Wednesday, Apr 17, 2002
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Cricket
The Asian giant ousted injury-hit New Zealand in the three-nation preliminary league to set up an exciting tussle worth $120,000 to the winner. Sri Lanka has the psychological edge after beating Pakistan both times in the league, but skipper Sanath Jayasuriya is wary of taking victory for granted. "You can never predict how a final goes, it all depend on how well the teams take the pressure of a crunch match,'' Jayasuriya said. The Sri Lankan captain knows victory is never a certainty. Six months back, his team lost the Champions Trophy final here to Pakistan despite being the favoured team after the league stage. "We have not forgotten what happened here last October,'' he said. ``That defeat still hurts and we are determined to make up for it.'' Despite both league matches going Sri Lanka's way this time, there is little to separate the two teams, especially in the bowling. While Pakistan has a star-studded line-up of captain Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq, Sri Lanka is banking on seamers Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa and versatile off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. Little wonder then that the bowlers have dominated the proceedings in the two league matches between the finalists. In the first game, Jayasuriya hit 87 off 78 balls, but found no support at the other end and the Lankans were restricted to 242-9 from 50 overs. Batting under lights, Pakistan was shot out for 201 with Muralitharan taking three for 27 from 10 overs. The second match was much closer, Pakistan losing by nine runs as Vaas and Zoysa conceded just nine runs in the last three overs. Five of the six league matches were won by sides batting first and both Jayasuriya and Waqar conceded winning the toss could be crucial. Waqar, whose team changed the trend on Monday when it thrashed New Zealand by eight wickets said he would prefer to bat first against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka will be hoping that Marvan Atapattu continue his good form after notching up three consecutive half-centuries in the league. But dashing Pakistani opener Shahid Afridi ended the bowlers' domination over the last 10 days when he hammered the first century of the tournament on Monday. His spectacular 108 not out off 92 balls against the Kiwis, studded with seven boundaries and eight sixes, showed there was hope for batsmen willing to play their shots. "It's not been a big-scoring tournament so far, but the final could provide some fireworks,'' Waqar said. The teams: Pakistan: Waqar Younis (capt), Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana, Abdul Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq. Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, Russel Arnold, Tillekaratne Dilshan, Kumar Dharmasena, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa and Upul Chandana. — AFP
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