Rain denies Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka were denied an attempt at chasing a mediocre 202 in the first one-dayer at Colombo today by a huge thunderstorm, which struck during the innings break. Three wickets apiece from Farveez Maharoof and Kaushal Lokuarachchi had prevented Pakistan from scoring freely, despite gritty forties from Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan.

Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu’s decision to bowl first on winning the toss was vindicated when Farveez Maharoof removed Kamran Akmal in only the fourth over. Maharoof bowled straight as a die early on, hitting Akmal’s off-stump with one that nipped back off the seam. Maharoof’s ten overs saw him take 3-24, with Lokuarachchi ending up with 3-47 himself.

Pakistan made slow progress early on, with their third wicket falling in the 21st over with the score on only 53. Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf then rebuilt gradually, getting Pakistan past the 100 mark with 20 overs still to go. Their efforts to provide a platform for the big-hitting Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq failed, however, as the two were gone by the time the score reached 121.

Pakistan were left in dire straits once Afridi then fell to Lokuarachchi for only two, and although Razzaq blasted two sixes in his 32, it took a gutsy 41 from Younis Khan to get them past the 200 mark. Sri Lanka looked set to take a 1-0 lead in the series when the rain hit – Pakistan will be grateful for the intervention of the weather, as their batsmen failed to do themselves justice.

1st ODI, Colombo – No Result

Pakistan 201-8 (50 overs)
Mohammad Yousuf 46, Younis Khan 41; Farveez Maharoof 3-24

CricketWeb Player of the Match: Farveez Maharoof – 3-24