he's done it! Afridi misses the yorker and it hits him on the pad and the ball goes on the off side, it's a leg bye but who cares, Afridi raises his arms in triumph, what a player, he's delivered when it mattered most, the players rush on to the ground to mob him and Malik, such joy, there are hugs all around
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, Final at London, Jun 21 2009 - Ball by Ball Commentary
RESULT
Final, Lord's, June 21, 2009, ICC World Twenty20
PrevNext
New
PAK
Full commentary
Pakistan, who fell agonizingly short in 2007 and have been through so much strife as a country in the two years since, have pulled off a magnificent victory. Lord's is a sea of roaring green.
Spare a thought for the Sri Lankans who were unbeaten right through the tournament. they've played brave and innovative cricket and were felled by an inspired side. It's Pakistan's moment though ... and aren't they enjoying it. Malik's generous in his praise for Shahid bhai but he played a crucial innings too, staying calm at one end, scoring at just over a run a ball.
I can hear the horns blaring in St. Johns Wood already, it will go on long into the night. It was emotional at Trent Bridge a few days ago, I can't imagine what it will be like today.
"An ultimate tournament to watch. True learners-Pakistan. They wee runner ups last time and they have done it this time. A great show by Sri Lanka, Ireland and Windies," says Rahul.
It's presentation time ...
"Cricket has won! Again! Hopefully, this will bring better support and bigger things Pakistan's way...which would only mean better cricket in the sub-continent. Congratulations Pakistan, and Shahid Afridi. You've given your fans enough to talk about," says Sam.
Afridi is the Player of the Match, again, and just listen to that ovation as he comes up to receive his award. It's massive. He credits Younis for sending him up in the order and telling him to just play his game. "The guys were really motivated," he says, and it showed.
And the Player of the Tournament is ... Tillakaratne Dilshan! He's been in outstanding form, scoring over 300 runs. It's a crying shame he failed today but such is cricket. It didn't surprise him that Pakistan bounced him today and he says the move to the top of his order has helped his career.
"I'm very proud of my team," says Sangakkara. "I'm proud about their fight, their attitude and I think we're going to be a really good team. It was tough for our bowling unit to keep on defending totals during the tournament, we could have done with 20 runs more. That's (Sri Lanka's) the best bowling unit in the world." Sangakkara signs off by thanking Sri Lanka's fans for their support ...
Pakistan's players go up to get their medals and are roared on by the crowd. Shahid Afridi, says Nasser Hussain. ROAR, goes the crowd ... Kamran Akmal, says Hussain ... you get the drift. The loudest cheer is for Umar Gul, Razzaq gets a loud one as well, he's returned to the Pakistan fold in spectacular fashion.
"It was fantastic, we were underdogs, all credit goes to the team and the nation," says Younis. "A team like us needs a good start and suddenly we got that. I knew if we restricted them to 140-150 it would be chaseable. This is a gift from us to our nation." Well done Pakistan!
Younis goes up to take the trophy from David Morgan and it's a team moment now. There are ribbons and ticker playing all over the place and the Pakistan players are soaking it in.
"Dohl and bangra all over pakistan, lots of people out and having fun," says Hassan. They are singing again at Lord's, "Dil dil Pakistan, jaan jaan Pakistan." The party is going to continue long into the night. The players are doing a lap of honour now. Razzaq's carrying the trophy. They're doing quite a quick lap! Younis has the flag draped over his shoulders and is walking at a more leisurely pace.
That's about it from us at Cricinfo today. Thank you for all your emails right through the tournament, we hope you've enjoyed our coverage of the World Twenty20. On behalf of Will Luke today, and all the other commentators, this is George Binoy signing off. Cheers.
18.4
1lb
Malinga to Afridi, 1 leg bye
Afridi on strike, how fitting if he hits the winning run.. brace yourself...
18.3
1
Malinga to Malik, 1 run
yorker, single, Malik digs it out towards short fine leg,
Pakistan are two away ... from being the new World Twenty20 champions. Move over India!
18.2
4
Malinga to Malik, FOUR runs
four! four! Malik nudges the ball off his pads past the man at short fine leg, no stopping that, Pakistan are two runs away, Malinga lost control of that slower one
18.1
1
Malinga to Afridi, 1 run
full ball on off and middle stump, Afridi flicks through midwicket, sensible sensible innings, barely a risk taken
The noise is unbelievable, they love it when Pakistan win, they love it more when Afridi's the one winning it for them. Malinga will bowl, can he pull off the impossible? Will Afridi go for glory? What a finish to the tournament ... stay with us.
end of over 1819 runs
PAK: 132/2CRR: 7.33 • RRR: 3.50
Shahid Afridi53 (38b 2x4 2x6)
Shoaib Malik19 (20b)
Isuru Udana 4-0-44-0
Ajantha Mendis 4-0-34-0
17.6
1
Udana to Afridi, 1 run
Afridi digs the yorker down the ground for a single
17.6
5nb
Udana to Afridi, (no ball) FOUR runs
high full toss ... it's a no ball for being over waist height, Afridi whips it off his body past short fine leg, four! Afridi reaches his fifty! What a player! What an innings ... He's won it for Pakistan today
Pakistan need 13 off 13
17.5
6
Udana to Afridi, SIX runs
is that the game breaker? Afridi winds up and unleashes the most monstrous of hits, he's whacked the slower ball way back into the stands at midwicket, Lord's goes berserk ...
17.4
2
Udana to Afridi, 2 runs
excellent ball, in the blockhole, Afridi squeezes it down the ground and Malik is running frantically for the second, Afridi struggles to make it back for the second run
17.3
1
Udana to Malik, 1 run
full and straight, Malik drives the ball hard into the pitch and the ball bounces over the bowler's head, they settle for the single
17.3
1w
Udana to Malik, 1 wide
that's too wide outside off stump, Harper takes his time but eventually signals it
17.2
1
Udana to Afridi, 1 run
full ball outside off stump, Afridi slogs and hits it towards deep square leg, only the single, we haven't seen a boundary in a while
17.1
2
Udana to Afridi, 2 runs
yorker, and Afridi swings hard to muscle the ball through the leg side, he returns for the second
Pakistan need 26 off 18 ... Pakistan are ahead but another good over will turn it Sri Lanka's way. It's tense! Udana's back, he bowls clever slower ones, will Afridi go after him?
end of over 177 runs
PAK: 113/2CRR: 6.64 • RRR: 8.66
Shahid Afridi37 (32b 1x4 1x6)
Shoaib Malik18 (19b)
Ajantha Mendis 4-0-34-0
Lasith Malinga 3-0-8-0
16.6
1
Mendis to Afridi, 1 run
Afridi makes room but mis-times the drive to cover, the 50 stand is up between these two.
16.5
2
Mendis to Afridi, 2 runs
full toss and Afridi heaves it into the gap at deep midwicket! Has he got four? No he hasn't, two runs though ...
16.4
1
Mendis to Malik, 1 run
Malik gets out of his crease again and hits the ball to long on for one
16.3
1
Mendis to Afridi, 1 run
Mendis fires in the yorker and Afridi digs it out towards t he bowler for a single
16.2
1
Mendis to Malik, 1 run
Malik jumps down the track and chips towards long off for a single
16.1
1
Mendis to Afridi, 1 run
full ball on the pads, Mendis follows Afridi as he makes room, flicked through midwicket for one
Pakistan need 33 off 24 ... this is getting tight. Sri Lanka have quality bowlers left. Here's one of them, Mendis will bowl his last. Can he bowl a good one for Sri Lanka? The margin for slip-ups is disappearing fast!
end of over 163 runs
PAK: 106/2CRR: 6.62 • RRR: 8.25
Shahid Afridi32 (28b 1x4 1x6)
Shoaib Malik16 (17b)
Lasith Malinga 3-0-8-0
Ajantha Mendis 3-0-27-0
15.6
1
Malinga to Afridi, 1 run
flicked of the pads towards midwicket, there's a bit of a mix-up between the batsmen but the fielder fumbles! Pressure!
15.5
•
Malinga to Afridi, no run
fantastic yorker, Afridi stays in his crease and plays it back to the bowler
Match Coverage
Instant answers to T20 questions
Pakistan Innings
<1 / 3>