Boom boom Afridi guides Pakistan to victory over Canada

Pakistan win by 46 runs, Afridi takes five wickets

COLOMBO: Pakistan won the match by 46 runs with Canada all out at 138 in the 43^rd over, at the R Premadasa stadium on Thursday in a Group A match of the ICC World Cup 2011. Pakistan set a target of 184.

End of live updates

Forty-third over

Wahab Riaz is back into the attack. Way wide. Someone should remind Riaz every time he bowls a wide the other side gets a run.

And it is over! Riaz cleans up. Osinde is bowled. Canada are all out for 138.

Take a bow team Pakistan, three matches in a row!

Forty-second over

Umer Gul bowling.

Afridi does it again! Balaji Rao run out! He had no chance, totally gave up there. Canada are 135/9

Forty-first over

Afridi bowling his last over. What a spell. Afridi finishes with 22/5. Canada now need 53 runs to win and are now 132/8

Fortieth over

Umer Gul is back into the attack.

Harper speaking to Shehzad after he exchanged a few words with Rao.

Quick ball, Umer Gul hits Balaji Rao on the shoulder. Some words exchanged.

Thirty-ninth over

Wahab Riaz! What a catch! Afridi takes five again! Gordon is gone.

LBW appeal! Rejected and Afridi goes for the review. And the decision stands Not Out. Canada are 130/8

Twitter buzz:

cgiridhar Giridhar Its Afridi vs Canada and Afridi is winning

sairmir Sair Mir If #Lala keeps on encouraging his players like that, there's a very strong chance he might injure one of his players! :P #wc11

shahidm Shahid M Can see traces of '90s Pakistan team in this one. Playing to win!

kaprasanna kaprasanna Dear Canada, what you've got to lose?Might as well take batting power play and go for it? #takecare

Thirty-eighth over

Ajmal to Gordon, smashed for four to the mid-wicket boundary. Wide ball and four. Expensive over from Ajmal. Canada are now 125/7

Thirty-seventh over

And Afridi is back to bowl his eighth over.

And he's done it again! Shahid Afridi is on FIRE! Hansra is bowled at 43 runs!

Another one! Afridi is on a hat-trick!  Baidwan goes! Afridi misses the hat-trick.

Great over from the captain. Canada are 114/7

Thirty-sixth over

Ajmal bowls. Pakistan coming back to life now.

Two runs off the over. Canada are now 113/5

Thirty-fifth over

Afridi to Cheema, smashed for four. The new man doesn't wait to settle in.

Cheema is gone! Lala is on fire! What a beauty. Clean bowled as he swings his bat. Canada are 111/5

Thirty-fourth over

Ajmal to Sarkari, appeal for LBW and rejected! Pakistan go for the review.  And he's out! What is up with the umpires today? Canada are 106/4

Thirty-third over

Hafeez to Hansra, smashed for SIX! Things don't look well for Pakistan. Come on! Canada are 104/3, 81 away from victory.

Twitter buzz:

smokenfog Sahil Another over to Hafeez and i am shutting the TV off. Gull and Afridi should be bowling right now.

GayanMW Gayan Malinda I really think #Afridi should listen to Ian Chapell's commentary. There are plenty of tips passed freely.

kaalakawaa Kala Kawa Time to bring in Younis Khan to bowl some leg breaks. It will be quite funny.

bnaray Badri What's with that pause before delivering Mr. Ajmal/ Hafeez? Doesn't it make it easier for batsman to read the ball of your hand?

Thirty-second over

Two appeals in a row. Ajmal desperately looking for a wicket here.

And another appeal! Afridi goes for the review. Decision stays, not out. Canada are 98/3

On a side note, Inzamamul Haq says the World cup is wide open. Read it here!

Thirty-first over

Hafeez bowls his fourth over, three off it. Canada are 95/3

Thirtieth over

Hansra edges the ball! Safe. Ajmal fails to reach the ball as it lands safely. Three off the over. Canada are 92/3

Twenty-ninth over

Hafeez is struck for four off the second ball, Hansra is now 25 off 53 balls. Another expensive over, seven off it. Canada are 89/3

Twenty-eighth over

Ajmal bowls. Just three off the over. Canada need 99 runs with seven wickets remaining. Canada are 82/3

Twenty-seventh over

Hafeez bowls. Just one off the over. Well, things seem to be slowing down now. If Pakistan don't pick up any wickets, things could become difficult later on. Afridi needs to think more aggressively. Canada are 79/3

Twenty-sixth over

Ajmal bowls. Hansra survives the doosra. Four off the over. Canada are 78/3

Twitter buzz:

sanakazmi Sana Kazmi hafeez in. does that mean we've given up?

abidhussayn Abid Hussain Wahab Riaz needs to stop bowling rubbish and find his yorker length radar.

rameshsrivats Ramesh Srivats Knock Knock | Who's there? | Daryl | Daryl who? | Daryl be a time when I'll get a decision right.

anuradha_kush A K What is the general opinion about this match, fixed or not?

Twenty-fifth over

Hafeez replaces Riaz, and Hansra smashes him for four off the second ball of the over. Canada are 74/3

Twenty-fourth over

Saeed Ajmal takes over from Afridi, five off the over. Canada are picking up now, they need 115 from 156 balls. Canada are 70/3

Twenty-third over

Riaz to Hansra, edges between the keeper and slip for four.

Top edge from Surkari ensures the ball reaches the boundary. Expensive over, nine off it. Canada are 65/3

Twenty-second over

Afridi bowls his fifth over. Just two off it. Canada are 56/3

Twenty-first over

Wahab Riaz to Surkari, that goes flying to the boundary. Good save by Asad Shafiq, the batsmen take three. Canada are 54/3

Twentieth over

Afridi bowling a tight spell. Just one run off the over. Canada are 50/3

Ninteenth over

Wahab Riaz bowls. Just one off the over. Canada are 49/3

Eighteenth over

Afridi appeals again! Not out and then decision reversed after the review! Bagai has to go. Afridi was very confident, nods all around.

A few more to go, Lala! Let's do this!

New batsman in is Jimmy Hansra. Afridi struck for four off the last ball. Canada are now 48/3 and now need 137 runs to win.

Twitter buzz:

SahilRiz Sahil Rizwan Lala FTW!

KamranPK Syed Kamran Haider Candy Captain gone!! goody boom boom AFRIDI!

vipzvipul Vipul Yadav this match wont giv u a heartattack. it will just slow down ur pace of heartbeats

ceeyum Chandramohan Kannan Pak in funny spot; lose-threw the match; win-untrustworthy batting; lose-lose situation

gauravkapur gaurav kapur Canada may have bowled out Pakistan for 184, but what they do to India is far worse. Sending Bryan Adams here every other year.

Seventeenth over

And we're back from the drinks break.

Riaz goes for three runs. Canada are 44/2

Sixteenth over

Another appeal from Afridi. At this rate Pakistan should be able to get an LBW out of the umpire.

And thats drinks! Canada are 41/2

Fifteenth over

Wahab Riaz comes into the attack and Bagai smashes him for four off the first ball. Great start, Wahab. Canada are 40/2

Fourteenth over

Afridi bowling his second over. Kamran Akmal all over the place with his Shaabaa's.

Shout for LBW! Rejected again. Just one off the over. Canada are 36/2

Thirteenth over

Razzaq to Bagai, struck for four off the first bowl. Canada are 35/2

Twelfth over

Shahid Afiridi brings himself in to bowl!

Appeal for LBW, rejected. Afridi decides against a review. Two off the over. Canada are 30/2

Eleventh over

Pakistan take the bowling power play. Just two off the over. Razzaq doing a decent job. Canada are now 27/2

Tenth over

And a maiden form Umer Gul too now. Thats the ten over mark and Canada are now 25/2.

Ninth over

Just two runs off the over. Razzaq is bowling a decent spell.

Umpire Daryl Harper tells Canadian batsmen he will not allow reviews if they take help from the dressing room. Looks like he noticed Baai looking towards the dressing room right after the LBW. Canada are 25/2

Eigth over

Shout for LBW from Umer Gul, GIVEN OUT! And reversed thanks to the UDRS once again. Bagai survives. Canada are 23/2

Twitter Buzz:

cyalm cyril almeida If we lose to Canada, you think the media will give it more coverage than the Bhatti kiling?

umairjav Umair Javed @cyalm They gave more coverage to Ireland's win over England yesterday. So the answer would be an emphatic yes.

Seventh over

And Razzaq bowls a maiden.

Sixth over

Fast bowler Gul is struck for four as Surkari gives a mild boost to Canada.

Twitter buzz:

WajihaSaid Wajiha Said Possible news headline: Pakistan tightens visa process for Canadians post World Cup defeat

Zyenab Zainab Dhanji Canada... Canada... Canada... *yes am cheering for the winning team*

sanakazmi Sana Kazmi good job to whoever pushed afridi for that review.

obakhtar Omar Bilal Akhtar Ball swings to the left, Akmal goes to the right. In other news, Oxygen found essential for breathing.

Fifth over

Fast bowler Razzaq bowls to Kumar. LBW appeal originally given out is reversed after the UDRS comes into play! Close one there.

Bowled! Kumar is gone, courtesy Razzaq. Canada are 16/2

Fourth over

Fast bowler Gul bowls to Gunasekera and Kumar. Kamran Akmal aka "Dropmal" drops a catch. Canada are 16/0 and need 170 runs to win.  Gunasekera given out! LBW decision which was originally given not out by umpire. Canada are 16/1

Twitter buzz:

cheenamonkey Cheenamonkey  Wondering 4 sumtime whether pakistan has a better wkt-keeper than kamran akmal?

L3LL1077 Lyndon Elliott Pakistan cricket team's pre-match routine includes sitting in a poorly ventilated room together and sniffing glue!

Third over

Fast bowler Razzaq bowls to Gunasekera and Kumar. Canada are 12/0 and need 173 runs to win. The field placing is just miserable, with three players running towards a ball that was in the air for at least 5 seconds. Did someone say pressure?

Comments on The Express Tribune:

Asif: Yeah, this match is fixed!

Saad: its a american conspiracy. Raymond davis is behind this poor performance.lol

Second over

Fast bowler Umar Gul bowls to Gunasekera and Kumar, Canada are 10/0 at the end of the over and need 175 runs to win.

Second innings begins: First over

Ruvindu Gunasekera and 16-year-old Nitish Kumar open the batting for Canada, while fast bowler Abdur Razzaq bowls the over. Canada are 4/0 at the end of the over.

Twitter update:

kaalakawaa Kala Kawa  184! We aren't one of the best T20 teams for no reason.

 

mirza9 Shaheryar Mirza  Man I need to get out of work and watch this match. It's going to be a good one.

 

HumaImtiaz Huma Imtiaz  Yep, I jinxed it. Or I have a newfound skill to predict cricket matches. Either way, what a wonderfully disastrous performance.

 

mirza9 Shaheryar Mirza  What is the one thing we have that Canada doesn't have? The Pathan Honor Code that will not let defectors get away this behavior.

 

mirza9 Shaheryar Mirza  No world cup would be complete without a complete collapse of #pakistan 's batting order.

 

Ireland's sensational World Cup victory over England inspired Canada to hand mighty Pakistan a huge scare on Thursday as the tournament braced itself for another sensation.

Less than a day after Ireland struck a major blow for the game's second tier nations with their three-wicket win in Bangalore, fellow underdogs Canada were snarling at the heels of Pakistan, the 1992 champions, in Colombo. Canada dismissed Pakistan for just 184 at the R Premadasa stadium.

Umar Akmal top-scored for Pakistan with 48 while seamer Harvir Baidwan claimed three wickets for a Canadian side who had lost by 210 runs to Sri Lanka and by 175 runs to Zimbabwe. "The guys really worked hard. We've had two bad games but I hope the batting clicks today and it's a good total to chase. We're pretty confident about it so it's a good team effort," said Baidwan.

End of first innings

Pakistan are all out for 184 with seven overs remaining. The run rate was a miserable 4.27.  Here's the scorecard courtesy of AFP:

First innings scoreboard of the World Cup Group A match between Pakistan and Canada at R Premadasa stadium on Thursday:

Pakistan

Mohammad Hafeez lbw b Osinde 11

Ahmed Shahzad c Gordon b Baidwan 12

Kamran Akmal c Kumar b Cheema 16

Younis Khan lbw b Baidwan 6

Misbah-ul-Haq c Bagai b Rao 37

Umar Akmal lbw b Rao 48

Shahid Afridi c Kumar b Cheema 20

Abdul Razzaq lbw b Hansra 8

Umar Gul not out 2

Wahab Riaz c Rao b Hansra 0

Saeed Ajmal b Baidwan 0

Extras: (b4, lb3, nb1, w16) 24 Total: (all out; 43 overs) 184

Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Hafeez), 2-42 (Shahzad), 3-55 (Younis), 4-67 (Kamran), 5-140 (Umar), 6-165 (Misbah), 7-181 (Afridi), 8-181 (Razzaq), 9-181 (Riaz), 10-184 (Ajmal) Bowling: Chohan 3.3-0-10-0 (nb1), Osinde 7-1-25-1 (w5), Gordon 0.3-0-1-0 (w1), Baidwan 8-1-35-3 (w6), Cheema 8-0-33-2 (w3), Rao 10-0-50-2 (w1), Hansra 6-1-23-2

Here's the Twitter buzz:

kaalakawaa Kala Kawa Look they just have Indian names, they aren't India. You don't HAVE to lose to them in the World Cup.

 

zimcricket ZimCricketNews Well, well, well. Canada may be doing an Ireland on Pakistan, who are 71/4 after 15.4 overs.

 

 

Marnus27 Marnus du Randt  Some match fixing going on? Pakistan 92/4 vs Canada!

 

mirza9 Shaheryar Mirza  Listening to this match on radio is a whole new level of misery and comedy.

 

guardian_sport Guardian sport  #Pakistan skittled for 184 by #Canada at #cwc2011 ... Another shock on the cards?

 

omizzz Umar. M  OH yay....185, to win for canada, lets try to smack em up at 50 ! k thanks.

 

LJBenji Lucy  ITS ALL OVER!! Canada have dismissed Pakistan for 184!!#theassociatestrikesback

 

irfantariq IrfanTariq Javed  I think there will b another worldcup upset

 

BlackburnJA Jack Blackburn  Canada bowl Pakistan out for 184 in #cwc2011. Can their batsmen do an Ireland? #stillbearingmassiveembarrassment

25th over

Rao bowls to Misbah and Akmal, Akmal clears the ball over the boundary for a four! We'd like more of that please. Pakistan are 99/4.

Here's the Twitter update:

aady110 Adnan Kazmy  A spectator holding a placard "BE AFRAID-I" a nice one

 

zimcricket ZimCricketNews Well, well, well. Canada may be doing an Ireland on Pakistan, who are 71/4 after 15.4 overs.

 

Marnus27 Marnus du Randt  Some match fixing going on? Pakistan 92/4 vs Canada!

 

Aadill Syed Aadil Shah  And Umar Akmal has the chance to prove the talk of him one of the best young talents on the international scence

23rd over

Akmal whacks a six on the first ball of the over! Balaji Rao is bowling the over. Pakistan are 91/4

Twitter reaction to Pakistan's abysmal performance:

kashaziz Kashif Aziz  Misbah just tried to run Umar Akmal out. Epic.

kaalakawaa Kala Kawa  Pakistan's playing s*** right now because they can't tell if the Desis bowling to them are on their side or not.

HumaImtiaz Huma Imtiaz  Pakistan, its the CWC, not a charity organization. You've already lost to Bangladesh and Ireland in previous CWCs, now Canada?

thekarachikid Khaver Siddiqi  Oh I get it. That's the Pakistani team applying for Canadian passports. All of them passing interviews so far.

22nd over

Sorry about the gap! Was too depressed to update... no, the truth is that we had some technical difficulties.

So now that we've lost Kamran Akmal, Younus Khan, Ahmed Shehzad and Muhammad Hafeez, Pakistan are 83/4 with Umar AKmal and Misbahul Haq batting.  Osinde is bowling the over and I must say the Canadians are looking good!

12th over

Rizwan Cheema bowls to Akmal and Younus, Pakistan are 50/2 at the end of the over. Seriously guys, pick up the pace.

11th over

Baidwan bowls to Akmal and Younus. Pakistan are 45/2 at the end of the over.

Here's the Twitter buzz in case you fell asleep watching the match:

shk1234 Saeed Khan  Pak v Canada. Why don't they play against my local under 16 team? Same thing.

DJNoreenKhan Noreen Khan Best of luck to the boys in green today...

ShirazHassan Shiraz Hassan  Canadian bowler Khurram Chohan belongs to Lahore #Pakistan.He had played for Lahore Lions and Pak under-19s.

serenac13 Serena Chaudhry  Hi all, #Pakistan playing #Canada today in the #cwc2011 They had best win! Not too happy about that early wicket falling though.

mirza9 Shaheryar Mirza Everyone in my office has been rooting for Canada. I feel like they have managed to will these two wickets to fall.

10th over

Osinde bowls to Akmal and Younus, Pakistan are 44/2 at the end of the over. A slow and disappointing performance by Pakistan so far. Wake up, greens!

People react to the multicultural make-up of the Canadian team:

A comment on The Express Tribune Facebook page:

Abid Ali: Not a single gora in the Canadian team!

Twitter reaction:

_mukesh Mukesh  The Canadian team: 4 Pakistanis, two Indians, a West Indian, a Sri Lankan and Henry Osinde - who was born in Uganda.

Ninth over

Harvir Baidwan bowls to Shehzad and Akmal. Shehzad hits a brilliant four followed by a poor shot that is caught out by Gordon after making a mere 12 runs. Younus Khan comes to crease after Shehzad's dismissal. Pakistan are 43/2

Eighth over

Osinde bowls to Shehzad and Akmal. Pakistan are 34/1 at the end of the over

In case you missed it. The squads are

Pakistan - Shahid Afridi (captain), Misbahul Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younus Khan, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Ahmed Shehzad.

Canada - Ashish Bagai (captain), Rizwan Cheema, Harvir Baidwan, Nitish Kumar, Tyson Gordon, Henry Osinde, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Khurram Chohan, Jimmy Hansra, Zubin Surkari, Balaji Rao.

Seventh over

Chohan bowls to Akmal and Shehzad. Come on guys, give us some boundaries! Pakistan are 28/1 at the end of the over.

Tribune reporter Fawad Hussain is at the R Premadasa stadium and tells us that the stands are fairly empty even though Pakistan enjoys support in Sri Lanka. Perhaps the Lankans are still smarting from their defeat at this very stadium?

Hussain says the weather is overcast with slight chances of showers. He says Pakistan openers may be looking for a quick start to keep things in favour in case of Duckworth and Lewis rule. Pakistan batsmen usually don't perform well in such conditions but a weak Canadian attack may go in their favour.

Sixth over

Osinde bowls to Shehzad and Akmal. Akmal hits a brilliant four! Pakistan are 27/1 at the end of the over

Fifth over

Kamran Akmal comes to bat in place of Hafeez, Chohan bowls the over. Pakistan are 20/1 at the end of the over.

Twitter reaction to Hafeez's dismissal:

jammabbas Muhammad Abbas  Pak looking a bit rusty. Is'nt It??

zshussain1 Zainab Hussain  Hafeezzzz u knw u knw u knw u knw.. anyway leave it u knw

dogonboat Ali Syed  Glad Hafeez was given out. Hafeez and K Akmal two most selfish players on #Pakistan team

Fourth over

Hafeez given LBW by umpire Harper after making 11 runs, delivery bowled by Osinde. Hafeez asks for decision review, and umpire decision stands. Pakistan are 16/1

Third over

Khurram Chohan bowls to Hafeez and Shehzad. Pakistan are 13/0 at the end of the over.

Second over

Hafeez and Shehzad bat, Henry Osinde bowls. Hafeez hits two fours, good going! Pakistan are 13/0 at the end of the over.

Here's the Twitter update:

sanakazmi Sana Kazmi  still no junaid khan. RT @raza_naq shoaib, rehman out and wahab, ajmal in. shehzad, hafeez to open

dogonboat Ali Syed  Canda's national anthem sounds like something out of a Disney movie HAHA

HumaImtiaz Huma Imtiaz  Brain tells me I should not be nervous about Pak v/s Canada. Heart whispering: "middle order collapse".

First over

Muhammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad are opening for the Pakistan batting line up, over bowled by Khurram Chohan. Pakistan 4/0

Pakistan have so far won both their matches this tournament against Kenya and Zimbabwe. Canada have lost both their matches against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, but have gained inspiration from Wednesday's upset when Ireland defeated England in a thrilling match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

According to cricinfo.com, the two teams last met in an ODI in the 1979 World Cup and Pakistan won the match by 8 wickets.

The Express Tribune's sports reporter Fawad Hussain writes from Colombo:

"With spinner Abdul Rehman out due to injury, Saeed Ajmal looks a likely replacement in the team’s third Group A match at the R Premedasa Stadium in Colombo.

While the opposition poses little threat, the dilemma would be whether to rest ageing fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who played a crucial role in the match against Sri Lanka."

Here’s the Twitter buzz:

PakCricFanatic Acim  Pakistan playing Dropmal,shows how serious they are when it comes improving their fielding and not dropping/missing simple chances. #cwc2011

taalz Talal Masood  Ok, now i'm worried about tomorrow's match #Pakistan vs#Canada .. after today's match, anything is possible :D

TCEssentials ThomasCookEssentials  After #Irelands amazing performance, I may need to reassess my choices for the.

sharmilafaruqi SHARMILAFARUQUI  Now one should dare believe Pakistan did lose to Ireland in the last WC!