In another dual of Asia cup, Bangladesh is meeting Sri Lanka today. There is no doubt that the Bangladesh team will be under pressure to stay afloat. If Bangladesh loses today too then Bangladesh will be out of the tournament.

Lankan team will come to play with a lot of confidence. After beating Pakistan last evening the team will remain the favorite for this match. On the other hand, Bangladesh have their backs to the wall after losing their previous encounter to India.

They must now beat Sri Lanka to have a shot at qualifying for the final. Bangladesh will need to rework on its strategies. They did come up with an encouraging batting display against India, but there was lack of good performances from their bowlers and fielders. This drawback helped India sail to an easy victory.

They need to be more active on field. The bowlers will have to concentrate more on their line and length. Fielders need to be more aggressive to put some pressure on the rivals.

Bangladesh’s inability to push the opposition reflects in their net run-rate, which stands at -0.894. There is a big task for the batsmen as well. Against an in-form Sri Lanka, they will be aware that nothing less than 300 is a safe score, especially on surfaces that offer little respite to the bowlers.

A win for Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will seal their place in the final. They had defeated Bangladesh in the group stage, an emphatic 131-run win set up by a total of 357 for 9. This will be Sri Lanka’s second match in as many days but Mahela Jayawardene was not perturbed, stating tough schedules were the norm in international cricket.

Much will depend on the young shoulders of Alok Kapali , whose whirlwind 115 off 97 balls at No. 6 against the Indians was easily his most convincing performance with the bat since breaking into the team in 2002. His power-hitting in the slog overs made India sweat it out and, for a change, gave Bangladesh a big cushion of runs to work with.

In Lankan team most influential player is Kumar Sangakkara who has two centuries already in the tournament, including one in the last meeting against Bangladesh. However, he got a duck in the match following that hundred. Bangladesh will have to dismiss him early to put pressure on Lankans.

Sri Lanka will face a tough choice. They might rest a few players but Jayawardene will want to seal a berth in the final as soon as possible. Veterans Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan were given a break against UAE but Sri Lanka may avoid resting them today.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Chamara Silva, 6 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 7 Chaminda Vaas, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Thilan Thushara 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan.

Bangladesh 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Nazimuddin, 3 Mohammad Ashraful (capt), 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Alok Kapali, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Farhad Reza, 9 Shahadat Hossain, 10 Abdur Razzak, 11 Mashrafe Mortaza.

In the Asia cup match held yesterday, Sri Lanka registered a win against host Pakistan. This win came to the Lankan camp with the help of Kumar Sangakkara’s fighting hundred. Spinner Ajanta Mendis also proved instrumental in the victory of his team. He took four wickets to power Sri Lanka to a 64-run win over Pakistan in their Asia Cup Super League clash in Karachi.

The left-hander scored 112 to lift Sri Lanka to 302-7 after Pakistani pace man Sohail Tanveer attained his career-best figures of 5-48. Mendis, who took 4-47 took this chance to unleash his spin. His tremendous effort with the ball restricted Pakistan to 238-9 in 50 overs.

For Pakistan, Misbah-ul Haq played well and smashed four sixes and three fours during his 70-ball 76 but by then the required run rate of 15 an over was beyond Pakistan’s reach. Skipper Shoaib Malik also hit 52 off 79 balls with three boundaries but the Pakistani batsmen could not cope with the accurate bowling.

With this win Sri Lanka has boosted their chances of reaching the July 6 final. They now have four points and take on Bangladesh today. The defeat left Pakistan in a tight situation. They now have to win both their matches against India (Wednesday) and Bangladesh (Friday) and hope India also lose to Sri Lanka to have a chance of qualifying for the final.

In yesterday’s match Pakistan had a disastrous start to their run chase. Chasing Sri Lanka’s 302 for seven in 50 overs Pakistan found a cold starting block as Chaminda Vaas sent Salman Butt back.

Malik added 72 for the second wicket with Younus Khan (47) but the rest of the batsmen found the going tough as Mendis made life difficult on crease for all the batsmen. Mendis removed Mohammad Yousuf lbw for 19, sent Malik out of his crease for a stumping, then trapped debutant Mansoor Amjad in front for five before ending Misbah’s fight.

Earlier Sangakkara set the foundation for Sri Lanka’s imposing total after they were sent into bat by Pakistan. He added 93 for the fourth wicket with Chamara Silva (46) and 88 for the third with Chamara Kapugedera (43) to boost Sri Lanka after Tanveer removed Sanath Jayasuriya (eight) and skipper Mahela Jayawardene (29).

Sangakkara reached his century in 96 balls, his second against Pakistan. In all Sangakkara hit ten boundaries and one six. Kapugedera hit two boundaries and two sixes during his 58-ball knock, while Silva notched five boundaries during his 48-ball cameo.
Tanveer returned for his third spell to have Silva caught behind, bowled Sangakkara and removed Thilan Thushara (28). Tanveer’s previous best of 4-34 came against Zimbabwe at Hyderabad earlier this year. But his best performance could not save his country from the bitter pill of defeat.

LAHORE: Sri Lanka met UAE yesterday in their match of Asia cup 2008. It was the day of spinner Ajantha Mendis. He proved his skills by taking five wickets to help Sri Lanka beat United Arab Emirates.

UAE was easily defeated by Lankans by 142 runs in the last Group ‘A’ match of the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka made 290 for nine off its 50 overs before Mendis spun out UAE for 148 in 36.3 overs with a five-wicket burst. UAE batsmen completely failed to understand the line and length of bowling by Mendis.

The best performance was by the opening batsman. UAE was briefly in the hunt when Amjad Ali hit 12 boundaries in his 79-ball innings. He made very crucial 77 runs before wickets fell at regular intervals once Mendis came on to bowl. His 77 runs saved the face of his team.

Captain Saqib Ali (19) and Indika Batuwitarachchi (14) were the only other UAE batsmen to cross the double-figure mark as UAE lost its last eight wickets for just 48 runs.

The victory helped defending champion Sri Lanka stay unbeaten in the group. Bangladesh, which lost to Sri Lanka, also qualified for the Super Four stage through its victory over UAE.

UAE made a stunning start after Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat, as Zahid Shah trapped Kumar Sangakkara in front with his sixth delivery of the match. But, Sri Lanka’s opening batsman Mahela Udawatte, who replaced Sanath Jayasuriya, scored 67 off 74 balls.

Mahela Jayawardene hit nine boundaries in his 43-ball 61 before being run out. Kaushal Weeraratne (40) and Nuwan Kulasekara (37) made valuable late contributions.

Sri Lanka, which thrashed Bangladesh by 131 runs Wednesday, rested three of its key players Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Jayasuriya. Even without these crucial players Lankans won the match very easily.

Karachi: Virender Sehwag came up with his usual shots and scattered the Pakistan fielders. He crumpled the required run-rate charts with his magnificent shots.

With this valuable performance India registered a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in a STAR Cricket Asia Cup Group B match at the National Stadium here on Thursday.

Sehwag’s 119 in 95 balls included blasting 12 fours and 5 big sixes. His 198-run second-wicket partnership with Suresh Raina helped India canter past Pakistan’s 299 for four in 50 overs. India scored 301 for four in 42.1 overs.

The initial minutes of the chase was a mix of Umar Gul leaving the field in discomfort and Gambhir’s slash prompting Misbah-ul-Haq to take a tough catch at backward point. Then Suresh Raina emerged with quick steps that soon left a larger imprint on the pitch. He made 84 runs in just 69 balls. This score included 10 fours and 3 sixes.

Raina was rightly adjudged as the Man-of-the-Match. Sehwag canned hard Afridi, Fawad Alam and Salman Butt. All were left frustrated with reverse sweeps and the dismissive slaps over the in-field. Raina was out at 84 off Iftikhar and fell short of the century.

Sehwag’s merry ways also ended soon and he was out off Afridi at 119. Younis Khan after holding on in the deep, appreciatively patted the departing batsman. In the end, Yuvraj and skipper M.S. Dhoni ensured that the winning runs were gained with minimum possible balls.

Yuvraj fell short of his half century and was sent back at 48 runs, off Tanvir. Dhoni had to add just 26 runs and the work was done!

Earlier on a warm evening, Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik shed his diffidence and ended a two-year wait for an ODI hundred. Malik, who retired hurt on 125 in 119 balls, hit 15 boundaries and one six. But Sehwag’s hundred overshadowed Pakistan captain Malik’s 125-run effort.

Another good performance came from Younis who made 59 runs. Earlier Butt had departed early at 35 runs when Raina took catch off Chawla.

Mohd. Yousuf was run out at 30. Misbah went 31 not out. S. Afridi again could not do much with the bat. He added just 9 runs.
Pakistan’s bowling suffered when Malik developed cramps in his legs while scoring his first one-day century in two years, and pace man Umar Gul limped off the field with a side strain in the third over. These incidents proved harmful for the team.

Target of 300 set in 50 overs, proved not a big thing for the Indians in good form so the match ended on expected lines, with India easily beating the Arch rivals.

India is meeting their arch rivals Pakistan today in Asia cup match. So after the yesterday’s minnow game, now its time for the spine chilling excitement. The previous matches failed to draw the crowds to the stadiums but the organizers are expecting big crowds today. The organizers know that the stands will be filled to the brim after two days of the empty galleries.

After the fun fights with toddlers like Hong Kong and UAE, the heavy weights are now set for real tussles full of tough competition and enormous pressure! The match does not hold much significance from this tournament’s point of view as both the teams have already got into the last fours. But the traditional rivalry of the two neighbors is the biggest catch for today’s match.

Both the teams are already assured of a berth in the next round but the contest will still for sure hold enough interest to pull the crowd in droves. After their recent win in Bangladesh, Pakistan team will come with good confidence level but on the other hand Indian side will leave no stone unturned to take the revenge.

Though Pakistan won the Kitply series, they lacked consistency, and it came to the fore the other day against Hong Kong. The Pakistani top order batsmen made a mess of it before the lower order saved the day for them.

The Indians are going ahead with openers in red-hot form, and the middle order too working its way back into form. Pakistan bowlers will find it hard to contain them, even though Malik is calling it as a contest between Pakistan bowlers and Indian batsmen.

The Indian middle order needs to stay consistent rather than being exposed on occasions when the Sehwag-Gambhir combine fails. Dhoni has hinted at coming up the order to lend some spark in the middle-overs. The bowling will miss Irfan Pathan but it sets the stage for another speedster Ishant Sharma to take over.

Pakistan, meanwhile, depends on the quartet of Mohd. Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq to build huge totals. On the bowling side, Mohammed Asif will be missing, but Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir can do wonders.

Ahead of the match Malik said, “They have a strong batting line-up, but I think we have a slight advantage in the bowling department” Malik’s optimism is understandable but surely India is going into the contest as favorites!

India: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, R.P. Singh, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Manpreet Gony, Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha.

Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Fawad Alam, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal and Mansoor Amjad.

Powered by Kumar Sangakkara’s brilliant hundred, Sri Lanka rose to a comprehensive 131-run win against Bangladesh in a Group A match of the Asia Cup at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on Wednesday. Sri Lanka made a massive score of 357 for nine which also included 74 from Chamara Kapugedera. Sri Lanka successfully defended the target and restricted Bangladesh to 226 for seven.

Sangakkara smashed 101 off 91 balls and did three dismissals behind the stumps to earn the man of the match award. Bangladesh, who had defeated United Arab Emirates comfortably in their last match, never came in good form in the run-chase.

In this match Ashraful fell for eight to a bad decision by Simon Taufel, who ruled him caught behind on the leg side when television replays showed the ball from Dilhara Fernando had brushed his thigh. Ashraful’s dismissal at total of 35 after opener Nazimuddin was out for one put Bangladesh out of contention.

Opener Tamim Iqbal was the main hope of the team. He played a steady knock of 28 from 40 balls but he was lucky to get those runs as the Lankans floored his three catches. Later Iqbal was bowled by Kulasekera.

Over all Bangladesh team failed to form good partnerships. The best partnership from their side came from Raqibul Hasan (35) and Mushfiqur Rahim (44). They produced the best stand of the innings putting on 78 from 90 balls.

But very soon Muttiah Muralitharan was successful in breaking this partnership. He sent back both the batsmen, Hasan and Rahim dashing all hopes of Bangladesh. Rahim hit two fours in his 53 balls knock.

Alok Kapali batted sensibly for 30 from 37 balls while at the other end Bangladesh slumped to 142 for six when Mahmudullah (4) was bowled by Jayasuriya. Mashrafe Mortaza (34) and Abdur Razzak (22) ensured their team was not bowled out with a poor stand. They put in their efforts and accumulated score of 226 for 7.

Earlier, Sangakkara, the stylish wicket-keeper batsman was in best form. He made his eighth one-day century after Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful decided to bowl in hot and humid conditions.

Sangakkara opened with Sanath Jayasuriya and took advantage of the conditions as both rattled the Bangladesh bowlers with their opening stand of 116 in 14 overs. Jayasuriya, recalled for the tournament after his superb form in the Indian Premier League, made quick 72 runs from only 47 balls by hitting 10 fours and three sixes.

Dolar Mahmud, the off-break bowler proved very expensive as he conceded 21 in his first over when Sangakkara canned him with five boundaries. Jayasuriya was bowled by left arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who had accounted for three batsmen against United Arab Emirates.

Razzak also grabbed skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who could contribute just six runs and faced 10 balls in a second- wicket stand of 54 runs. After Sangakkara’s departure, Chamara Kapugedera (74) and Chamara Silva kept the scoreboard moving.

Sangakkara hit 16 boundaries in his 91 ball knock. His crucial wicket was taken by Mahmudullah but by then the damage had been done. Sri Lanka suffered a mini collapse losing four wickets in quick succession after Kapugedera was bowled by part timer leg-spinner Alok Kapali. But the winning score had been made by that time.

Mushfiqur Rahim was top-scorer for Bangladesh with 44 runs, while Mashrafe Mortaza remained unbeaten on 34. Despite the defeat, Bangladesh is expected to advance to the Super Four stage after its win over United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. Sri Lanka takes on UAE in the last group match on Thursday.

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful’s decision to bowl first after he won the toss backfired. Razzak was the best of the Bangladesh bowlers with three for 55. But these efforts were not sufficient to defeat the Lankan team.

Karachi: In a one sided match between India and Hong Kong, India registered an easy win. M.S. Dhoni’s men were in top gear all through and registered a 256-run victory over Hong Kong in a Group ‘B’ match of the STAR Cricket Asia Cup tournament at the National Stadium.

It was India’s second highest margin of victory after its 257-run victory over Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup. India posted 374 for four in 50 overs and bundled out Hong Kong for 118 in 36.5 overs.

Piyush Chawla proved most successful bowler as he bagged four wickets. Suresh Raina made his maiden ODI hundred as the southpaw’s 101 along with skipper M.S. Dhoni’s unbeaten 109 helped India post a huge score that forced Hong Kong towards the tournament’s exit gate. Hong Kong with two consecutive losses is out of the tournament now.

Indian batting order performed outstandingly. Virender Sehwag made 78 in 44 balls with wonderful 13 fours and 2 sixes. Gautam Gambhir also added 51 runs in 54 balls with 7 precious fours. Wickets of both these batsmen were taken by Najeeb. Rohit Sharma could not perform well as he was run out at 11 runs. A good partnership emerged between Dhoni and Raina.

Raina made faultless 101 in just 68 balls with 7fours and 5 sixes. Dhoni as usual displayed some big strong shots in his spell. He was 109 not out in 96 balls. This score was achieved with 6 fours and 6 massive sixes.

Manpreet Gony made his India debut and Robin Uthappa made a comeback. Ishant Sharma and Yuvraj were rested for this match. With these fluent contributions by the batsmen the target of 374 was set and this target was in any case unachievable for the rivals.

Performance by Hong Kong was on the expected lines. Captain Tabarak Dar was sent back after being stumped by Dhoni at just 21 runs. Shkawat was lbw at a ball by R.P. Singh on duck.

J.J. Atkinson tried to stick to the crease and made 23 before he was sent back by Yusuf Pathan. Hussain Butt was also stumped at mere 4 runs. So the batsmen struggled even to attain a double digit score.

Soon C. Kruger was stumped by Dhoni on a ball by Chawla at 3. Irfan made 25 runs but soon was run out. Lamsam was also run out at 16. Remaining players Muni added 4 runs, followed by Najeeb’s 13. A. Haider was bowled by Sehwag at 0. Nadeem also left the crease at duck. So the poor 118 runs were attained in the light of this poor show.

So this match was exactly same as the first match of Hong Kong just India replaced Pak in canning the minnows. India plundered 374 runs very easily and finally got a massive 256-run victory.

Karachi: Today India will meet Hong Kong in their first appearance in the ongoing Asia cup. After receiving the crushing defeat from Pakistan yesterday, the rival team will be under much pressure.

In the lead-up to today’s Group B match against Hong Kong, Indian skipper M.S. Dhoni said, “it is a funny game and we won’t be experimenting much.”

Dhoni’s team is no doubt the favorite for this game. This match will also give the Indian team the perfect way to open its Star Cricket Asia Cup campaign on a winning note at the National Stadium.

India won the Asia Cup last in 1995 so here is the chance to make a good start that may lead the team to the title. Coming into this tournament after a 25-run loss against Pakistan in the Kitply Cup final at Dhaka on June 14, Dhoni’s men are aware that they have it in them to go all the way to the final here on July 6.

Hong Kong team is far inexperienced as compared to the Indian team but they might feel at home with a large chunk of its players being of Pakistani origin starting with its captain Tabarak Dar.

Dhoni stressed that he would tinker with the order with player-experience and match-situation being the context for change. Irfan Pathan will sit out and R.P. Singh is likely to step in and it remains to be seen whether India will stick with four specialist bowlers or go with the full quota of five.

“We got to take every opposition seriously and we got to try and play proper cricket. We want to make sure that we do the things that we want to do well,” said Kirsten while his Hong Kong counterpart Aftab Habib is hoping that his team will throw up a few surprises on a hard track.

Today’s victory will also be a confidence boosting win ahead of their crucial tie against arch-rival Pakistan on Thursday.
The teams (from):
India: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, R.P. Singh, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Manpreet Gony, Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha. Coach: Gary Kirsten.
Hong Kong: Tabarak Dar (capt.), Afzal Haider, Ashish Gadhia, James Atkinson, Toby Brown, Hussain Butt, Irfan Ahmed, Courtney Kruger, Roy Lamsam, Munir Dar, Nadeem Ahmed, Najeeb Amar, S. Ali, Waqas Barkat and Zain Abbas. Coach: Aftab Habib.

A captain’s knock from Mohammad Ashraful guided Bangladesh to a well deserving victory yesterday. With the help of a marvelous century by Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh reached 300 for 8 in their 50 overs against minnows United Arab Emirates in their Asia Cup opener on Tuesday.

Ashraful, who had struck his first One-day International century against Australia in 2005, held the innings together with two fine partnerships, as Bangladesh posted a huge 300-8 in the stipulated 50 overs.

Ashraful set the pace for the big target after opener Nazimuddin (2) was removed by main strike bowler Zahid Shah, caught by Arshad Ali at the total of 12. Ashraful with Tamim Iqbal set the perfect tone and put on 95 runs for the second wicket. Tamim, however, failed to make the most of his start and was run out for 40. Tamim was run out due to a fine effort by wicket-keeper Amjad Ali who received a fine throw from Vikrant Shetty. Tamim made 40 off 66 balls with two boundaries.

Bangladesh looked set for a formidable total after making 64 in their first ten overs. UAE’s spinners had no answers for the continuous runs being added in the score board. After Tamim, it was the turn of Nazimuddin to go back.

He was caught off Shah at just 2 runs. But there was no pressure on the team as Ashraful was still on the crease. He was run out at 109. Then another good spell was added by Hasan. He was out off Zahid Shah after adding magnificent 83 runs.

Hasan scored a fine 83 off just 63 balls, laced with nine boundaries as the fine third-wicket partnership of 141 off 122 balls was not ended but also triggered a batting collapse. Mortaza made 3 runs and was out off Shah. Mahmudullah went not out 8. Mushfiqur added 16 runs. Mahmud contributed with 20 before being run out.

Skipper Mohammed Ashraful scored his second One-day hundred to lead Bangladesh to a comprehensive 96-run win against United Arab Emirates in this Group A match. Riding on Ashraful’s superb 109-run knock and Raqibul Hasan’s blazing 83, Bangladesh easily defeated UAE at the Gaddafi stadium. In reply, the UAE team put up a good fight but were folded for 204 in 45.4 overs.

The inexperienced Hong Kong team tasted the bitter results yesterday. Pakistan made Hong Kong realize the pressure of top-level international cricket by handing them a crushing 155-run defeat in a Group B match of the Asia Cup at National stadium in Karachi on Tuesday night.

In the last edition at Colombo in 2004, Hong Kong lost to Bangladesh by 116 runs and suffered a 173-run defeat against Pakistan. Tuesday night was no different. Chasing Pakistan’s 288 no Hong Kong player could stick to the crease.

Electing to bat, Pakistan overcame early hiccups to post an imposing 288 for nine and then stopped Hong Kong at 133 for nine in 37.2 overs to make an easy winning start. Hong Kong innings folded without losing all ten wickets as Zain Abbas did not complete his innings after retiring at individual score of 26, which was also highest for them.

Hong Kong, led by Tabarak Dar, Failed to restrict the Pakistan team from reaching near 300. But when it came to batting, scoring against experienced attack proved a lot more difficult than the bowling.

Sohail Tanvir put up a brilliant all round show in Pakistan’s victory. He first contributed crucial 59-runs and then picked up two wickets to pile up agony for Hong Kong. The pace trio of Tanvir (2/20), Umar Gul and Iftikhar Anjum (2/18) completely devastated the opponent batting. Tanvir, Anjum and Shahid Afridi shared six wickets among them. But Afridi once again failed with the bat.

Earlier zero for one and with Shoaib and Younis at the crease, the stage was set for quick repair for Pakistan. Younis added elegant 67 runs in 65 balls with 8 fours and one six. Malik added 35 runs. Mohammed Yousuf promised much but fell to Nadeem, trying to pull without getting on top of the ball and ended up scooping it up for a tame dismissal at 28.

Nadeem was on a roll as Misbah-ul-Haq was Lbw at his ball on just 2 runs. Soon Pakistan was at 150 for six in 25.4 overs. Sarfraz Ahmed’s run out did not help matters either but the tipping point was avoided and stability returned as Fawad Alam added crucial 63 runs not out. These performances were enough to secure the match for Pakistan.

Left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed celebrated his home coming to Pakistan, snaring four wickets to help Hong Kong stifle the host’s intended gallop towards the 300-run mark. Hong Kong started with skipper Tabarak Dar and Skhawat Ali who put on 27 without loss but Dar could not succeed against a nasty blow by Umar Gul. A bouncer hit the grill of the helmet and left Dar stunned. This hit was strong enough to put a break on his innings.

Hong Kong team failed miserably in recovering from the blow dealt to their captain. After him the team kept on losing wickets. From none for 27 they were reduced to 3 for 32 as Tanvir and Iftikhar blew the top-order.

Later Irfan Ahmed was bowled by Iftikhar at 0. Then K.H. Butt was sent back by Iftikhar at 4. C.K. Kruger could not face the aggressive ball by Tanvir and was bowled at 0. J.J. Atkinson’s wicket went to the kitty of Afridi at 18. Munir Dar was run out at 14. N. Amar was also lbw at a ball by Younis at 21. Then was the turn of Nadeem who left crease at 2 runs.

The whole team scattered as a pack of cards and gave Pakistan an easy victory.