and it was to Chris Gayle. Big deal! mention it." Done Sir!

7.5

YK Pathan to Bravo, 1 run, flighted slowly this time,
outside off, driven to long-off

7.6

YK Pathan to Simmons, 1 run, leans across to steer the
off break to backward point region for a single

8.1

Ojha to Simmons, 1 run, Flighted delivery on the middle
and leg, misses the sweep and it rolls off the pad. Dhoni appeals. He is the
only man doing it, though.

8.2

Ojha to Bravo, no run, turns towards off stump, Bravo
adjusts to defend

8.3

Ojha to Bravo, 2 runs, fuller, bit more air, Bravo
leans forward to flick it against the turn through midwicket

8.4

Ojha to Bravo, 1 run, flighted full on the middle and
leg, Ojha is tempting him to keep flicking against the spin, Bravo pushes it
towards mid-on for a single

8.5

Ojha to Simmons, 1 run, rocks back to cut to sweeper
cover

8.6

Ojha to Bravo, FOUR,
Classy inside-out shot. Bravo rushes down the track, stays beside the line
of the ball and drives superbly, with the spin, through extra cover.

9.1

YK Pathan to Simmons, 1 run, turning to the pads,
clipped past square leg for a single

9.2

YK Pathan to Bravo, FOUR,
And now, he unfurls a deft little late cut. It was the quick delivery on the
off stump line, Bravo stayed back, opened the bat-face and guided it through
the vacant slip region

9.3

YK Pathan to Bravo, no run, slightly slower, Bravo
tries to repeat the late cut but this time off the front foot and is beaten

9.4

YK Pathan to Bravo, no run, leans forward to flick to
midwicket

9.5

YK Pathan to Bravo, 2 runs, plays the lofted flick shot
to wide long-on region

9.6

YK Pathan to Bravo, 1 run, slows up the pace, flighted
outside off, flicked to right of midwicket. And Yusuf has finished a very
useful spell, where he took out Gayle

10.1

Ojha to Bravo, 1 run, from over the wicket now, Bravo
charges down the track and drives to long-off

10.2

Ojha to Simmons, 1 run, turning past the off stump,
dabbed to short third man

10.3

Ojha to Bravo, 1 run, plays the lofted shot and it
falls short of Ishant at long-off

10.4

Ojha to Simmons, FOUR,
A very fine shot from Lendl. He stretched forward to loft it high over extra
cover.

10.5

Ojha to Simmons, 1 run, goes for the sweep, doesn’t
connect properly

BB: "This is not the first maiden of the tournament.
Morkel had that in the match against England." See Sam, that’s why I didn’t
get into it! Now more mails will come saying, Morkel was not the first.
Actually, I don’t know!

10.6

Ojha to Bravo, 1 run, on driven through mid-on for a
single

11.1

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo, 2 runs, turning into the
middle stump line, wristed to right of deep midwicket

11.2

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo,
FOUR, What a top shot! Oh boy superbly struck inside-out drive. It
was a very good ball actually, Harbhajan had slowed up the pace and flighted
it outside off, Bravo adjusted to the change in pace, leaned forward and
lifted it over extra cover. Beautiful to watch.

11.3

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo, 1 run, He is a pretty batsman
all right. He stretches forward this time to flick it elegantly past square
leg

11.4

Harbhajan Singh to Simmons, no run, turning in from a
length outside off, Lendl goes for the sweep and is struck on the pad
outside the line of off stump

11.5

Harbhajan Singh to Simmons, 1 run, top spinner outside
off, goes back, opens the bat-face to steer it to backward point

11.6

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo, 2 runs, switches to round the
stumps now, Bravo stays back to tuck it with the turn past square leg and by
the time Ishant runs in from the deep, he will get two runs

12.1

Khan to Simmons, no run, from round the stumps, length
delivery bouncing in over the off stump, Lendl tried to cut it away but was
cramped for room there. Dhoni takes it.

12.2

Khan to Simmons, no run, moves outside off, tries to
paddle scoop it away but makes no contact and the ball bounces over the leg
stump

12.3

Khan to Simmons, no run, slower yorker, on the middle
and leg, backed away to the leg side but doesn’t find power behind the shot
and the ball rolls to extra cover

12.4

Khan to Simmons, 1 wide, moves outside off to have a
swing to the on side, misses but the ball sails down the leg for a wide

12.4

Khan to Simmons, 2 runs, chipped towards mid-off and
they will get two runs as Raina had to run in all the way from long-off

12.5

Khan to Simmons, FOUR,
switches to over the stumps and hits the short of length outside off. Lendle
cuts it hard to backward point, lands awkwardly in front of Yusuf Pathan who
couldn’t get his body behind it. It runs away to the boundary.

12.6

Khan to Simmons, 1 run, works this past square leg

Russell: "Usually its the pair Sarwan and Chanders
saving the WI - both Guyanese. Today its rinidad day with Bravo and Simmons
doing the honours. Hope I didn’t jinx it."

13.1

I Sharma to Simmons, 1 run, Full pitched on the middle
and leg, moves outside leg to push it to mid-off

13.2

I Sharma to Bravo, 1 leg bye, moves outside leg, Ishant
follows him with a short-of-length delivery tilting in, Bravo tries to tuck
it away, misses but will pick a leg bye as the ball rolls away to third man
region

13.3

I Sharma to Simmons, 1 wide, high bouncer and Rudi
signals wide

13.3

I Sharma to Simmons, 1 run, Wallop but it falls short
of deep square leg. It was the short delivery and Lendl pulled it well

13.4

I Sharma to Bravo, 1 leg bye, Bravo moves down the leg
side, Ishant pings him again with a short-of-length delivery, Bravo misses
the pull and is hit in the mid-riff

13.5

I Sharma to Simmons, FOUR,
Crashed to the boundary. Lendl backed away to the on side and pulled it hard
and this time, through midwicket

13.6

I Sharma to Simmons, 1 run, nice little slower one,
full and outside off, Lendl edges the attempted late cut and it falls short
of the tumbling Dhoni. The batsmen are alert enough to rush across for the
single before Dhoni got back on his feet

14.1

Ojha to Simmons, 1 run, Run out missed. Lendl would
have been a goner. Had Dhoni collected the throw ie. It was slower in the
air, outside off stump, Lendl is early into his slog sweep and drags it
towards short fine-leg. Yuvraj ran to his right and threw the ball to Dhoni
who didn’t collect. Bravo was inside the crease but Lendl had almost reached
the same end

14.2

Ojha to Bravo, 1 run

14.3

Ojha to Simmons, OUT,
But Lendl falls now, after a very fine knock. He top edged the slog sweep
and was caught at deep square leg. Again Ojha slowed up the pace and floated
it outside off, and that did the trick.

LMP Simmons c IK Pathan b Ojha 44 (50m 37b 5×4 0×6)
SR: 118.91

14.4

Ojha to Bravo, SIX,
Flamboyant six to the straight boundary. Great to watch. Bravo waltzed down
the track and hit it cleanly right over the bowler’s head.

14.5

Ojha to Bravo, 2 runs, And now unfurls that inside-out
lofted hit over extra cover. He went down the track and hit it over the
off-side field.

14.6

Ojha to Bravo, 1 run, he goes down the wicket again,
and plays the lofted shot and it falls short of long-on.

15.1

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo, 1 run, couple of steps down
and on drives to Ishant at long-on

15.2

Harbhajan Singh to Chanderpaul, 1 run, leans across to
quietly tap it past square leg for a single. 43 from 28 now

15.3

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo, 2 runs, fullish, on the
middle, on driven to wide long-on for couple of runs.

15.4

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo, 1 run, top spinner outside
off stump, Bravo had moved outside leg, he reached out to carve it to deep
point

15.5

Harbhajan Singh to Chanderpaul, no run, flighted full
from round the stumps around the off stump line, Chanderpaul tries to
reverse sweep but is hit on the pad

15.6

Harbhajan Singh to Chanderpaul, 1 run, moves down the
track to flick it to deep backward square leg

Ishant Sharma to bowl. 39 from 24.

16.1

I Sharma to Chanderpaul, 1 run, from round the stumps,
138 kmph full delivery outside off, square driven to point

Bravo and Chanders have a chat.

16.2

I Sharma to Bravo, 2 runs, short in length on the
middle stump line, Bravo is cramped up but some how manages to flat-bat a
pull to left of long on. Surely a four? No, as Raina rushes to his left and
makes a diving stop . The crowd roar.

16.3

I Sharma to Bravo, SIX,
Bravo you beauty! What a innings under pressure.Gem. It was the slower one,
Bravo went for the big lofted shot over long-off and it hung in the air for
a long time before dipping just over the boundary.

16.4

I Sharma to Bravo, 2 runs, reaches his fifty with a
drive towards long-off. The game hangs on a knife’s edge here.

16.5

I Sharma to Bravo, 1 run, And now that Lara-like pull.
The front leg hops in the air and the bat comes down and under as he pulls
it past square leg

16.6

I Sharma to Chanderpaul,
FOUR, Chanders gets into the act. Ishant is bleeding here. Full and
outside off, Chanders waited before square driving it past the diving point
fielder.

17.1

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo, no run, yorker on the middle
stump, Bravo was looking to come down and digs it out. 104.7 kmph delivery!

17.2

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo,
FOUR, Bravo moves outside leg, Harbhajan fires it quick and full,
Bravo square drives it through backward point and the ball tips over the
boundary. Bravo is da maan.

17.3

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo, 2 runs, charges down the
track and flicks the fast full toss to right of long leg

17.4

Harbhajan Singh to Bravo, 1 run, almost a run out.
Bravo drives another quick delivery to mid-off, Yuvraj with the throw,
Harbhajan didn’t collect it cleanly and failed to break the stumps. It would
have been touch and go.

17.5

Harbhajan Singh to Chanderpaul,
FOUR, Thick fat edge but Chanders would
take it without any complaint. It was off break outside off stump and
Chanderpaul went for the off drive and got a profitable edge

17.6

Harbhajan Singh to Chanderpaul,
FOUR, Oh beauty! The reverse sweep.
Chanderpaul tried it before but didn’t strike well. Not this time, though.
He smacked it to deep backward point boundary.

Just 8 runs now. Surely Windies will do it? Harbhajan
didn’t try a doosra against Bravo. He must have been worried about the big
inside-out shot but he should have tried it as his last dice at least. .

18.1

Khan to Bravo, 1 run, yorker on the middle and leg
stump, ends up as a low full toss, flicked to deep square leg

18.2

Khan to Chanderpaul, 2 runs, Chanderpaul leans forward
to chip it over mid-on

18.3

Khan to Chanderpaul, 1 run, Chanderpaul tries to swing
a length delivery across the line but edges it to the off side

18.4

Khan to Bravo, SIX,
Bravooooo! Whaddaaplayaaaaa! Low full toss on the middle, he moved outside
leg and hit it gorgeously inside-out over extra cover for the match-winning
six. What a stylish finish. Fabulicous shot to win the game. Bravo is hugged
by Chanders. The West Indian fans in the crowd jump for joy.

West Indies win a very entertaining game. It was really
enjoyable to watch. The teams shake hands with each other. Gayle is as
emotionless as well. Mr Cool! Bravo has been accused in the past of playing
pretty 30’s and 40’s and not finishing the job. Today, he made sure he
wouldn’t hear that complaint against him. Hang on for the post-match quotes.

Dhoni: "It was disappointing to lose. We didn’t
get a good start, me and Yuvraj tried to turn it around. I should have
stayed for the slog. The batting didn’t work today. Hopefully, it will come
good for the next game. Hopefully we won’t collapse and put a big score on
the board."

Gayle: I am very pleased about how we performed.
We took lots of catches. The credit to the guys. Yuvraj played a good
innings to pull it back for India. Superb innings from Bravo. I must really
commend him. "

Man of the Match: Bravo: "It’s a great feeling
to do it at Lord’s. It started on the field. We restricted them. I got an
opportunity to bat up the order. Now we play against one of the better teams
in the tournament - South Africa."

That’s it from us. Thanks for logging on. It was great
fun bringing you this game. See you tomorrow.

Jayasuriya and Dilshan walk out. Pakistan team huddle
together. Dilshan will take first strike. Sohail Tanvir will bowl from the
Nursery End. Two slips in, here we go.

1.26pm National anthems on. The Sri Lanka and
Pakistan players stand alternatively next to each other. Meaning it’s not
all Pakistanis followed by all Sri Lankans. There’s one Pakistan player next
to a Sri Lankan, followed by a Pakistan player and then a Sri Lankan. The
last time these teams played each other, their match was interrupted by a
terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. So it’s a nice little
gesture here.

Nuwan Kulasekera replaces Udana for Sri Lanka. The big
news, though, is that Abdul Razzaq is not playing, and Salman Butt
gets one more game.

Sri Lanka: 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Tillakaratne
Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt./wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Jehan
Mubarak, 6 Chamara Silva, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Nuwan Kulasekera, 9 Ajantha
Mendis, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan

Pakistan: 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3
Shoaib Malik, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Younis Khan (capt.), 6 Shahid Afridi, 7
Fawad Alam, 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Mohammad Aamer, 11 Saeed Ajmal

1.00pm Kumar Sangakkara has won the toss and
will bat first. It’s a pitch unused so far. Sangakkara sees some green
on the pitch, and says he’d be surprised if there weren’t any.

Younis Khan would have batted too, had he won the toss.
Hang on for team news.

And going back to yesterday, Tanya Aldred watched South
Africa restrain themselves from wrestling cattle in the dugout and instead
settle for pummelling England senseless. We are about 10 minutes from the
toss. Will bring you all the news soon.

0.1

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, 1 no ball, beautiful ball,
but hang on it’s a no-ball. Dilshan played for the in-swing, because it
seemed like it would swing, but nipped away from Dilshan and beat him
comprehensively

0.1

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, 1 wide, free-hit is a wide,
way outside off

0.1

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, no run, and we get a dot ball
finally, back of a length, angling away, Dilshan swings with all his might
and misses

0.2

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, 1 wide, another wide here,
this time down the leg side, some movement in this time

0.2

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, 1 no ball, another no-ball,
disastrous over so far, was well bowled though, squaring Dilshan a touch

0.2

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan,
FOUR, short, angling across, and smashed through the covers off the
back foot

0.3

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, 1 run, full, on the pads,
played with soft hands to mid-on

0.4

Sohail Tanvir to Jayasuriya, 1 wide, another wide,
angling down the leg, what an over, never-ending. Cows might come home
before this one finishes

0.4

Sohail Tanvir to Jayasuriya,
FOUR, and now he provides Jayasuriya
with a half-volley outside off, Jayasuriya eases into the drive, and beats
cover easily

0.5

Sohail Tanvir to Jayasuriya, no run, a shout for lbw,
this one nipped into Jayasuriya from outside off, but was going high

0.6

Sohail Tanvir to Jayasuriya,
FOUR, unfortunate for Tanvir this one,
swinging yorker, outside off, Jayasuriya gets an inside edge, and the fine
leg is up in the circle

Mohammad Aamer to bowl from the Pavilion End

1.1

Mohammad Aamer to Dilshan, 1 run, goes for the pull
right away, is late into the shot, but gets one to wide of mid-on

1.2

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, no run, hits the bat
hard, back of a length. hurrying Jayasuriya into a back-foot defensive

1.3

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, no run, this is good
stuff, digs it in short, 89mph, gets good bounce, and the shoulder of
Jayasuriya’s bat. It’s safe, though

1.4

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, 1 run, bowls it short
again, gets it to rise, Jayasuriya gets on his toes, defends with soft
hands, and they run right away

1.5

Mohammad Aamer to Dilshan, 1 run, Dilshan goes for the
pull again, is late into the shot again, but gets one for the mis-timed pull

1.6

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, no run, stays back of a
length, gets Jayasuriya to defend again, because of the good bounce he has
been getting

2.1

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, no run, back of a length,
Dilshan looks to late-cut, but it’s too close to his body

2.2

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan,
FOUR, fuller, on the pads, shaping in a bit, and he flicks it to
square of deep fine leg, superb timing, deep fine leg couldn’t even cover 15
metres

round the wicket now

2.3

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, no run, cuts him in two, back
of a length, outside off, and moves in sharply

2.4

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, 1 no ball, another no-ball,
Younis could contemplating keeping stumps there instead of the popping
crease

2.4

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, 2 wides, wide yorker, and
DIlshan misses out on the free hit because this gets them one bye too

goes over the wicket

2.4

Sohail Tanvir to Jayasuriya, 1 wide, slower ball, beats
Jayasuriya but down the leg side. Free hit stays

2.4

Sohail Tanvir to Jayasuriya, 1 run, and he bowls a
perfect yorker there, single into the leg side

round the wicket for Dilshan

2.5

Sohail Tanvir to Dilshan, 1 run, angling into the pads,
and turned away to deep backward square

2.6

Sohail Tanvir to Jayasuriya, 1 run, back of a length,
on the stumps, bunted into the one side for one

So Tanvir has run up 20 times to finish two of his
overs. But some of his legitimate deliveries have been damn good too

3.1

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, 2 runs, Aamer pitches up
to Jayasuriya for the first time, and he flicks it towards midwicket for two

3.2

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya,
SIX, Jaya has had enough of this
short-ball business, goes right back into the crease, front leg in air, and
he short-arm-pulls it. Superb timing

3.3

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, 1 run, stays short again,
on the stumps, this time it gets a bit big, defended

3.4

Mohammad Aamer to Dilshan,
FOUR, Dilshan you beauty, the Dilscoop, gets on his knee, Aaamer has
bowled this fast, and scoops it from over his head, and clears Akmal easily

3.5

Mohammad Aamer to Dilshan, 1 leg bye, looks to pull,
the ball lobs off the thigh pad, through to Akmal, and they run one by the
time it reaches Akmal

3.6

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, 1 run, full, into the
pads, gets one to mid-on

Umar Gul comes on, he has got a lot of repair work to
do

4.1

Umar Gul to Jayasuriya, 1 run, length ball, on the
pads, turned away to leg

4.2

Umar Gul to Dilshan, no run, short and wide, looks to
cut, is slightly late on the shot, gets an underside edge towards the
keeper, but along the ground it goes

4.3

Umar Gul to Dilshan, 1 run, short, on the stumps, opens
the face towards point, who was quite deep. Jayasuriya wants a single,
Dilshan is ball-watching, Malik’s throw is on the top of the stumps, but Gul
is not there to collect it. DIlshan gets a life

4.4

Umar Gul to Jayasuriya, 1 wide, wide down the leg side,
something wrong with bowling from Nursery End?

4.4

Umar Gul to Jayasuriya, 1 run, tucks him up with a
short one, turned around the corner for one

4.5

Umar Gul to Dilshan, FOUR,
pulled off the front foot, dismissive shot, picked the length early, and
finally gets the timing right. Crunchy sound and four runs ensue

4.6

Umar Gul to Dilshan, FOUR,
Dilshan is scooping them is they were a Sundae. This is the more orthodox
scoop if I may say so, as he picks it on the full, and plays it over fine
leg as opposed to over the keeper

Aamer to continue

5.1

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, no run, starts his third
over with a yorker, on the leg stump

5.2

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, 1 run, another yorker,
Jayasuriya gets one to midwicket

5.3

Mohammad Aamer to Dilshan,
FOUR, Dilshan is in his mood now, stands tall and heaves a length
ball over midwicket, clean timing and easy four

5.4

Mohammad Aamer to Dilshan, no run, clears the front
leg, looks to heave again, but this is too close to him, and he plays it
straight to mid-on

5.5

Mohammad Aamer to Dilshan, 1 run, full, on off stump,
gets one to mid-off

5.6

Mohammad Aamer to Jayasuriya, no run, fulltoss, beats
Jayasuriya with the movement in the air, shouts for lbw but this was headed
down the leg

What a start for Sri Lanka. Don’t know why Younis is so
averse to using spinners in the Powerplays? He has been damn predictable

Afridi will come on now

6.1

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan, no run, full, outside off,
flat, played to cover

6.2

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan, 1 run, thrown up, driven
powerfully to sweeper-cover

6.3

Shahid Afridi to Jayasuriya, 1 run, flighted on the
stumps, driven into the covers for one

6.4

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan,
FOUR, short and wide, cut away down the slope, Dilshan is on fire,
and is not looking these gift horses in the mouth

6.5

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan, 1 run, short again, but he
has slowed it down this time, Dilshan gets one to short third

6.6

Shahid Afridi to Jayasuriya, 1 wide, thrown up, googly,
but it started way down the leg side

6.6

Shahid Afridi to Jayasuriya, no run, flighted,
accurate, played back to Afridi

Poor Rudi Koertzen. All wides and no-balls have been
bowled from his end

Ajmal to bowl

7.1

Saeed Ajmal to Dilshan, 1 run, short and quick offbreak,
they get a single to sweeper-cover

7.2

Saeed Ajmal to Jayasuriya, 1 run, slower, on the pads,
from round the stumps, and turned around the corner

7.3

Saeed Ajmal to Dilshan, no run, Akmal shouts big, as
this one beats Dilshan’s slog-sweep, but this one struck him outside off

7.4

Saeed Ajmal to Dilshan,
FOUR, another superb shot, driven against the turn, powerfully that
too, and between point and sweeper-cover

7.5

Saeed Ajmal to Dilshan, no run, doosra, beats him,
something to do for Akmal too

7.6

Saeed Ajmal to Dilshan, 1 run, flighted on the off
stump, played towards cover for one

8.1

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan, no run, cramps him up, on the
pads, and Dilshan plays it back to Afridi

8.2

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan, no run, short and wide, but
can’t beat backward point

8.3

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan, 1 run, quicker one, gets the
bottom edge, and one to short fine

8.4

Shahid Afridi to Jayasuriya, no run, Jayasuriya goes
for the big heave, misses, Afridi shouts for lbw, but this one pitched
outside leg

8.5

Shahid Afridi to Jayasuriya, no run, quicker one, on
the pads, played towards short midwicket

8.6

Shahid Afridi to Jayasuriya,
OUT, finally success for Pakistan,
Afridi tosses this one the leg stump, Jayasuriya goes for the big slog, gets
a top edge, was a googly I suspect, and it skies towards square leg, where
Younis takes an easy catch

ST Jayasuriya c Younis Khan b Shahid Afridi 26 (41m
24b 2×4 1×6) SR: 108.33

Sangakkara will bat, Malik will bowl, round the wicket

9.1

Shoaib Malik to Sangakkara, 1 run, thrown up on the
pads, and played for one to long-on

9.2

Shoaib Malik to Dilshan, no run, appreciable break
here, thrown up outside off, and beats a defensive shot

9.3

Shoaib Malik to Dilshan, 1 run, full, on the off stump,
they get one down to long-off

9.4

Shoaib Malik to Sangakkara, 1 run, full he stays,
Sangakkara gets an easy one to long-off

9.5

Shoaib Malik to Dilshan, 1 run, shorter, outside off,
and he runs it down to sweeper-cover for one

9.6

Shoaib Malik to Sangakkara, 1 leg bye, angled in,
kisses the pad on the way as it beats Akmal but not short fine leg

10.1

Shahid Afridi to Sangakkara, 1 run, short of a length,
played with an open face, one run to short third

10.2

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan, 1 run, short, but not much
room, he cuts but doesn’t get enough power to beat sweeper-cover

10.3

Shahid Afridi to Sangakkara, 1 run, short, on the pads,
pulled away to deep fine leg

10.4

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan, no run, length ball, flat,
Dilshan wants one but he has played this straight to point

10.5

Shahid Afridi to Dilshan,
OUT, Afridi has brought Pakistan right back, bowls a vicious quicker
googly, Dilshan looks to cut, but there is neither time nor space to do so
as he plays it on

TM Dilshan b Shahid Afridi 46 (48m 39b 8×4 0×6) SR:
117.94

Jayawardene is the new batsman

10.6

Shahid Afridi to Jayawardene, no run, full, on the
stumps, defended back to the bowler

Arti Morty from Sri Lanka: "It seems squirrels should
stay out of my way, I ran over another one today. The last time that
happened Sri Lanka won so hopefully it’s a good omen; although not if you’re
a squirrel."

11.1

Shoaib Malik to Sangakkara, no run, length ball, on the
stumps, defended back to the bowler

11.2

Shoaib Malik to Sangakkara, no run, throws it up, on
the stumps, and played back to the bowler again

11.3

Shoaib Malik to Sangakkara, 1 leg bye, steps out, Malik
pushes this one through, beaten in the flight, but will get one

11.4

Shoaib Malik to Jayawardene, no run, angled into the
pads, and played straight to short fine

11.5

Shoaib Malik to Jayawardene, 1 run, slower, into the
pads, and turned around the corner for one

11.6

Shoaib Malik to Sangakkara, no run, short, outside off,
and played powerfully to extra cover, superb over, just two off it

Afridi will bowl out

12.1

Shahid Afridi to Jayawardene, 1 run, full and straight,
gets one to long-on

12.2

Shahid Afridi to Sangakkara,
FOUR, Sangakkara finds the boundary, the
first in last 28 balls, sweeps a flighted delivery from the leg stump, and
finds the gap perfectly

12.3

Shahid Afridi to Sangakkara, 1 wide, Akmal appeals, for
a catch down the leg side, but it’s just to test their luck, if they can
avoid the wide. No they cannot

12.3

Shahid Afridi to Sangakkara, 2 runs, nicely chipped
over extra cover, safe shot, good-looking shot

12.4

Shahid Afridi to Sangakkara, 2 runs, full and just
outside off, hit to wide of long-off, and they get two

12.5

Shahid Afridi to Sangakkara, 1 run, back of a length,
outside off, played for one to cover

12.6

Shahid Afridi to Jayawardene, no run, beats him with
the straighter one this time, they look to take the leg-bye, but it’s too
close to Akmal

Ajmal comes back

13.1

Saeed Ajmal to Sangakkara, 1 run, steps out, makes this
into a fulltoss, and gets one down to long-on

Jawwad Saeed tells Arti Morty: "Watch out! The name of
this squirrel is Shahid Afridi."

13.2

Saeed Ajmal to Jayawardene, 1 leg bye, full, outside
off, played with an open face towards point

13.3

Saeed Ajmal to Sangakkara, 1 run, thrown up, on off
stump, Sangakkara plays with soft hands and they rush through for one to
short third

13.4

Saeed Ajmal to Jayawardene,
FOUR, beautiful shot, wouldn’t be out of
place in a Test, overpitched, makes some room, and lofts it over extra cover

13.5

Saeed Ajmal to Jayawardene, 1 run, Ajmal stays full,
sweeps, and gets one to square leg

13.6

Saeed Ajmal to Sangakkara,
OUT, Sangakkara perishes looking to step the rate up, gives Ajmal the
charge, who pushes the ball through, and surprisingly Sangakkara ends up
playing inside the line, easy stumping for Akmal

KC Sangakkara st †Kamran Akmal b Saeed Ajmal 15 (16m
16b 1×4 0×6) SR: 93.75

Gul comes back

14.1

Umar Gul to Jayawardene, 2 runs, nice little dab from
Jayawardene, short, on the stumps, Jayawardene leans back and late-cuts it,
fine of third man

14.2

Umar Gul to Jayawardene, no run, short and wide,
Jayawardene looks to open the face again, but the extra bounce beats him

14.3

Umar Gul to Jayawardene, 1 run, dug in short, tucking
him up, for want of room, Jayawardene can play it limply to behind square on
the off side

Silva to face his first ball

14.4

Umar Gul to Silva, FOUR,
and he gets a nice little length ball, he nicely leans into the shot, and
drives it to between mid-off and extra cover

14.5

Umar Gul to Silva, 1 wide, goes for the bouncer, but
down the leg side

14.5

Umar Gul to Silva, 2 runs, back of a length, played
towards square leg, and get two before Afridi can get to it from deep
backward square

14.6

Umar Gul to Silva, no run, pushes at one outside off,
and is beaten

15.1

Saeed Ajmal to Jayawardene, 1 run, flights it, just
outside off, and played down to long-on

15.2

Saeed Ajmal to Silva, 1 run, doosra, SIlva who was
looking to play on the leg side recovers well to get a single to cover

15.3

Saeed Ajmal to Jayawardene,
FOUR, short and quick, turning in,
Jayawardene looks to cut, gets a thick edge that flies fine of short third
man

15.4

Saeed Ajmal to Jayawardene, 1 run, wild throw from
Aamer at short third, what would have been a dot ball gets them an overthrow

15.5

Saeed Ajmal to Silva, 1 run, swept away, gets one to
deep backward square

15.6

Saeed Ajmal to Jayawardene, no run, pushed through,
Jayawardene makes room, looking to run it down to third man, but it’s too
close to him

16.1

Umar Gul to Silva, OUT,
Silva walks down the track, makes sure he has sent a telegram to Gul, who
pulls back the length, bowls the slower legcutter that gets the edge and
settles in Akmal’s gloves. Sri Lanka losing their way

LPC Silva c †Kamran Akmal b Umar Gul 8 (8m 6b 1×4
0×6) SR: 133.33

Mubarak to bat

16.2

Umar Gul to Mubarak, no run, lovely bowling, a quick
quick legcutter, 147ks, just back of a length, starts off, and nips
back into him, cutting him into two

16.3

Umar Gul to Mubarak, 1 run, full, on the pads, and
played for one into the leg side

16.4

Umar Gul to Jayawardene, 2 runs, stays back of a
length, Jayawardene gets the width, though, and guides it to square of third
man for two

16.5

Umar Gul to Jayawardene, 1 run, length ball, outside
off, elegantly played to sweeper-cover

16.6

Umar Gul to Mubarak, no run, sharp pace again, on the
stumps too, length ball, and played straight to extra cover

Ajmal will bowl his last over

17.1

Saeed Ajmal to Jayawardene,
OUT, Jayawardene tries his inside-out
shot, has to manufacture it because there is no room, and since he plays it
from too close he can’t clear Afridi at extra cover, who takes a neat
overhead catch

DPMD Jayawardene c Shahid Afridi b Saeed Ajmal 19
(26m 18b 2×4 0×6) SR: 105.55

Mathews is the new man

17.2

Saeed Ajmal to Mathews, 1 run, flighted, length ball
outside off, dabbed down for one

17.3

Saeed Ajmal to Mubarak, 1 run, full, angling in, played
down for one to long-on

17.4

Saeed Ajmal to Mathews, 1 run, back of a length, turned
around the corner for one

17.5

Saeed Ajmal to Mubarak, no run, goes for the big hit
down the ground, gets an inside edge onto the pad

17.6

Saeed Ajmal to Mubarak, 1 run, Ajmal slows it up,
Mubarak goes for the big one over cover, but gets only inside edge to short
fine

Aaamer comes back

18.1

Mohammad Aamer to Mubarak, 1 leg bye, swinging in,
full, beats the heave from Mubarak

18.2

Mohammad Aamer to Mathews, no run, full and fast,
87mph, played back to Aamer

18.3

Mohammad Aamer to Mathews, 1 run, fulltoss, on off, hit
down the ground for one

18.4

Mohammad Aamer to Mubarak, 1 run, stays full, swinging
in, Mubarak makes room, heaves, but all he gets is one down to long-on

18.5

Mohammad Aamer to Mathews, 1 run, full, fast and full,
and only one to midwicket

18.6

Mohammad Aamer to Mubarak, 2 leg byes, Mubarak looks
for the slog again, this one swings in late again, and beats him, but he
gets two leg-byes

19.1

Umar Gul to Mathews, no run, full, outside off, swings
away, and Mathews is beaten because he is already looking to make room

19.2

Umar Gul to Mathews, FOUR,
finally the boundary Sri Lanka desperately needed, the first in the last
five overs, Mathews looks to make room, Gul follows him this time, but it’s
perfect length for him to scoop over midwicket

19.3

Umar Gul to Mathews, 1 run, full, on the off stump,
played to just wide of long-off, but it will be just one

19.4

Umar Gul to Mubarak, 1 run,
OUT, fulltoss, swinging in, played
towards long-ff, batsmen desperately go for the second, the throw follows
Mubarak to the striker’s end, and he is way short, Koertzen doesn’t even go
to the third umpire

J Mubarak run out 5 (19m 10b 0×4 0×6) SR: 50.00

19.5

Umar Gul to Kulasekara,
OUT, Kulasekera is a sitting duck here, walks across, looks for the
big slog, Gul keeps it straight and full, one of the easier lbw decisions

KMDN Kulasekara lbw b Umar Gul 0 (1m 1b 0×4 0×6) SR:
0.00

Malinga to face the last ball. Can he get them across
150?

19.6

Umar Gul to Malinga, 2 runs, in-swinging yorker, turned
towards deep fine leg, they get two

So superb comeback from Pakistan. Sri Lanka were 80 for
0 after eight overs, but the spinners have done a tremendous job. Chasing
151 won’t be easy, though, with Murali, Malinga and Mendis to face, but
Pakistan carry all the momentum at this moment. See you in a bit.

One rejoinder before I leave. I said Aamer bowled at
97mph. That was a bad typo. It was actually 87mph. Thanks for
pointing out everybody

Akmal and Butt walk out, chasing only 151 as opposed to
190 that looked likely after about eight overs. Butt will take first strike
as Mathews will begin bowling from the Nursery End

Arti Morty to Jawwad Saeed: "The squirrels round our
way bat with their eyes open!" Good note of camaraderie to set this chase on
the way. It promises to be an exciting one. Stay with us.

0.1

Mathews to Salman Butt, no run, length ball, outside
off, angling away, and left alone

0.2

Mathews to Salman Butt, no run, back of a length,
angling across, Butt looks to drive, but gets a bottom edge towards the
bowler

0.3

Mathews to Salman Butt,
OUT, he has cleaned him up, what a choice for the first over ahead of
Malinga - Mathews pitches it up again, Butt goes for the big drive, foot
nowhere close to the ball, and it takes out the off, hint of swing there,
down the slope

Salman Butt b Mathews 0 (1m 3b 0×4 0×6) SR: 0.00

Malik comes in

0.4

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, no run, length ball, just
outside off, defended back to the bowler

0.5

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, 1 run, length ball, outside
off, driven on the up, wide of Murali at mid-off, and gets one

0.6

Mathews to Kamran Akmal, no run, back of a length, just
outside off, cut towards point

Kulasekera to bowl from Pavilion End

1.1

Kulasekara to Shoaib Malik, no run, back of a length,
Malik walks across, and plays it to cover

1.2

Kulasekara to Shoaib Malik, no run, this one nipped
into the right-hander, with the slope again, but Malik has walked outside
off, taking the lbw out of question

1.3

Kulasekara to Shoaib Malik, 1 run, back of a length,
into his body, turned away to fine leg for one

1.4

Kulasekara to Kamran Akmal, no run, length ball, Akmal
looks to push it off the back foot, gets the inside half of the bat

1.5

Kulasekara to Kamran Akmal, 1 run, gets another inside
edge, pushing without any foot movement, but this one will be one to fine
leg

1.6

Kulasekara to Shoaib Malik,
FOUR, Malik steps down as if to a
spinner, and although this is a mis-hit he gets enough on it to get four

2.1

Mathews to Kamran Akmal, 3 runs, length ball, Akmal
goes aerial, gets the toe end, but just clears mid-off

Sangakkara comes up

2.2

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, no run, back of a length,
accurate, Malik defends off the back foot

2.3

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, no run, throws it wide, Malik
frees his arms, but the movement away beats him

2.4

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, no run, short but not short
enough to cut, beats Malik on the cut, Sangakkara standing up seems to be
doing the trick as Malik hasn’t used his feet since

2.5

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, no run, four dots in a row,
length ball outside off, and he looks to drive without feet, no power in
this

2.6

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, 2 runs, finally Malik slogs,
gets a thick top edge, and this one clears short third man

3.1

Kulasekara to Kamran Akmal, no run, short and wide,
Akmal looks to pull, this one stays low a bit as he plays all over it

3.2

Kulasekara to Kamran Akmal, 1 run, tucks him up with a
short one, he still manages to pull, but gets just one to deep backward
square

3.3

Kulasekara to Shoaib Malik,
FOUR, Sangakkara stays back this time,
and Malik uses his feet, moving outside the line, making room and throwing
his arms at it, clears cover and gets four

3.4

Kulasekara to Shoaib Malik, 1 run, gives him a dummy
back-away movement, then looks to move inside the line, but Kulasekera keeps
it straight, only one to square leg

3.5

Kulasekara to Kamran Akmal, no run, superb yorker, on
leg stump, dug out back to the bowler

3.6

Kulasekara to Kamran Akmal, no run, slower ball, Akmal
slogs, but gets too close to the pitch, and hits it straight to mid-off -
it’s so fast they can’t get even one

Mathews to continue

4.1

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, no run, back of a length, hit
powerfully, but can’t beat mid-off

4.2

Mathews to Shoaib Malik,
FOUR, cracking shot, Malik uses his feet again, walks across, this is
short and wide, and he flashes at it, finding the gap between third man and
point, both deep

4.3

Mathews to Shoaib Malik,
FOUR, same shot, short and wide again, this time he stands still and
hits powerfully with an open face, misfielded by Jayawardene at gully

4.4

Mathews to Shoaib Malik,
FOUR, another boundary, it’s short again, and he flashes at it, going
in the air this time, and it’s placed perfectly between third man and deep
point

4.5

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, 2 runs, this time he goes
full, but stays wide, and he plays it with an open face, square of third
man, and gets two

4.6

Mathews to Shoaib Malik, 1 run, gets away with it
Mathews, has the cover fielder to thank, full and wide, Malik drives it
powerfully, but cover dives and gets a hand onto it, keeping them down to
one

Malinga to bowl now

5.1

Malinga to Shoaib Malik, 1 wide, almost took the leg
stump out with the slower offcutter, saw Malik moving across, bowls the
loopy one, beats him, the ball pitches in front of stumps and breaks away

5.1

Malinga to Shoaib Malik,
OUT, another slower delivery, and it’s a wicket this time, Malik
slogs at this one outside off, 124ks, gets the inside half, and lobs
this one straight to mid-on. Seems Malik had made his mind there was
something special required to put Malinga off his rhythm

Shoaib Malik c Kulasekara b Malinga 28 (19m 20b 5×4
0×6) SR: 140.00

Younis Khan to face, a slip comes in

5.2

Malinga to Younis Khan, 1 run, short, just wide, Younis
looks to open his face, somehow keeps it down

5.3

Malinga to Kamran Akmal,
OUT, and then there were two, superb slower delivery, Akmal’s feet
don’t move, he lobs this one from in front of his body towards midwicket.
Although this one doesn’t carry to the fielder, Akmal is late to start on
the one, Silva keeps his cool and under-arms it, a desperate dive is not
enough for Akmal

Kamran Akmal run out 5 (30m 9b 0×4 0×6) SR: 55.55

Misbah the new man in

5.4

Malinga to Younis Khan, 1 run, slower ball again,
dipping on Younis, still a fulltoss, and turned to fine leg for one

5.5

Malinga to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, gives him a nice
little bouncer first up, Misbah seems surprised, lets it go

5.6

Malinga to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, slower ball again,
just outside off, and played towards square leg

Mathews to bowl out

6.1

Mathews to Younis Khan, no run, beats him outside off,
back of a length and moving away

6.2

Mathews to Younis Khan, 1 run, short and wide, cut away
for one

6.3

Mathews to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, Misbah walks across,
Mathews digs it in, defended off the front foot, and they go through for
one, Mathews does well to field and run the stumps down at non-striker’s end
down. The ball hits the stumps when the bat is on the line, but the bat
slides in by the time bails come off

6.4

Mathews to Younis Khan, no run, back of a length,
played towards cover off the back foot

6.5

Mathews to Younis Khan, no run, this one seams in, so
far Mathews has moved it away, down the slope, but this one comes in from
back of a length, and beats Younis

6.6

Mathews to Younis Khan, no run, short and wide, cut
away by Younis, but straight into the ground, and he can’t get the single
because Dilshan at point is alert. Good spell from Mathews

Murali comes up, round the stumps

7.1

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, topspinner right
away, Misbah stays back, and turns it around the corner

7.2

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 2 runs, Younis loves to
sweep, which is what he does now, and gets a safe two to deep backward
square

7.3

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 1 run, sweeps again, from
outside off, and gets only one this time

7.4

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, another toppie,
Misbah stays back again, and defends it back to Murali

7.5

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, big offbreak this
time, a touch short, and hence an easy single to long-on

7.6

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 1 run, swept from in front
of stumps, and gets one again

Mendis is on now

8.1

Mendis to Younis Khan, 1 run, starts accurately, flat,
short, straight, single down to long-off

8.2

Mendis to Misbah-ul-Haq, 2 runs, sees the googly
perhaps, gets his front foot outside the line, and paddles it fine

8.3

Mendis to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, carrom ball tried, but
no break here, played down the ground for one

8.4

Mendis to Younis Khan, 1 run, short, moves away a
touch, cut away to sweeper-cover

8.5

Mendis to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, slowed it up this time,
taken from outside off, for one to deep backward square

8.6

Mendis to Younis Khan, 1 run, short, not much turn
again, and cut away for one

Jayasuriya to bowl now

9.1

Jayasuriya to Younis Khan, 1 run, round the wicket to
Younis, swept away for one

9.2

Jayasuriya to Misbah-ul-Haq, 2 runs, good
reverse-sweep, Jayasuriya sees Misbah switching and slows it up, Misbah
waits for it, and nudges it fine of third man

9.3

Jayasuriya to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 wide, down the leg side

9.3

Jayasuriya to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, back of a length,
on the stumps, turned around the corner

9.4

Jayasuriya to Younis Khan, 2 runs, sweeps, sweeps well,
fine of deep backward square leg

9.5

Jayasuriya to Younis Khan, 1 run, quicker, shorter,
played for one down the ground

9.6

Jayasuriya to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, fuller, slower,
played straight to midwicket

10.1

Mendis to Younis Khan,
FOUR, Younis stays with the sweep, this one is particularly good,
flat and in front of square

10.2

Mendis to Younis Khan, 2 runs, driven into the off
side, and a misfield at cover means they get two

10.3

Mendis to Younis Khan, 1 run, short and wide, cut away
to sweeper-cover

10.4

Mendis to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, the first time Mendis
has got appreciable turn, starts off and breaks away, defended to cover

10.5

Mendis to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, full, driven down the
ground for one

10.6

Mendis to Younis Khan, 1 run, flighted outside off, and
he gets one to long-off

Lots of restlessness among people mailing in, because
of the singles Younis and Misbah are taking. Patience boys. Murali comes
back

11.1

Muralitharan to Younis Khan,
FOUR, and Younis sweeps again, superbly
this time, picked the doosra, rolled his wrists over it, finds the gap
between square leg and midwicket

11.2

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 1 run, sweeps again, can’t
find the gap this time, will be one

11.3

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq, 2 runs, topspinner,
Misbah stays back, turns it around with soft hands, and comes through for
two

11.4

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, another toppie,
Misbah looks to go inside the line, but the ball follows him, no room either
side

11.5

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, tries the doosra,
but this is a low fulltoss outside leg, he sweeps fine, but Mubarak uses all
his height to dive and save three there

11.6

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 1 run, Younis sweeps
again, this time to left of Mubarak at short fine

Malinga is back now, 74 required in eight overs.
Sightscreen problems. Good time to remind you to join Cricinfo’s executive
editor Jayaditya Gupta and associate editor Dileep Premachandran as they
discuss the World Twenty20

here. Send your questions for them in to chatterbox@cricinfo.com.

12.1

Malinga to Younis Khan, no run, slower bouncer, beats
him comprehensively, 127ks

12.2

Malinga to Younis Khan, 1 run, proper fast yorker, gets
one down to long-on

12.3

Malinga to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, another slower ball
now, 125ks, beats Misbah outside the off stump

12.4

Malinga to Misbah-ul-Haq, 2 runs, tires the slower ball
again, but this is a fulltoss, Misbah walks inside the line and turns it
away to midwicket

12.5

Malinga to Misbah-ul-Haq, 2 runs, big shout,
straight, fast yorker, Misbah walking across, gets an inside edge, though,
and to the annoyance of Sangakkara picks two

12.6

Malinga to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, length ball, outside
off, played straight to cover

Murali to continue, goes over the wicket this time

13.1

Muralitharan to Younis Khan,
FOUR, lame fulltoss, Younis sweeps him,
perfect placement again, bisecting the two deep men square. Younis is
keeping Pakistan in

goes back round the stumps

13.2

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 1 run, steps out, Murali
pulls the length back, Younis recovers to hit it down the ground for one

13.3

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, full, on the
stumps, turned away to the on side

13.4

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 2 runs, short, and pulled
away, to wide of long-on

13.5

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 1 run, gets a top edge on
the sweep, the first time he has mis-hit that shot, but this one doesn’t
carry to deep backward square

13.6

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, full, on the
stumps, played in front of his body, to midwicket

Sixty required off last six overs. Kulasekera takes off
his sweater to bowl, but Sangakkara has changed his mind. Mendis to bowl. He
hasn’t been impressive today

14.1

Mendis to Younis Khan,
FOUR, short and wide, Younis rocks back, and lofts him over extra
cover. So three of the last four overs have seen first-ball fours. All
Younis

14.2

Mendis to Younis Khan, 2 runs, full, outside off,
played to just wide of long-off, and gets two, good running

14.3

Mendis to Younis Khan, 1 run, back of a length, turning
away from leg-stump line, gets one to long-off

14.4

Mendis to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, Misbah backs away,
Mendis stays straight, and Misbah plays straight to midwicket

14.5

Mendis to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, second dot ball, flat,
straight, no room for Misbah

14.6

Mendis to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, flighted this time,
turned around the corner for one

Misbah to face the first ball this time. Younis has
been getting boundaries early in overs. Can Misbah do the same? 52 required
in five overs

15.1

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq, 1 run, thrown up outside
off, played with soft hands, will get one

15.2

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 1 run, slog-sweep this
time, but there is a deep midwicket to keep him down to one

15.3

Muralitharan to Misbah-ul-Haq,
OUT, that was a good shot, but just
managed to hit it at the right height for Sri Lanka, he rocks back early,
pulls crisply, but finds out deep midwicket. Misbah was under pressure to
get his first boundary

Misbah-ul-Haq c Silva b Muralitharan 21 (39m 28b 0×4
0×6) SR: 75.00

Afridi is the new man. Time for Boom Boom?

15.4

Muralitharan to Shahid Afridi,
OUT, Boom Boom goes back to dressing
room, almighty slog the first ball he faces, gets the top edge, picks out
deep midwicket again

Shahid Afridi c Dilshan b Muralitharan 0 (1m 1b 0×4
0×6) SR: 0.00

So Afridi’s wretched form continues. Poor cricket also
that he was on the strike when Misbah got out caught to deep midwicket

15.5

Muralitharan to Younis Khan, 1 run, Younis sweeps the
hat-trick ball for one

15.6

Muralitharan to Fawad Alam, 1 run, topspinner, on off
stump, Fawad plays bwith soft hands and gets off the mark

Malinga is back, 48 required off 24

16.1

Malinga to Fawad Alam, 1 run, starts with a full
delivery, Fawad plays it towards third man

16.2

Malinga to Younis Khan, 2 runs, yorker, down the leg
side, turned away well to between fine leg and deep backward square

16.3

Malinga to Younis Khan, 2 runs, slower ball, wide
outside off, placed well between sweeper-cover and third man, to get to his
fifty, a very good innings that has kept Pakistan alive

16.4

Malinga to Younis Khan,
OUT, the slower ball does it again, this has to be the match, wide
outside off this is, Younis is early into it, and lobs it towards short
third man, Sangakkara runs and takes the catch, but there is a collision
with Murali running in from third man. All safe, though

Younis Khan c †Sangakkara b Malinga 50 (50m 37b 4×4
0×6) SR: 135.13

Tanvir new man in

16.5

Malinga to Fawad Alam, 1 run, back of a length, slower
ball, played for one to short third man

going back to that collision, Sanga had started calling
fairly early. But in the end, luckily, they went shoulder to shoulder, and
the heads were safe

16.6

Malinga to Sohail Tanvir, 1 run, a superb yorker this
time, just the one

Kulasekera to bowl now

17.1

Kulasekara to Sohail Tanvir, 1 run, fulltoss, driven
down the ground

17.2

Kulasekara to Fawad Alam,
FOUR, that’s a good hit, a low fulltoss, he clears his leg, and lofts
it over midwicket

17.3

Kulasekara to Fawad Alam, no run, slower delivery,
angled across Alam, he swings big time, and misses

17.4

Kulasekara to Fawad Alam, 1 run, full, almost a yorker,
played to point for one

17.5

Kulasekara to Sohail Tanvir, 1 run, that was wristily
and powerfully hit, but straight to long-on for one

17.6

Kulasekara to Fawad Alam, 1 run, fulltoss, drilled down
to long-on, just the one

Malinga to bowl his last over, 33 required in two overs

18.1

Malinga to Fawad Alam, 1 run, slower ball again, back
of a length, thick outside edge, one down to third man

18.2

Malinga to Sohail Tanvir, no run, another slower ball,
and Tanvir plays all over it, this one dips sharply

18.3

Malinga to Sohail Tanvir, 1 bye, this time he goes for
the shorter slower one, Tanvir plays and misses again, but this one bounces
twice through to Sangakkara and they get a bye

18.4

Malinga to Fawad Alam, 1 run, looks for the scoop shot,
Malinga bowls a wide yorker, just one to short fine

18.5

Malinga to Sohail Tanvir, no run, another slower
delivery, they are not picking him at all, beats him again with this shorter
one

18.6

Malinga to Sohail Tanvir,
OUT, finishes with a wicket, another slower delivery - I’m tired of
picking the slower ones - and Tanvir slogs at it, gets a huge top edge,
Malinga calls for it, gets under it, and catches it on the rebound

Sohail Tanvir c & b Malinga 3 (10m 7b 0×4 0×6) SR:
42.85

Thirty required off the last over as Gul walks in

19.1

Kulasekara to Fawad Alam, 1 run, that’s a fulltoss hit
hard down the ground, but long-on gets around it

29 off 5, still mathematically possible

19.2

Kulasekara to Umar Gul, 1 run, yorker, inside edge onto
the pads, gets one

28 off 4, call in the wides

19.3

Kulasekara to Fawad Alam,
OUT, another top edge, another swing across the line, and another
easy catch for Sangakkara, what a way to delay the inevitable

Fawad Alam c †Sangakkara b Kulasekara 12 (17m 11b
1×4 0×6) SR: 109.09

19.4

Kulasekara to Umar Gul, 1 run,
OUT, fulltoss, drilled to deep
midwicket, Aaamer is late to start for the second, and we have an easy
run-out

Mohammad Aamer run out 0 (1m 0b 0×4 0×6) SR: -

19.5

Kulasekara to Umar Gul,
SIX, Gul pulls, and pulls well, clears deep backward square

19.6

Kulasekara to Umar Gul, 1 run, length ball, hit down
the ground for one, and Sri Lanka win comfortably in the end

Dilshan, the Man of the Match: I just trained
hard [on the Dilshan scoop] very hard in the IPL. I have the confidence I
can connect it every time. On that note, okay bye

Younis, who scored a fighting fifty: It’s all
about the start, we gave away so many no-balls and wides early. And again
with the bat we didn’t start well

Sangakkara: Great effort to defend a small
total. Great effort from Dilshan, but we needed more partnerships, and we
should have got a bigger total.

Pakistan will look back and rue how they started with
the ball, and then wasted a superb comeback from Afridi with the ball.
Malinga and Murali proved too much, although Mendis didn’t look very good
today. The key stat of the day: Pakistan gave away 20 extras, and lost by 19
runs