Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 4th ODI at Sharjah, Nov 20 2011, Sri Lanka tour of United Arab Emirates

RESULT
4th ODI (D/N), Sharjah, November 20, 2011, Sri Lanka tour of United Arab Emirates
(45.2/50 ov, T:201) 174

Pakistan won by 26 runs

Player Of The Match
75 (65) & 5/35
shahid-afridi
Match centre 
Scores: Sanjay Murari | Comms: Kanishkaa Balachandran
Scorecard summary
Pakistan 200/10(49.3 overs)
Sri Lanka 174/10(45.2 overs)

22.55: The presentation is on. While they thank the Police Department and the Fire Department, you guys can catch your breath. You don't often lose 7 wickets for 19 everyday.

Shahid Afridi: It was a team effort and Misbah-ul-Haq is leading the team very well. Misbah said we needed just one wicket and we all clicked well. In the first innings the ball was coming on slow but in the second it seemed better.

Dilshan: "Afridi batted really well with Ajmal. Our batting unit didn't do anything. 200 was a very gettable total here. I can't believe we lost 7 wickets for 20 runs. We have to come back hard."

Misbah: "Wonderful that everybody's putting their hands up. We have world class bowlers and they really put the pressure on. Once we got Sangakkara and Jayawardene we knew the game was in our hands."

That's it from us here. These low-scoring thrillers keep the interest of ODI cricket alive so we have to thank these two teams for that. Too bad for Sri Lanka though. They will play for pride on Wednesday. Join us then. Cheers!

When Afridi slid at the boundary and took a piece of that turf with him, there were fears if he would be able to return to bowl. He did, and in due course returned to haunt Sri Lanka. Now Afridi will want to take that Sharjah turf with him and preserve it.

Let's not forget Afridi's contribution with the bat. He rescued them from 120 for 7, rallied around the tail and took the score to 200. He batted responsibly and gave his team belief that even 200 was defendable.

So Pakistan have taken the series 3-1, leaving the final game a dead rubber. Sri Lanka have some serious depth issues with their batting. The responsibility on the Big 3 - Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Dilshan is proving too much.

Usama: "So what if we are missing Asif & Aamir? (be back soon please) What an attack! Umar Gul is yet to complete his quota of 10 overs in a single match this series."

45.2
W
Afridi to Perera, OUT

Afridi goes one better by taking five wickets! Perera went for the mighty slog and got a top edge, it was in the air for an hour but it was Akmal who got under it. An incredible Pakistan fightback, reminiscent from the 1990s and earlier, and quite an unbelievable collapse by SL

Thisara Perera c Umar Akmal b Shahid Afridi 7 (11b 1x4 0x6 21m) SR: 63.63
45.1
Afridi to Perera, no run

he just fired that flat and quick! Like a medium pacer, pushed to the off side

This low-scorer is quite the anti-thesis to what we're used to seeing in ODI cricket these days

end of over 455 runs • 1 wicket
SL: 174/9CRR: 3.86 RRR: 5.40
Dilhara Fernando0 (1b)
Thisara Perera7 (9b 1x4)
Saeed Ajmal 9-1-29-2
Shahid Afridi 9-0-35-4
44.6
Ajmal to Fernando, no run

sticks his pad out and pads it away

The bowler was Ajmal, not Hafeez

44.5
W
Ajmal to Malinga, OUT

and Ajmal gets it to skid through! Tossed up on middle and it just snuck through that gap between bat and pad, Malinga was at the crease and clueless, perhaps he was expecting it to turn in, plumb in front

Lasith Malinga lbw b Saeed Ajmal 4 (6b 0x4 0x6 6m) SR: 66.66
44.4
2
Ajmal to Malinga, 2 runs

opens the face of the bat and dabs it past slip

44.4
1w
Ajmal to Malinga, 1 wide

tossed up outside leg and it's wide down the leg side

44.3
1
Ajmal to Perera, 1 run

short and flat-batted hard down to long-on, they need to find those gaps!

44.2
Ajmal to Perera, no run

goes for a massive hoick and Sarfraz whips off the bails! SL looking desperate here

44.1
1
Ajmal to Malinga, 1 run

tossed up outside leg, he stays back and nudges it to the on side

All glum faces in the SL dressing room. What a turnaround for Pakistan, it's not over yet

end of over 442 runs • 2 wickets
SL: 169/8CRR: 3.84 RRR: 5.33
Lasith Malinga1 (3b)
Thisara Perera6 (7b 1x4)
Shahid Afridi 9-0-35-4
Mohammad Hafeez 8-1-23-1
43.6
1
Afridi to Malinga, 1 run

low full toss and he clips it away down to midwicket

43.5
Afridi to Malinga, no run

nearly trapped him lbw there! Looks like Malinga just about got some bat behind that, phew close call!

43.4
Afridi to Malinga, no run

it's slow and tossed up, Malinga gets forward and defends

here we go.. the Hat-trick ball coming up, it';s Malinga

43.3
W
Afridi to Prasanna, OUT

and he's on a hat-trick! This is incredible! Tossed up quicker outside off, he drives hard and Afridi anticipates it well and moves to his left very quickly, he catches it inches off the ground

Seekkuge Prasanna c & b Shahid Afridi 0 (1b 0x4 0x6 2m) SR: 0

Pakistan will feel they've taken full control here

43.2
W
Afridi to Mahela Jayawardene, OUT

and it's that man again! Sharp catch by Hafeez to go with it, Afridi tosses it up outside off and Mahela cannot resist going for it, he scoops it hard and Hafeez at short cover falls forward and judges the catch well

Mahela Jayawardene c Mohammad Hafeez b Shahid Afridi 55 (87b 2x4 1x6 125m) SR: 63.21
43.1
1
Afridi to Perera, 1 run

comes forward and scoops this towards long-off

end of over 432 runs
SL: 167/6CRR: 3.88 RRR: 4.85
Mahela Jayawardene55 (86b 2x4 1x6)
Thisara Perera5 (6b 1x4)
Mohammad Hafeez 8-1-23-1
Shahid Afridi 8-0-33-2
42.6
Hafeez to Mahela Jayawardene, no run

tries to push it past mid-off but he cannot retain the strike

42.5
Hafeez to Mahela Jayawardene, no run

again he quietly clips it to the on side

42.4
1
Hafeez to Perera, 1 run

he works this one down to long leg

42.3
Hafeez to Perera, no run

bowls it flat and quick and he is trapped on the pads again

42.2
Hafeez to Perera, no run

tossed up on middle and leg, he is trapped on the pads

Best performances - batters
Spike Graph
Wagon Zone
Shahid Afridi
75 runs (65)
4 fours3 sixes
Productive shot
leg glance
20 runs
1 four0 six
Control
74%
KC Sangakkara
58 runs (103)
6 fours0 six
Productive shot
off side drive on front foot
16 runs
2 fours0 six
Control
80%
Best performances - bowlers
Shahid Afridi
O
9.2
M
0
R
35
W
5
ECO
3.75
CRD Fernando
O
10
M
3
R
26
W
3
ECO
2.6
Match details
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
TossPakistan, elected to bat first
Series
Season2011/12
Player Of The Match
Series resultPakistan led the 5-match series 3-1
Match numberODI no. 3215
Hours of play (local time)15.00 start, First Session 15.00-18.30, Interval 18.30-19.15, Second Session 19.15-22.45
Match days20 November 2011 - daynight (50-over match)
Umpires
TV Umpire
Reserve Umpire
Match Referee
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Sri Lanka Innings
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