da dobrowin： S Rajesh presents the Plays of the day for the match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the Wanderers
da fezbet： S Rajesh in Johannesburg17-Sep-2007
Sanath Jayasuriya didn’t seem to get it right with either bat or ball © AFP
Nice and slow
Imran Nazir had just pulled a fabulous six off Dilhara Fernando -swivelling on one leg and sending the ball over the square-leg boundarywith what seemed like an effortless flick of the wrists – but the cannyChaminda Vaas had his number in the next over. A superbly disguised slowerball forced Nazir to play too early, and he stood transfixed as the ballhit the splice of the bat and ballooned to cover. Strike one for SriLanka.Fernando gets a wicket-maiden
The sixth over is the last one with the fielding restrictions in place,but instead of Pakistan’s batsmen capitalising, Dilhara Fernando made it aspecial one for Sri Lanka. A couple of slower ones defeated MohammadHafeez’s attempted pull shots; a desperate Hafeez tried a cheekypaddle-sweep next but failed; the fourth ball was driven crisply but onlystraight to mid-on. After four dot balls, it was time for a wicket: aquick yorker on leg stump was too much for Hafeez, who played all aroundit and lost his leg stump. When Shoaib Malik guided the next ball topoint, Fernando finished with a rare wicket-maiden.Sad sad Sanath
Sanath Jayasuriya has hammered many a bowler far and wide during hisillustrious career, but on this evening he was forced to cop what he hasdished out to others. Pakistan’s batsmen – particularly Younis Khan andShoaib Malik – relished his offerings, and the agony didn’t stop till theend: his final ball was smashed over long-off, ensuring he joined JamesAnderson as the most expensive bowler in an innings in Twenty20 cricket.And when Sohail Tanvir yorked him off the fifth ball he faced, itcompleted an entirely forgettable match for Sri Lanka’s most experiencedcricketer.Silva scintillates
Mohammad Asif hasn’t been fazed by this hit-or-miss game, but he finallymet his match in the Wanderers pitch, and the Sri Lankan batsmen. In hisfourth over, Chamara Silva took a special liking for his pace: a superblyexecuted short-arm pull was followed by an even better cut as he gavehimself room on the off side. A top-edged pull for six added to themisery, as Asif ended with 47 runs from his four overs.
