Related Links

DATE : 15-10-1999

VENUE : Sharjah C.A. Stadium 

MATCH : 3rd Match, Coca-Cola Champions Trophy, 1999/00

Writer : Bhavya Kumar Vasudevan

The 3rd match of the Coca-Cola Champions trophy had all the makings of a classic. Sri Lanka who had lost their first game to West Indies needed to win this game if they wanted to stay in the hunt for the finals.

The flick of the coin rolled in favour of Pakistan. Wasim Akram had no hesitation in electing to bat. Saeed Anwar was in form and looked to dismiss the Sri Lankan opening bowlers. On the contrary, Aamer Sohail struggled and was cleaned up by the ever dependable Chaminda Vaas. Vaas was at it again when he received a bonus from Saeed Anwar who offered a simple catch to him. Pakistan were 38 for 2 in the 11th over. Inzamam Ul Haq and Yousuf Youhana joined hands and began to re-structure the innings. The slower bowlers made life difficult for the pair as they were finding it tough to score runs effectively. They had added 93 runs for the 3rd wicket when Russel Arnold claimed the wicket of Inzamam. Pakistan were 131 for 3 after 35.4 overs. The overs were running out and in the process of scoring quickly Pakistan succumbed. They lost their next 7 wickets for a mere 65 runs and were bowled out for a poultry score of 196. The slower bowlers had proved to be more effective than the pace bowlers. Muralitharan, Arnold and Vaas took two wickets each. There were three run-outs in the Pakistan innings which left a lot of room for improvement in this area. Sri Lanka required 197 to win the game.

Marvan Atapattu and Romesh Kaluwitharana set about to do the task. They began steadily countering the skill of Wasim Akram and Abdul Razzaq. However, Atappatu had no answers to Akram's delivery that kissed the edge of the bat and ended in the gloves of Moin Khan. Sri Lanka lost their 1st wicket at the score of 42. Arnold joined Kaluwitharana at the crease and both these batsman began to look confident. Slowly and steadily they played some clever cricket by leaving the good balls and scoring off the bad ones. A 115 run partnership between them almost sealed up the match for Sri Lanka who required another 40 runs off 14.3 overs. Kaluwitharana edged a delivery to Moin Khan off Abdul Razzaq. He was dismissed but not before scoring a gritty 75 against a very good bowling attack. Arnold soon followed when he was bowled by Shoaib Malik. Sri Lanka 173 for 3 in 40.1 overs. With the likes of DeSilva, Jayasuriya and Jayawardene to follow it looked like Sri Lanka would get the remaining 24 runs in 59 deliveries.

That was not to be. Aravinda de Silva, Jayasuriya and Jayawardene managed to score only 12 runs amongst them. Sri Lanka were 186 for 6. Even at this point it looked like Sri Lanka would win the game as they required just 11 runs off 25 deliveries. However, Abdul Razzaq had different plans. He charged in fiercely and knocked the woodwork on three separate occasions to blow the Lankans away. The match was tied. A dominating performance by Razzaq was the highlight of the match. The Sri Lankans were shocked. They lost 8 wickets for just 39 runs and were embarrassed by Pakistan.

Razzaq was adjudged the man of the match for his 5 for 31. Pakistan won their 2nd game and Sri Lanka lost their 2nd game of the tournament. The last 10 overs of the Sri Lankan innings proved to be one of the most exciting climax to a cricket match. This match certainly be the one that will be remembered for a long time to come.

Top of the Page