Colombo: Rocked by a combination of pace and spin, Pakistan was bowled out for a modest 200 runs inside its quota of 50 overs in the lung opener against Sri Lanka in the ICC Champions Trophy cricket tournament here on Thursday. Electing to bat, Pakistan never really found its bearings after losing three quick wickets and was all out in 49.4 overs, setting the hosts an asking rate of 4.02 runs per over.
The dependable Saeed Anwar top scored with 52 but the rest of the batsmen failed to impress though a few of them managed to get a decent start. It was first the pace of newcomer Pulistha Gunaratne and Chaminda Vaas that did the damage with the two claiming two Pakistan wickets, that of swashbuckling Shahid Afridi (4) and Shoaib Mallik (1), by the fifth over. Malik earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first victim of 'technology' when he was ruled leg before wicket by third umpire Rudi Koertzen. This was the first time ever that the services of the television umpire were sought for an lbw decision. The third wicket was a result of an awful mix-up between Anwar and the talented Yousuf Youhana who found himself stranded when Murlitharan used his leg to stop a fast moving ball and made no mistake in throwing to the non-striker's end. Reduced to 17 for three, the rest was easy for host Sri Lanka as its match-winning off spinner Muralitharan picked three valuable wickets and could have scalped another two but for dropped catches.
Extras:
Younis opts to bat in Champions Trophy opener vs SL
Tags: icc 2002, icc champions trophy, india, new zealand, premadasa, sri lanka, pakistan, australia, england, bangladesh, , zimbabwe, kenya, netherlands, west indies, south africa, semi final, finals, scorecards, statistics, ground.
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