da dobrowin： Lahore, Feb 19: Sri Lanka outplayed Pakistan comprehensivelyin thethird and final one-day international by a decisive margin of 104 runsat the Qadhafi Stadium here on Saturday to complete a clean sweep ofthe limited-overs series
Ilyas Beg20-Feb-2000Lahore, Feb 19: Sri Lanka outplayed Pakistan comprehensivelyin thethird and final one-day international by a decisive margin of 104 runsat the Qadhafi Stadium here on Saturday to complete a clean sweep ofthe limited-overs series.It was an abject surrender by Pakistan, who failed to click as a teamonce again and allowed Sri Lanka gain their first 3-0 wipe out againstthem. Chasing an achievable 242 for a face-saving victory, Pakistancrashed to an abysmal 137 all out in 39.3 overs.On an easy-paced pitch, which got easier to bat on with the passage oftime, Pakistan’s batsmen were out to atrocious selection of strokes.Skipper Saeed Anwar, who top-scored with 30, was out to a fine,tumbling catch by Russel Arnold at short mid-wicket while attempting aflick.For the third time in the series, Saeed called correctly at the spinof the coin and like in the previous two games, elected to fieldfirst. His decision once again proved disastrous in the end as none ofthe Pakistani batsmen batted with application, determination andconcentration.Sri Lankan bowlers bowled with controlled hostility and the fieldersbacked them up with brilliant display all the way. Lanky left-armpaceman Nuwan Zoysa, playing in his first game of the series, made theearly inroads by disposing of opener Aamir Sohail and Younis Khan inhis opening spell. Sohail was caught behind off a leading edge whileYounis shuffled right across to straight delivery to leave Pakistan intatters at 48 for three.Two foolish run outs soon after only added to Pakistan’s misery.Debutante Faisal Iqbal, included in place of Imran Abbas, tried tosteal a cheeky single as Yousuf Youhana prodded defensively but, adirect throw from mid-on by Mahela Jayawardena broke the stumps andFaisal was gone for four. Youhana was himself run out soon afterwardswhen Jayasuriya hit the stumps with another direct throw from mid-off.With five down for 60 and no possibility of an injured Azhar Mahmoodbatting, shadows of another home defeat loomed large.Moin Khan and Abdur Razzaq tried hard to stabilise the innings butperished after adding 36 for the sixth wicket. Moin was deceived byJayasuriya while Abdur Razzaq (22 off 28 balls) was bowled round hisleg by Muttiah Muralitharan with an off-break which pitched welloutside the off-stump and flattened his leg-stump at the total of 112.Wasim Akram tried to force the pace with 29 off 32 deliveries but bythen the match was almost over. Saqlain Mushtaq fell lbw to ChamindaVaas. Jayasuriya rattled Wasim’s stumps with a straight ball as theformer Pakistan captain jumped out of his crease for another big hit.Earlier, Marvan Atapattu again played the role of a sheet-anchor,hitting a polished knock of 77 off 91 deliveries with four boundariesto bolster the Sri Lankan inningsto a decent score. When Atapattu wascaught by Saeed Anwar at short-cover, Sri Lanka were reached 196 forfive.Vice-captain Mahela Jayawardena hit a stylish 43 off 64 balls withfour fours) until Saqlain Mushtaq deceived him in flight and gave areturn catch to the off-spinner. Atapattu and Jayawardena wereinvolved in a third-wicket stand of 84 after Sri Lanka were reduced to64 for two. Had fast-medium bowler Abdul Razzaq (four for 36) andpaceman Wasim Akram (three for 38) not bowled well, the Sri Lankanteam would have put up a big total.Wasim Akram got the first wicket when Jayasuriya was superbly held inthe slips by Azhar Mahmood. Unfortunately, Azhar was unable to takemuch part in the game after suffering a recurrence of a back injury.He bowled just one over before going off. Wasim Akram, who claimed theprized wicket of Atapattu, mopped up the tail along with Abdur Razzaq.Razzaq trapped Romesh Kaluwitharana (35 off 53 balls with four fours)leg before wicket. Nadeem Ghauri, making his debut as an internationalumpire, raised his finger after some deliberation. In fact, NadeemGhauri was involved in all the leg before decisions during the match.