SHARJAH: Shahid Afridi's scintillating all-round display secured Pakistan a series-clinching 26-run victory against Sri Lanka in a low scoring fourth one-day international on Sunday.
Afridi struck a defiant 75 to help Pakistan reach a modest 200 on a sluggish track at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium before they folded in 49.3 overs.
The all-rounder then returned to claim five for 35 as Pakistan shot out Sri Lanka for 174 in 45.2 overs to go 3-1 up in the five-match series.
Sri Lanka wobbled early in their chase, losing both the openers Upul Tharanga (16) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (11) to Aizaz Cheema inside eight overs.
Dinesh Chandimal's (11) exit had them reeling at 53 for three in the 13th over before Kumar Sangakkara (58) and Mahela Jayawardene (55), with more than 650 ODIs between them, put their chase back on track with a 102-run stand.
Just when they appeared to be cruising to victory, Afridi removed both the batsmen to turn the match on its head and went on to register his sixth ODI five-wicket haul to walk away with the man of the match award.
Earlier, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq decided to bat first only to see his team slump to 71 for five in the 24th over.
Change bowler Dilhara Fernando (3-26) removed Imran Farhat (10) with his first delivery while Mohammad Hafeez, whose 27 was the second highest score in Pakistan innings, could not convert the start either.
Younis Khan (18) became Fernando's second victim while Shoaib Malik (two) was foxed by a Jeevan Mendis googly, much to the disappointment of the Pakistani fans in the stadium.
Mendis unleashed another googly in his next over to remove Umar Akmal (two) leg before. Pakistan's crisis compounded when Misbah (16) was run out in his second successive match after a mix-up with Afridi, who took the onus on himself to arrest the slide.
Afridi played with controlled aggression and hit leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna for a massive six, second of his three, to bring up his 32nd ODI fifty.
He was dropped in the deep on 72 but a diving Sangakkara took his second one-handed catch off Thisara Perera to cut short Afridi's 65-ball knock.
Abu Dhabi hosts the fifth and final match on Wednesday.
COMMENTS (57)
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Before leaving, someone asked him ” Whats the difference between todays Afridi in comparison with old Afridi, Afridi gave a funny reply and makes everyone laugh by saying..
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@ ch Daad... when did srilanka become middle school team.. they were finalist in the worldcup.. get yourself checked up.. you have been posting nonsense all over tribune... seem like a troll..no infact you are one.!
@Nasir Khan: What do mean by being modest....every player has his own way to celebrate..did you forget ganguly removing his shirt at Lords?
If Imran Farhat can score 70 plus runs against SL, then any club cricket level player including Afridi can do.. Our opponents are smart people, they let these below average players to perform against them so that in important tournaments they could easily beat them.
@zalim singg Who is sohaib mirza?
@Speech: The Afridi haters would never stop hating! Maybe you guys still have small hearts! LOL
@Kafka: Please stop the speculations and open your mouth only if there is solid evidence! This was an epic performace by a guy who even Mazhar Majeed said that doesn't get involved in "fixing" etc.
Afridi was a rockstar yesterday.nice to see pakistan win but its very premature to predict whether pakistan is competant enough to give a fight to strong opponents like Australia,South Africa n india in ODI's atleast.i dont think they are a good side in tests.
Brilliant effort by Afridi and the team as a whole. After the game a friend called and said that if putting three guys behind bars could produce such results just imagine what we could achieve as a nation if just 30 rotters were put behind bars. But then I was in no mood to talk politics - winning at cricket does that for you.
@speech...afridi has every right to be proud of himself. a personality like afridi may not perform very often but keeps the morale high within the team which has been shown time and again.....had pakistan lost the match, ur comments surely would have been different....enjoy the success pakistan is achieving in recent times...criticism should be welcome when it is due....
@Ch Allah Daad: well this very modest team humble aussies. dont take back the credits from pakistan since u dont like them...and with players like saga..mahela...dilshan..who says its a second string team.truth is that pak is better than SL.
Afridi = Char din ki Chandni, fir andheri raat. Cricket is a team sports played by 11 players. The guy behaves like a superstar, as if everything revolves around him. After taking a wicket standing in the middle with both the hands in the air like he just won the world cup. No one praises Akmal or Younus Khan for their glorious innings in countless matches and one flash in the pan performance by Afridi and everyone goes gaga.
When Dilshan was asked at the end of the match "What went wrong for you guys" he should have answered AFRIDI :)
Sri Lanka losing their last seven wickets for 19 runs in SHARJAH !!! something fishy???
Well done. Keep the flag high and work hard.
Afridi Zindabad! I can't believe he was kicked out of the team earlier. I can't believe he was the player the PCB so willingly wanted to lose just months ago. I think it is time we all should agree that Boom Boom is one of the Best players Pakistan has ever seen. Cricket has always been something that brings together the entire country, the ENTIRE country, and Afridi strives very very hard to give us all a reason to be Happy and Celebrate our victories with joy. All the best Afridi. May you live forever :)
This was the Match between Srilanka and Afridi. AFRIDI, WELL DONE AND KEEP IT UP.!!!!! WE LOVE YOU.!!!!!
All that hard work and training Shahid Afridi did during his time off was evident on the cricket field! Excellent performance by Shahid Afridi :) - We always can count on him to get the job done and we can always count on him to turn things around in favor for his team - Such a lovely feeling to see Afridi so humble after winning the Man of the Match :) SHAHID AFRIDI will be known as a true LEGEND in cricket! May Almighty Allah Always Bless Shahid Afridi and nurture Shahid's competitive winning attitude! :)
Well done Shahid Afridi keep it up ! Good luck to Pakistan
I appreciate the efforts being done by Shahid Afridi for winning the one day series against Sri Lanka. I also worried about the worst performance by other members of the team including Captain and Younus Khan, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul.
We must accept the truth that the Bowling, Batting and Fielding Coach is immediately required. Mohsin Khan is not capable to train these batsmen in modern era. Some technically sound coach is required to train the player. Now some hard crickets to be played by Pakistan team in foreign soil so the players who are mentally tough can survive and will perform.
There is no place for Shoib Malik & Sohail Tanveer. They must be dropped from the remaining matches and send them to play some good domestic cricket.
@afridi: Ok time to get off cloud 9 and see reality, world cup is 4 years away (T20 is for chumps) Afridi is good but we all know how inconistent he is. 75 one day 3 the next lets see some consistency before we crown him. I don't know where Afridi haters come from or Misbah haters but they both play on the same squad and the end its a win for TEAM Pakistan not Afridi.
So this time it was not fixed enjoy.
Looks to be a fixed match. 155-2 , 174 all out. Dilshan has fixed match before and there has been inquiry against him. Now he is the captain - what do you expect ? More so match was in Sarjah. Fixers' heaven.
In Batting, its AFRIDI, in Bowling its AFRIDI, in fielding , its AFRIDI.....
After Waqar younis statement that its a team game but after this game I can say that AFRIDI is the one who make this game win. Afridi proves to be a match winner.
Thank God. Team Pakistan has passed the era of Raiwand Cricket. In which they use to play the same set of Molvis again & again. Get rid of overacting Younis(permanent liability against top team like Austraila). Pakistan Zindabad
@ ch Allah Daad.... grow up i know you hate afridi but you still manage to comments here as most of afridi haters are not commenting today and if you saying SL team was school boys thats why afridi performed.. you stupid pakistan team was loosing to these school boys team but afridi save the team from humiliating defeat ....thumbs up for XXXXXXX i mean afridi
@Mohammad Ahmed Khan: i agree :)
@Ch Allah Daad: Cynicism isn't a good thing. Afridi did well. If you're a Pakistan fan, enjoy it.
@Ch Allah Daad: sir, afridi may have not clicked in terms of batting for a very long time, but you can not deny that he took us to the semis, and was the highest wicket taker. and he himself admits that he's a bowler than a batsman. it's just his fans that want to see him hit another fast century but predominantly he is a bowler, and an excellent one at that too..
Hate is a very strong word. Some people did not like Afridi's behavior as a media hound and politician. He can be an asset to Pakistan only if he is kept under control. People did not like an out of control, confrontational captain that was politicizing the game and not letting his game do the talking. The team has been performing great without media bashing under a highly polished and educated leader. Let us keep going.
Afridi proved his come back - best guy of the team - deserve to be captain
as usual - once again Afraidi did his job
Afridi has always been a disappointment for some one. Few times for his haters and most of the time for his lovers. Enjoy this moment, you got it after three hundred matches.
In my opinion Sri Lanka has sent one of their middle school team. How come Afridi takes five wickets, scores half century and opposition haven't committed suicide?
why should he be modest! in his celebration... he delivers and will continue to deliver in the future inshallah... in the world cup and now continuing his sublime form.... he was very humble in the press conference and even praised misbah, though misbah is simply in the team cuz he is captain.. does damn all.. bats like a snail too slow in the field.. i mean asad shafiq should be in his place..or shoaib malik who can atleast contribute with the ball.. besides afridi pose is now his trademark.. its a proud moment for all pakistani fans.. when he tears apart the opponent and stands in that pose.. all Pakistanis around the world are united for few secs .... pakistan name is taken to new heights..all the bad news surrounding pakistan and fools like our ambassador destroying our rep.. atleast one person afridi lifting our spirits and bringing joy to this nation.... haters will always hate... afridi is class..
Who hates Afridi?? the guy just wasn't a good captain he is best when he focuses on his own game. Pakistan needs to be much more consistent and I still have to see whether this team can chase a 250+ total. You guys are just being sour grapes by not giving Misbah any credit, out of the entire team he is probably the most consistent batter. Great win but this was SL, who it seems we always have their number England will be a true test.
Afridi zindabad
I am so glad to see our REAL team back...the FIGHTING Pakistan!!!!!
Sharjah has always been Great for Pakistan Cricket and today it proved to be Great again.
Afridi is hugely talented and a match winner. One sincere suggestion is that he gets a little more modest.
Wow unbelievable performance. Reminds me of 90's when we used to defend small totals with supreme bowling attack. Afridi just proved yet again that he is one of the best all rounder in today's cricket. Infact the best strike bowler in limited overs in the last 2-3 yrs or so. SL, well pathetic ..apart from Sangakara they simply don't have match winners in batting department. Feeling proud and ecstatic.
a nice match after a long time
Afridi haters can go to hell,,Afridi rocks!
haters hide....time and time again afridi shows how vital he is.. yet we question him.. Misbah contributes nothing to ODI side. hes the rahul dravid (though dravid is wall and worldclass while misbah is not) type who should only play test.. misbah is too damn slow.. afridi leads from the front..
Lanka Lalafied ;)
@zalim singh: Loll good one loll
After a long time I was really happy to see Afridi's fireworks. PAK really has a world class Bowling attack that can even defend 200 runs in modern cricket. It really is a amazing team that can perform even under the most hostile circumstances both on & off the field.
@Khan: I was an Afridi hater, but, damn, he won the game!
BOOM BOOM! We did it! Afridi Zindabad! All the Afridi haters can eat dust or sand here in Sharjah! It was an epic performance and now I really regret not going to the stadium :(
This pretty much better news amid memo gate and other hells around. Good luck Pakistan
To all the Boom Boom haters..... eat your words now!!!!!! SHAHID AFRIDIIIII!!!!!!
beat of luck to Mr.Sohaib Mirza.