Younis Khan's Pakistan were crowned the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 champions on Sunday evening as they decimated Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s. With it, Pakistan exorcised the ghost of the 2007 final which they had lost narrowly to India.
* Score | In-depth: World T20
* Brief scores: SL 138-6 (Sangakkara 64*; Razzaq 3-20) lost to
Pak 139-2 (Afridi 54*; Jayasuriya 1-8) by 8 wickets.
* Man of the match: Shahid Afridi
* Man of the series: Tillakaratne Dilshan
Pakistan’s bowlers, led by Abdul Razzaq, restricted Sri Lanka to a measly 138-6 after they elected to bat. Pakistan went after the target slowly but assuredly. Shahid Afridi hit the winning runs — a leg bye through point — when they still had 1.2 overs and eight wickets left. The win would bring cheers to Pakistan’s millions who’ve been saddened by the perennial state of strife in their nation.
Once Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan added 48 in seven overs to get their chase going, Pakistan never looked like they were going to lose. Sri Lanka’s best chance was when they quickly dismissed both openers at the halfway mark with the spinners operating.
But Shahid Afridi played the innings of an elder statesman. In 2007, he had made a duck against India, but in this final his part-cool part-violent 54 brought calm to the Pakistan camp and set the win up in the company of Shoaib Malik, who made 24.
Earlier, Razzaq’s new ball strikes floored his opponents and never allowed them to get back up. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s 64 provided stability and Angelo Mathews’ happy hour swinging fetched him 35 as they rescued Sri Lanka from 70-6.
They were unbeaten in the tournament, but even with their Three Ms — Muralitharan, Mendis and Malinga — Sri Lanka were going to struggle to defend this score against a Pakistani side that began the tournament as no-hopers, started peaking in the Super Eights, and completed their story with the world title that had eluded them so narrowly earlier.
Sangakkara called heads and decided to bat on an even-looking surface. His side was straightaway in trouble as Tillakaratne Dilshan added nothing to his tally of 317 runs in the tournament. Bombared by short balls in the first over by Mohammad Aamer, Dilshan responded with a pull off the fifth ball but it only lobbed to Shahzaib Hasan. His tournament reads three fifties, two forties and two ducks.
Jehan Mubarak was promoted up to push the tempo but the move failed. The left-hander tried to clear midwicket but mistimed the shot to mid off where Hasan took his second catch.
Sanath Jayasuriya was beginning to cut loose. Having shovelled a six over off Razzaq, he attempted another one in the same over but played it on.
Mahela Jayawardene then ended his scratchy existence with a poke outside off-stump that Misbah-ul Haq caught at the only slip.
Umar Gul, who has finished the tournament as the leading wicket taker, came on to bowl his first, bowled a short ball at Chamara Silva, who slapped it straight to mid wicket. Three runs later, Shahid Afridi bowled a googly and Isuru Udana chopped it on. Sri Lanka were 70-6 in 13 full overs.
Sri Lanka still fought till the end, and nearly doubled their score in the last seven overs. But it wasn’t enough and it allowed Pakistan to script a turnaround that’s going to be talked about for some time.
Man of the match: Shahid Afridi, 54 not out, 1-20.
Man of the series: Tillakaratne Dilshan, 317 runs.
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