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Sri Lanka at the ICC World Twenty20 2009 in England

Pakistan ICC World Twenty20 2009 Champions

Shahid Afridi's sensible yet electrifying batting, with a couple of boom-booms thrown in for good measure, helped Pakistan overtake Sri Lanka's modest score with 8 balls to go, and bag the Championship. With his outstanding bowling throughout the tournament, and great batting towards the final stages, Shahid Afridi has risen to iconic status that was reserved for the likes of Imran Khan in a nation troubled by conflicts for so long.
Afridi's unbeaten 54 and a wicket of the very last ball, earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. He hit two sixes and two fours, and the winning runs, after which he stood and saluted the thousands of elated Pakistani supporters in his usual trademark style.


It was the second global one-day title for Pakistan after Imran Khan's side rallied in similar fashion to win the 1992 50-over World Cup. Pakistan lost the inaugural Twenty20 final in 2007 to India.

Sri Lanka had effectively lost the match in the first six powerplay overs, after they were down 32 for 4. A captain's innings from Kumar Sangakkara and a late charge by Angelo Mathews (partnership of 68 runs in 43 deliveries) boosted Sri Lanka to 138 for 6. Abdul Razzaq claimed a wicket in each of his first three overs, removing Jehan Mubarak for a duck, Sanath Jayasuriya for 17 and Mahela Jaywardene for one.

ICC World Twenty20 final, Lord's, PAK v SRL: Pakistan 139/2 (Afridi 54*, Akmal 37) beat Sri Lanka 138/6 (Sangakkara 64*, Mathews 35*, Razzaq 3-20) by eight wickets

ICC World Twenty20 2009 Finals Preview

14:00 GMT | 10:00 EDT | 19:30 IST :: The Finals - Sunday, June 21
Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Lord's
On Sunday, July 21st, the two best bowling sides in the second edition of the World Twenty20 - Pakistan, the mesmerizingly over-achieving underdogs and Sri Lanka, the remarkably professional and well oiled machine - meet in the finals at Lord's.

While two Pakistanis - Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal - have picked up 12 wickets apiece in the tournament to top the bowling charts, Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis (with an outstanding economy rate of less than 5 runs an over) and fast bowler Lasith Malingahas also have 12 wickets apiece. But their bowling strength is deeper, with Muralitharan and Angelo Mathews taking 13 wickets between them at less than a run a ball. For Pakistan, the surprise package has been Shahid Afridi, who picked up 10 wickets in the tournament so far, conceding just 5.37 runs per over.

Batting is one area that worries Sri Lanka. Other than Dilshan (with 317 runs at an average over 60), Jayasuriya (160 runs), Jayawardene (153 runs) and to an extent, Sangakkara (just 113 runs), no one else has contributed much with the bat. The one area where the Lankans do excel over Pakistan is their fielding.
The Pakistan batting averages just 138 as a team, with no one shining in particular, but everyone contributing in bits and pieces. Captain Younis Khan (172 runs) and Kamran Akmal (151 runs) are the leading batsmen.
With both sides preferring to bat first, the toss will be crucial.

The last contest between the two finalists was in the Super Eights at Lord's when Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 19 runs. Sri Lanka made 150 for the loss of 7 wickets as Dilshan and Jayasuriya put on 81 for the first wicket in 9 overs, with the rest of the side adding just 69 more from the 11 overs that followed. Despite a 37 ball 50 from Younis Khan, Pakistan lost too many wickets to Malinga and Murali and ended up 19 runs short of the target.

Sri Lanka storms into World T20 final

Tillakaratne Dilshan's 96 not out, and a three-wicket opening over spell for one run by Angelo Matthews took Sri Lanka into an all-Asia final at the ICC World Twenty20 to be played on Sunday. Man-of-the-match Tillakaratne's unbeaten 96, the highest score of the event, came as his team-mates struggled for momentum. He batted through out the innings in Sri Lanka's 158 for five, and was involved in the opening wicket partnership of 73 with Jayasuriya, who looked strangely subdued while making 24 in 46 balls.
Angelo Mathews then stunned West Indies with three wickets in the opening over before the spinners strangled the middle order, leaving Chris Gayle, who played a captain's role, unbeaten on 63 as he carried his bat while no one else reached double figures.
The Sri Lankan opening bowler finished with three for 16 from four overs. Muttiah Muralitharan took 3-29 and Ajantha Mendis 2-9 as West Indies was all out in less than 18 overs for 101.

2009 ICC World Twenty20, Second Semi-final at The Oval, SRL vs WIN, June 19 2009: Sri Lanka 158/5 (Dilshan 96*) beat West Indies 101 (Gayle 63*, Mathews 3-16, Muralitharan 3-29) by 57 runs

ICC World Twenty20 Semi-Finals Preview

16:30 GMT | 12:30 EDT | 22:00 IST :: 1st Semi-Final - Thursday, June 18
South Africa v Pakistan at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
South Africa is one of the only two teams in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 to reach the Semis without losing a single match (Sri Lanka is the other). The perennial favorites in any form of cricket, and big time chokers at crunch time, South Africa will have to overcome their nerves to go on to the semis when they meet a resurgent Pakistan team which is looking stronger and stronger with each match. AB de Villiers is currently South Africa's top scorer with 185 runs in five matches, and teammate Jacques Kallis is not far behind with 174 from four matches.
Seamer Roelof van der Merwe is the team's best bowler with 9-106 from 17 overs, while Wayne Parnell has 8-93 from the same number of overs.
Right-arm seamer Umar Gul is the main reason the Pakistanis have progressed so far in the tournament after a stuttering start. Gul, who was the highest wicket-taker in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa when Pakistan ended runners-up to India, again tops the list with 12 scalps in this tournament. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is joint second with Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga in the wicket-taker's list with 11 wickets, while leg-spinning allrounder Shahid Afridi has eight.

Pakistan were routed by South Africa in a practice match ahead of the tournament at Trent Bridge, losing by 59 runs after being bowled out for 127 in reply to South Africa's 186-7.

Tournament Results

South Africa
beat Scotland by 130 runs at The Oval
beat New Zealand by one run at Lord's
beat England by seven wickets at Trent Bridge
beat West Indies by 20 runs at The Oval
beat India by 12 runs at Trent Bridge

Pakistan
lost to England by 48 runs at The Oval
beat Holland by 82 runs at Lord's
lost to Sri Lanka by 19 runs at Lord's
beat New Zealand by six wickets at The Oval
beat Ireland by 39 runs at The Oval

16:30 GMT | 12:30 EDT | 22:00 IST :: 2nd Semi-Final - Friday, June 19
Sri Lanka v West Indies at Kennington Oval, London
Sri Lanka, the unbeaten, strongest, and best balanced team in the tournament, will face West Indies in the second semi-final at the Oval on Friday. Three of Lanka's big four batsmen have been in form, with the opening partnership of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillekeratne Dilshan performing consistently well. Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene showed in the match against New Zealand that they have the class and composure to lead their side to victory on the big stage. Dilshan is the tournament's top runscorer.
While spinner Ajantha Mendis is an absolute terror, veteran spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has been successfully strangling sides in the middle overs. Mendis already has 10 victims in the tournament while sling-shot fast bowler Lasith Malinga lies joint second in the leading wicket-takers in the tournament with 11 and are expected to provide the main obstacle to West Indies' chances of progress.

West Indies skipper Chris Gayle, after beating England in a do-or-die match went on to remark that some teams were now scared of his team. Dwayne Bravo, with 154 runs from 4 matches and eight wickets for 123 runs from 14 overs, has been the best all-rounder in the tournament so far. Lendl Simmons with 150 runs from 4 matches is also in terrific form.

Tournament Results

West Indes
beat Australia by 7 wickets at The Oval
lost to Sri Lanka by 15 runs at Trent Bridge
beat India by 7 wickets at Lord's
lost to South Africa by 20 runs at The Oval
beat England by five wickets at The Oval (D/L method)

Sri Lanka
beat Australia by 6 wickets at Trent Bridge
beat West Indies by 15 runs at Trent Bridge
beat Pakistan by 19 runs at Lord's
beat Ireland by 9 runs at Lord's
beat New Zealand by 48 runs at Trent Bridge

Sri Lanka keep clean slate, reach semis

Man of the Match Ajantha Mendis' three-wicket spell of 3-0-9-3 took the wind out of New Zealand’s run chase, as the Black Caps collapsed 48 runs behind the victory target of 159, earning Sri Lanka a place in the semi-final with their third straight victory in the Super Eights group stages. They topped Group F.
Kiwis, the pre-tournament favorites, only beat Scotland and Ireland and lost to semi-finalists South Africa and West Indies, to exit before the semis. Captian Vettori said a South Africa v Sri Lanka final at Lord's on Sunday looked to be on the cards.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 23: SRL vs NZL, Group F, June 16: Sri Lanka 158-5 (Dilshan 48, Jayawardene 41*) beat New Zealand 110 (Guptill 43, Mendis 3-9, Udana 2-17) by 48 runs

Ireland give Srilanka a good fight, but ultimately lose by 9 runs‎

The Irish team who played against Sri Lanka today were a far cry from the team that lost by 83 runs to New Zealand earlier in the tournament. Dilshan, Sri Lanka's star batsman was out for a duck in the second ball of the match, caught by Niall O' Brien off a ball by Boyd Rankin. Sangakkara was out (c N O'Brien b Johnston) in the third over for only 3 runs. Alex Cusack took 4 wickets for Ireland in 3 overs, conceding only 18 runs. Jayasuriya (27) and Jayawardene (78) steadied the Sri Lankan innings and set the Ireland team a target of 145 runs in 20 overs. Porterfield and Niall O' Brien laid the foundation of the Irish innings taking 31 runs each. Sri Lanka failed to take any wickets till the 10th over when Porterfield was caught by Sangakkara off a ball by Muralitharan. Ireland's run rate declined steeply after Ajantha Mendis took down both the O'Brien brothers in the 14th over. Needing 18 runs from the last over, Ireland was able to get only 8 runs and their final score was 135/7.

With this defeat, Ireland are eliminated from progressing further in this World Twenty20 tournament. Sri Lanka will play against New Zealand on Tuesday, June 16th at trent Bridge and Ireland will face Pakistan tomorrow at Kennington Oval in their final match.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 19: SRI vs IRE, Group F, June 14: Sri Lanka 144 for 9 (Jayawardene 78, Cusack 4-18) beat Ireland 135 for 7 (Malinga 2-18) by nine runs

Sri Lanka defend modest total to beat Pakistan‎

Sri Lanka survived a mid-innings slump and a threatening 66-run partnership between Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq to ease to a 19-run win in their first game of the Super Eights at Lord's. Sanath Jayasuriya (26) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (46) put on 81 for the first wicket but then lost 6 wickets for 69 runs to Shahid Afridi (2 for 23) and Saeed Ajmal (2 for 26) as they slumped to 150-7.
Lasith Malinga (3 for 17) and Muttiah Muralitharan (2 for 28) were able to restrict Pakistan to 131-9 with Younus Khan positng 50.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 15: PAK vs SRL, Group F, June 12: Sri Lanka 150 for 7 (Dilshan 46) beat Pakistan 131 (Younis 50, Malinga 3-17) by 19 runs

June 12 Preview: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, India vs West Indies at the Lord's

Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in a Group F match at Lord's on Friday at 18:00 IST which is an important match for both teams. Pakistan has so far shown they can play like winners or losers, depending on the mood of the team. Shahid Afridi's bowling (with his 4-11 against the Dutch ) has picked up, but his batting style has been ridiculed by everyone since the tournament started. Sri Lanka on the other hand are fresh from two morale boosting victories over Australia and West Indies. Batsman Dilshan and veteran all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya have both already recorded big scores with the bat.

India meet Windies in the second match, scheduled to start at 22:00 IST in a Group E match. Belonging to the toughest group, a win or loss can mean moving to the semis or going home. T20 World Champions India barely had to break sweat progressing from their group with comfortable wins over Bangladesh and Ireland. West Indies on the other hand are inconsistent, depending too much on Captain Chris Gayle's batting. His 88 from 50 balls led the team to a crushing win over Australia, while they lost pathetically to Sri Lanka while Gayle rested, due to an injury.

Jayasuriya demolishes Windies attack, helps Lanka top Group C

Jayasuriya entertained the Trent Bridge crowd with explosive hits, and put 81 runs in his name off only 47 balls, in an innings that overshadowed Dilshan's second half-century of the tournament in as many matches.
West Indian batsman, in Chris Gayle's absence, couldn't put up a useful fight, eventhough they raced to 65 for 1 after just six overs. Sarwan played 26 balls, scoring 28, without a single hit to the boundary. He and Pollard started the final over needing 28 but managed only 12.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 11: SRI vs WIN, Group C, June 10: Sri Lanka 192/5 (Jayasuriya 81, Dilshan 74, Simmons 4-19) beat West Indies 177/5 (Bravo 51, Mendis 2-25) by 15 runs

Sri Lanka knocks Australia out of World Twenty20‎

Sri Lanka's six-wicket victory at Trent Bridge over Australia meant the Aussies are out of the ICC World Twenty20 and will have more time to practice for the upcoming Ashes. Kumar Sangakkara played a captain's innings, steadying the innings whenever the Australians tried to crawl back into the game. His 55 not out in 42 balls had six shots to the boundary including 2 sixes at crucial moments. Sri Lanka booked a berth in the Super Eights with five balls to spare. Tillakaratne Dilshan hit 53 off 32 balls, making sure Sri Lanka were always comfortably paced, chasing Australia's 159/9.

2009 ICC World Twenty20 Match 8: SRI vs AUS, Group C, June 8: Sri Lanka 160-4 (Sangakkara 55*, Dilshan 53) beat Australia 159-9 (Johnson 28*, Mendis 3-20, Malinga 3-36) by six wickets

Pakistan v Sri Lanka Cricket Test Series 2009

Sri Lankan cricket team returns home after Lahore attack

Sri Lanka's cricket team returned home early Wednesday, one day after narrowly escaping a terrorist attack in Lahore, Pakistan with the team captain paying tribute to the bus driver for saving their lives.
The shaken team was welcomed at Colombo airport amid tight security by anxious relatives and Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene, speaking to journalists on arrival at Bandaranaike International Airport Wednesday morning said 'if the driver had not driven off it would have been difficult for us to survive. Fortunately he was not injured and he managed to drive us away.'
The players had been on their way to open the third day of play of their second test match in the eastern Pakistani city when they came under attack by a number of gunmen. Jayawardene said that incident could have taken place in any part of the world, but refrained from commenting whether there were any security lapses.
Sri Lanka's public reacted with shock to the incident, many offering prayers for saving the team, expressing sympathy to the families of the six Pakistani police officers killed in the incident. The Sri Lankan team was touring Pakistan after India refused play there due to security reasons following the November terrorist attack in Mumbai.

Gunmen attack Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan

A dozen men attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team with rifles, grenades and rocket launchers Tuesday ahead of a match in Pakistan, wounding seven players and a coach from Britain in a brazen assault on South Asia's most beloved sport. Six policemen and a civilian were killed.
An assistant coach was also wounded, but the players' and coach's injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. The assailants ambushed the convoy carrying the squad and match officials at a traffic circle close to the main sports stadium in the eastern city of Lahore, triggering a 15-minute gunbattle with police guarding the vehicles.
None of the attackers were killed or captured at the scene, city police chief Haji Habibur Rehman said. Authorities did not speculate on the identities of the attackers or their motives. The attack reinforced perceptions that nuclear-armed Pakistan is veering out of control and will end any hopes of international cricket teams — or any sports teams — playing in the country for months, if not years. Even before the incident, most cricket teams choose not to tour the country because of security concerns.

PAK v SL, 2nd Test, Lahore: Test called off after attack

The second cricket Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was called off Tuesday after a deadly gun and grenade attack on the tourists' bus in Lahore, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced.
"This test match has been officially called off," PCB chairman Ijaz Butt told reporters in Pakistan's eastern city Lahore. Pakistani authorities were providing helicopters to evacuate the Sri Lankan team, which announced they would return home immediately.
"We are providing helicopters to evacuate the team from the ground to an air base from where they will leave," Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province of which Lahore is the capital, told reporters. "We are going to catch these terrorists one way or the other," he said.

PAK v SL, 2nd Test, Lahore: Pakistan 110-1 drew with Sri Lanka 606

Read more Cricket news

Sri Lanka Cricket News from February 2009
Sri Lanka Cricket News from January 2009