With all the excitement of a football World Cup, cricket did itself proud on Tuesday, as the first game of the 2010 Asia Cup turned out to be a gripping back and forth encounter between hosts Sri Lanka and Pakistan. A masterclass from Shahid Afridi, scoring his fifth one-day international hundred, almost took Pakistan home, before some brilliant cricket from Sri Lanka wrestled the game back and gave them victory by the thin margin of 16 runs.
Batting first, the Sri Lankan openers got off to a quick start before Tillekeratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga were dismissed in quick succession; Dilshan to a brilliant catch by debutant Umar Amin, and Tharanga became Shoaib Akhtar's first victim since his return to international cricket. Mahela Jayawardene got off to an iffy start, edging a 4 that fell between Kamral Akmal and first slip, before he and Kumar Sangakkara combined for an 83-run partnership to take Sri Lanka to 119/1 in the 25th over. Sangakkara fell for 42 and Jayawardene was dismissed shortly after bringing up his fifty-third ODI 50. Chamara Kapugedera, Ferveez Maharoof and Thilan Samaraweera came and went in quick succession, before Angelo Mathews steadied the ship with a solid 55. Lasith Malinga hit the only 6 of the Sri Lankan innings, as his innocuous 16 runs would prove vital at the end of the game. Sri Lanka finished on 242/9.
Malinga continued his good form, bowling Salman Butt for 0 after Nuwan Kulasekera's first over maiden. Debutants Shahzaib Hasan and Amin couldn't get going, and when the fourth wicket fell in the 14th over with the score on 32, Pakistan were heading nowhere. After facing six deliveries, Shahid Afridi hit his next two for 6 and 6, but kept his adrenaline under control. He ensured the required run-rate, approaching 6 per over, didn't increase, and saved his aggression for Muttiah Muralitharan, scoring 51 off the 25 deliveries he faced from Murali. Umar and Kamran Akmal were both run out, but Afridi ignored his cramping legs in the heat and humidity of Dambulla to actually put Pakistan ahead of the run-rate. Twice he collapsed, once after a wild swing at a Kulasekera bouncer, and once after cleanly hitting Murali for another 6. He brought up his fifth ODI 100, and his first since 2005, with a boundary. After that 6, Murali (who was conceding almost 8 runs an over from his 8 overs) produced a ripping off-break that took Afridi's gloves, and Kumar Sangakkara took a stunning reflex catch to finally send Afridi back to the pavilion. His 109 came off just 76 balls, with eight 4s and seven 6s at a strike-rate of 143.42, and left his team needing just 38 runs from 54 balls. Pakistan might have stood a chance with Abdul Razzaq at the crease, but Malinga ran through the last three wickets (Mohammed Aamer, Shoahib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif) to clinch his first 5-wicket haul in ODIs and give Sri Lanka victory by 16 runs.
So after a viscous back-and-forth match, heartbreak for Pakistan, who looked like easy winners with Afridi and Razzaq at the crease. It took combined brilliance of Muralitharan and Sangakkara to dismiss Afridi, whose captaincy and maturity at the crease almost single-handedly won the game. Another good story for Pakistan was the return of Shoaib Akhtar, who, while not at his lightning-fast best, delivered excellent figures of 10-1-41-3. For Sri Lanka, Angelo Mathews continues to improve, making an unbeaten half-century and taking 2 for 38 from his 10 overs. Both teams will take positives from the opening game of the Asia Cup, but Pakistan know they have their work cut out for them to prevent elimination.