Pakistan thrash Sri Lanka

It all seemed to going to plan for Marvan Atapattu, Sri Lanka's new captain. During the morning Sri Lanka's bowling and fielding was zippy and purposeful. Despite the early loss of Sanath Jayasuriya, the home side were strolling on 62 for one. But Pakistan came storming back into the match in the last quarter to complete a crushing 79 run win in the opening match of the Bank Alfalah Cup at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.

Sri Lanka started disastrously - Shoaib Akhtar celebrated his recall to the side by removing Jayasuriya for a first-ball duck - but only lost their way after an Abdul Razzaq inswinger thudded into the pads of Atapattu, who had grafted hard for his 26 from 67 balls. The leg-before decision ended a 61 run stand for the second wicket and was the catalyst for Sri Lanka's pathetic freefall.

Akhtar was pulled back into the attack and the speedster quickly accounted for Sangakkara, who had been dropped on 2 and 17. Sangakkara skewed a back-foot drive to Shoaib Malik at point (75 for 3). The recalled Mahela Jayawardene and Russel Arnold, who has had little match practice since being dumped after the World Cup, rallied briefly, adding 33 in 37 balls.

But then came the quick demise. Mohammad Sami planted a 90 mph inswinging yorker on Jayawardene's toe, winning a dubious leg-before shout, and Romesh Kaluwitharana, another returnee, chipped a catch tamely to mid-wicket off Shoain Malik (99 for 5).

Sri Lanka started to panic. Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Chaminda Vaas were run out and Russel Arnold, who had crawled to 13 from 49 balls, skied a catch as he top edged a sweep. Malik and Sami then mopped up the tail - Sri Lanka had lost seven wickets for 22.

Atapattu's first day in charge had begun well. His fast bowlers exploited heavy overhead conditions, moving the ball in the air and off the pitch, to seize the initiative. His spinners nipped away at the middle order and the fielders clung onto to every chance that came their way.

Mohammad Hafeez anchored the innings, top-scoring for the visitors with a patient 53 from 114 balls - his second one-day fifty in his fifth match - but their best partnerships ended just when they looked like they might flourish. Hafeez added 48 with Faisal Iqbal (21) and 45 with Younis Khan (29).

Both Chaminda Vaas and Prabath Nissanka found assistance from the pitch and from the heavy atmosphere. Vaas swung the ball, while Nissanka extracted bounce and seam movement from the brown, grassless pitch. Both beat the bat regularly and Atapattu pressed for wickets, setting aggressive fields during the first half of the innings.

Taufeeq Umar (9) opened his account with a flicked boundary just wide of a diving Kumar Sangakkara at square leg, before edging a catch to Romesh Kaluwitharana behind the stumps in the eighth over of the morning (21 for 1).

Faisal Iqbal, the nephew of coach Javed Miandad, would have been run out without scoring had Sanath Jayasuriya at cover-point not missed the stumps. He and Hafeez were quite comfortable against Sri Lanka 's allrounders - Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Kaushalya Weereratne - but run-scoring remained difficult.

Muttiah Muralitharan, whose entry into the attack was delayed thanks to the tight bowling of his colleagues, then broke through in only his second over. Iqbal edged an arm-ball to Mahela Jayawardene at slip, and he clung on to a sharp catch to his left (69 for 2).

Six balls later, Yousuf Youhana (1), Pakistan's leading batsmen after the post-World Cup purge, was also caught by Jayawardene at slip off Lokuarachchi. He attempted an extravagant square cut, but only ended up gloving the legbreak straight to Jayawardene (70 for 3).

Hafeez and Khan steadied the innings, adding 45 in 75 balls but when Muralitharan returned for his second spell, they were soon back in trouble. Khan, looking for his first boundary, mistimed a leg-side flick and was caught in the deep (115 for 5).

Shaoib Akhtar was a bizarre choice at number six, as Rashid Latif tried to kickstart the innings with a few boundaries. But the plan failed as Akhtar, overly anxious to grab the strike from his cautious partner, was run out for 5 (123 for 5).

Sanath Jayasuriya - the most expensive of the three spinners employed - ended Hafeez's painstaking vigil when he tried to loft a straight drive over Kumar Sangakkara at deep mid-on. Sangakkara held on to a fine diving catch (158 for 5).

The allrounders came and went. Shaoib Malik breezed to 20 from 14 balls, before being run out and Rashid Latif (14) biffed one four before becoming Muralitharan's third victim of the innings - Kaluwitharana completing a stumping (181 for 8). Abdul Razzaq did have time to smash one six in his unbeaten 24 from 27 balls as 14 runs were stolen from the last over.

The performance of the three teams during this tournament will affect their positions in the International Cricket Council's new One-Day International Championship table. Sri Lanka, currently in fourth position, have a chance to move into third position ahead of Pakistan, while New Zealand - currently equal seventh with England - can move ahead of West Indies into sixth position in the ratings.