Thirimanne hundred gives SL title

Mar 08, 2014

Pakistan chose to bat in the Asia Cup final, but were rocked by an opening spell from Lasith Malinga. The seamer dismissed Sharjeel Khan off the sixth ball of the innings•AFP

The in-form Mohammad Hafeez also fell in similar fashion, and Pakistan were 18 for 3 by the fifth over•AFP

Fawad slammed Thisara Perera for six and brought up his fifty in the 36th over•AFP

But Pakistan did not let up, as Umar Akmal collected 12 runs off a Malinga over and smashed a 42-ball 59•AFP

Kusal Perera began Sri Lanka's chase brightly with a number of well-timed boundaries•AFP

and then trapped Kumar Sangakkara lbw for a golden duck•AFP

At the other end, Mahela Jayawardene scored an assured 75, as Sri Lanka made inroads in the middle overs•AFP

Jayawardene and Ashan Priyanjan departed in quick succession, but Thirimanne reached his third ODI hundred to take Sri Lanka closer to the title•AFP

Malinga struck again in his next over, as Ahmed Shehzad nicked behind•AFP

Misbah-ul-Haq, as he has done so often in the past, stabilised the innings with his resolute defense, taking 17 balls to hit his first four•AFP

He and Misbah added 122 for the fourth wicket as Pakistan counterattacked strongly •AFP

Fawad produced the big shots more regularly towards the end of the innings •AFP

Lahiru Thirimanne provided ample support and the pair made 56 for the opening wicket•AFP

Thirimanne remained unfazed and continued to score at almost a run-a-ball•AFP

It was a frustrating night for most of Pakistan's bowlers. Shahid Afridi went wicketless from his six overs•Associated Press

Thirimanne didn't quite take them over the line, but Chaturanga de Silva and Angelo Mathews kept their cool to complete the five-wicket win with almost four overs remaining•AFP

Fawad Alam too began cautiously, but showed more aggression as the innings wore on•AFP

Misbah blasted three fours and two sixes before departing for a crucial 65•AFP

He eventually reached his maiden ODI ton, and added 115 with Akmal as Pakistan finished on 260 for 5•AFP

But two wickets in successive deliveries from Saeed Ajmal helped Pakistan wrest the advantage. He first had Kusal stumped for 42...•AFP

He hit Mohammad Talha for three fours in the space of five balls and brought up his fifty with a push to midwicket •AFP

Their unease boiled over to the field, as Umar Gul and Thirimanne became involved in an altercation •AFP