What a way to finish. Short ball and Akmal dismisses it with disdain, stands tall and clatters an imperious pull through midwicket for a four. It brings up his fifty and ends the match in style. Akmal and Afridi embrace each other in whoops of delight and are soon mobbed by spectators who invade the ground
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 1st ODI at Abu Dhabi, , May 18 2007 - Ball by Ball Commentary
RESULT
1st ODI (N), Abu Dhabi, May 18, 2007, Warid Cricket Series
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Full commentary
The Pakistan team are on the field and ecstatic. They had a miserable World Cup on the field and had to face the shattering news of coach Bob Woolmer's death as well. They did well in the field, though they ended up conceding a bit too many in the final overs, but had enough ammunition with the bat while chasing. There were many blunders, especially with the run-outs, but Shahid Afridi and Akmal sealed the issue with an emphatic partnership. Afridi in such a mood can be one of the most dangerous sights in cricket while Akmal showed his maturity when faced with a mini-crisis.
Shoaib Malik's first game as captain was a memorable one. Sri Lanka, runners up in the recent World Cup, tried hard but were hit by a cyclone called Afridi towards the latter stages. Malinga Bandara will remember this game for long, one where he was smashed for 32 runs in an over, and Sri Lanka had no answers to Afridi's pyrotechniques. So Pakistan take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Join us for the second game on Sunday. Hope you enjoyed the coverage and I'm Siddhartha Vaidyanathan signing off for the day. Good night and good luck
42.1
5nb
Maharoof to Kamran, (no ball) FOUR runs
end of over 429 runs
PAK: 234/5CRR: 5.57 • RRR: 0.25
Shahid Afridi73 (34b 8x4 4x6)
Kamran Akmal47 (50b 7x4)
Lasith Malinga 9-1-53-0
Farveez Maharoof 8-1-42-1
41.6
•
Malinga to Afridi, no run
short ball again, Afridi gives himself room and decides to have some fun with his defence. Stands there, like an emperor in his land, and pats it tamely to gully. A short ball is supposed to intimidate, here is seems to be a lark
41.5
1
Malinga to Kamran, 1 run
short one and pulled away to square leg for a single. Crisply done
41.4
1
Malinga to Afridi, 1 run
clubbed a full one through extra cover for a single
41.4
1w
Malinga to Afridi, 1 wide
down the leg side, Afridi moves across and tries to flick it away past the keeper but he can't get to it. It's too wide
41.3
4
Malinga to Afridi, FOUR runs
Now the umpire needs to take cover. Backs away and sees the short of a length ball, forehand top-spin down the ground that time and it judders down the ground for another four. Boom, boom all the way
41.2
1
Malinga to Kamran, 1 run
finds the gap through cover and dabs a full ball for a single in that region
41.1
1
Malinga to Afridi, 1 run
slower ball and Afridi manages to read that one, driven well down the ground
end of over 418 runs
PAK: 225/5CRR: 5.48 • RRR: 1.22
Shahid Afridi67 (30b 7x4 4x6)
Kamran Akmal45 (48b 7x4)
Farveez Maharoof 8-1-42-1
Lasith Malinga 8-1-44-0
40.6
1
Maharoof to Afridi, 1 run
short arm pull, crisply struck but there's a sweeper there and they're kept down to one
40.5
4
Maharoof to Afridi, FOUR runs
Pulped that one, clubbed a full-length ball down the ground and Maharoof does well to get out of the way. That could have injured him. The ball screams away to the straight boundary and almost takes the cameraman along the way. More boom, boom
40.4
2
Maharoof to Afridi, 2 runs
dropped, that would have been a sensational catch but he grassed it while falling over. Afridi slaps a short one over cover, can't get the timing and it soars towards extra cover. Amarasingle dives full length, gets his hands around it but fluffs it while his arms hits the ground
40.3
•
Maharoof to Afridi, no run
short ball, he ducks under it. Good testing ball
40.2
•
Maharoof to Afridi, no run
slower ball, well disguised, Afridi backs away but is fooled, doesn't miss the stumps by much
Change of ball now. Surely Afridi's bat has done some damage. The question is: does it even matter now
40.1
1
Maharoof to Kamran, 1 run
Turned away to deep square leg for a single
Afridi went from 25 off 17 balls to 57 off 23. Now that's the way you bring up your fifty.
end of over 409 runs
PAK: 217/5CRR: 5.42 • RRR: 1.90
Shahid Afridi60 (25b 6x4 4x6)
Kamran Akmal44 (47b 7x4)
Lasith Malinga 8-1-44-0
Malinga Bandara 10-1-69-1
39.6
2
Malinga to Afridi, 2 runs
short again, Afridi pulls this time and the top edge flies towards fine leg again. Again it's Amarasinghe but he can't get under it and manages to stop it from spinning away for a four
39.5
1
Malinga to Kamran, 1 run
short and pulled away, good bouncer from Malinga and it induces the top edge, Amarasinghe tries to lunge for it but it bounces just short
39.4
4
Malinga to Kamran, FOUR runs
slapped through cover, Akmal joins the party this time, finds the gap through mid-off and cover and the ball races away for another four
39.3
•
Malinga to Kamran, no run
tries to go through the off and is rapped on the pads
39.2
1
Malinga to Afridi, 1 run
slower ball and he picks it up well, driven down the ground
39.1
1
Malinga to Kamran, 1 run
glided to the off side for a single
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