14 Friday 21st October, 2011

BY MOHAMMED SALIM PARVEZA Lanka’s spirited reply of 289 all Series in South Africa. (Continued from yesterday) out fell well short of ’s In March 1999, Pakistan and massive total of 371 for 9 off 50 drew their qualifying n December 1986, Pakistan overs. In the following month, game played in in the beat Sri Lanka by 4 in both Pakistan and Sri Lanka were inaugural Asian Test Ithe Champions Trophy, held in participants of yet another ODI Championship. Opening batsman Sharjah. In the 1987 Reliance tournament, on this occasion for , in his sec- World Cup, the first one to be held the Singer Champions Trophy in ond Test, scored centuries in in the sub-continent, Pakistan Sharjah. Having pocketed the first each , only the third had the better of the two group game against Pakistan by 75 runs, Pakistani to do so after Hanif stage games against Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka lost the second one by 8 Mohammad (1961-62) and Javed winning by 15 runs at Hyderabad wickets and thus failed to qualify Miandad (1984-85). In the final and 113 runs at . for the final. though, held in Dhaka, Pakistan In the next meeting between In April 1997 Sri Lanka picked trounced Sri Lanka by an the two countries, Sri Lanka over- up the Singer Akai Cup, on the innings and 175 runs with both came Pakistan by 5 wickets in the way beating Pakistan in three Ijaz Ahmed (211) and Inzamam- opening game of the Asia Cup matches inside eight days, includ- ul-Haq (200) holding the stage in held in Dhaka in October 1988. ing the final, which they won by 4 their side’s massive total of 594. In March 1989 Pakistan beat wickets. Its star of the show was In March 1999, Pakistan and Sri Sri Lanka twice in winning the Aravinda de Silva, who with Lanka secured a win against Sharjah Cup. On their way to win- scores of 97, 134 and 87not out each other in the group stages of ning the that was held was really on top with the world. the Pepsi Tri-Nation Cup that in India, Pakistan recorded a nar- Six weeks later, Sri Lanka, was hosted by India. row six runs win against Sri secured another trophy to its In the post-1999 World Cup Lanka at Luknow. In the 1989-90 ever-growing collection of silver- phase, Sri Lanka having lost its World Series Cup matches, held in ware, by beating Pakistan in the crown of ODI world champions , Sri Lanka beat best-of-three finals of the Pepsi to Australia arrived in Sharjah to Pakistan by 5 wickets in Perth Independence Cup, held in India. take part in a three-nation Coca before losing three successive The margin of victories at Cola Champions Trophy that also matches in Brisbane, Hobart and Mohali (115 runs) & Calcutta (85 featured Pakistan and West Adelaide, respectively. runs) took Arjuna Ranatunga’s Indies. Pakistan tied its first In April 1990 Pakistan armed From mid 90s onwards Sri Lanka had the better of exchanges against Pakistan with Aravinda de Silva and Sanath side ahead of its two Asian rivals, game against Sri Lanka, as with a rampant Jayasuriya coming up with many match winning knocks. Here the two Sri Lankan greats take a breather in the India and Pakistan in ODIs. With Abdur Razzaq picked up five for stole the show with a 90-run win dressing room. scores of 339 for 4 and 309 all out, 31 and won the next game by 118 in the group stage fixture in the runs. Thus ’s side Austral-Asia Cup, held in remained unbeaten in the tour- Sharjah. At the same venue, in nament as they beat Sri Lanka by December 1990, Pakistan lifted the 88 runs in the low scoring one- Sharjah Cup by virtue of better sided final. Man of the Match run-rate in the two games played Pakistan – Sri Lanka had figures of 5 against Sri Lanka. for 28 to his name. The Test matches in the win- In February 2000, Sri Lanka ter of 1991-92, between Pakistan turned the table on its hosts by and Sri Lanka, played at Sialkot achieving an ODI whitewash and Gujranwala, disrupted by against Pakistan with wins at rain and bad light, ended in history (Part 3) , Gujranwala and Lahore. draws. The decider at Faisalabad, The three Test series too was a the last of ’s career, cause of celebration for the Sri which spanned 88 Tests, was a West Indies to compete for the posed by Sri Lanka, to register ly well to be declared as the win- no one could argue with their bat- Lanka team that recreated the low-scoring thriller that was dom- Pepsi Champions Trophy. two straight wins at the start of ner of the Singer Champions ting depth. The following week, spirit of 1995, by winning at inated by pace bowlers. In the Pakistan’s superiority over Sri the Mandela Trophy, held in Trophy in Sharjah. It was the the Pakistan team led by stand-in Rawalpindi (2 wickets) and end, Pakistan squeezed home on Lanka continued with two more South Africa. The Asia Cup jinx islanders’ first ever victory in an , fought well Peshawar (57 runs). In the open- the final day with a narrow three- victories over its Asian rival. followed Pakistan when they were overseas limited-overs tourna- against heavy odds, to avoid ing Test, debutant win, whilst chasing 185. A The 1994-95 tour, with middle- beaten soundly by Sri Lanka by ment with more than two Test defeat in the Test matches at (107) brought back his side into top order collapse had seen the order batsman Salim Malik in five wickets, in a must-win tie at countries. In Sharjah, Pakistan R.Premadasa Stadium and SSC. the game only to see it snatched home side reeling at 60 for four charge, was easily the most suc- Sharjah in April 1995. beat Sri Lanka by 82 runs in its Most of the cricket played in away by the old master Arjuna before Zahid Fazal (78) and Wasim cessful undertaken by a Pakistan first encounter before going down the series was dominated by the Ranatunga who defied his injury Akram (54) steered the ship to side to Sri Lanka. Although the Coming of Age in the do-or-die tie by eight wick- bat, in particular by Aravinda de by scoring 49 and 29 to safety. This was the closest Sri series was played under the The tour of 1995-96 kicked off ets. In March 1996, Sri Lanka Silva, who once gain toyed with win a close game. The home side Lanka had come to winning a clouds of civil unrest following a with Pakistan hosting Sri Lanka, went on to create history by win- Pakistan bowlers and in succes- clinched the final Test by 222 Test overseas, for which they general election in Sri Lanka, the led by Arjuna Ranatunga, for a ning the Wills World Cup. The sive innings had scores of 168, runs as a consolation victory, would have to wait for another deadly combination tour with of three Tests and a very next month, Pakistan, led by 138not out and 103not out. On the with stand-in captain, Moin four years. of Wasim Akram and Waqar same number of ODIs. Sri Lanka stand-in captain Aamir Sohail, final day of the second Test, Khan, named to continue on a The five-match ODI series, the Younis, was at the heart of with its first overseas Test win beat Sri Lanka to lift the three- Salim Malik (155) produced a permanent basis. The rubbery last opportunity for both teams in Pakistan’s success of 4-1 win in against New Zealand under its nation Singer Cup, the first ever match-saving innings worthy of wrists of Muttiah Muralitharan, preparation for the forthcoming the ODIs and two conclusive vic- belt was not going to be a push international tournament to be weight in gold. controversial and perhaps not World Cup in Australia and New tories in the Test matches at P over. held in Singapore. Left-handed With very little breathing the sight for the purists, lived up Zealand, was won by Pakistan 4-1. Sara Oval (301 runs) and Asgiriya named Rameez Raja as the new opening batsman, Sanath space in between the tourna- to high expectation by claiming The dynamic opening batsman, (an innings and 52 runs). captain, but with both Waqar Jayasuriya, having recently ments, the World Cup holders Sri 26 wickets in three Tests. The Inzamam-ul-Haq introduced him- A strong Sri Lankan Younis and Wasim Akram, not fir- emerged as the most eye-catching Lanka hosted the Pepsi Asia Cup smiling assassin from Kandy had self on the world stage by taking line-up flopped in the wake of ing on all cylinders and unavail- opening batsman in the world, in July 1997. They kicked off with all the leading Pakistan batsmen two hundreds off the helpless Sri pressure exerted by Pakistan able for the entire duration of the smashed 134 off 65 balls with 11 a 15-run win against Pakistan at including , Lankan bowlers, first in his home bowling as they were dismissed tour, the home side tasted its first fours and 11 sixes to be followed R.Premadasa Stadium as Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad town of and another one for 226, 181, 71 and 234 in four combined Test and ODI series by 76 off 28 balls in the final, a Pakistan were bowled out for 224. Yousuf in a tangle on pitches in the newly-built Pindi Cricket innings. Waqar Younis, the defeats on home soil since 1980-81. rate of scoring previously In November 1997, the that they had been brought up Stadium. The next meeting world’s leading exponent of After an innings defeat at unheard of at international level. islanders continued their great on. between the two teams took place reverse swing claimed match fig- Peshawar, Sri Lanka hit back This was the period when ODI run against Pakistan by beat- In June 2000 in March 1992 in Perth, by that ures of 11 for 119 at Asgiriya. with victories at Faisalabad and Pakistan-Sri Lanka rivalry took ing its hosts by eight wickets, became the first Pakistan captain stage Pakistan having narrowly In the two Singer World Series Sialkot. another dimension with both whilst successfully chasing a tar- to get his hands on the Asia Cup. escaped elimination in the group matches at SSC, Pakistan tipped In the three-match ODI series, teams almost at equal strength in get of 281, in Lahore at the Wills Pakistan was the most consistent stages of the World Cup, held its as hot favourites, caved in against the visitors tasted a defeat at both Test and ODI. Golden Jubilee Tournament. Sri side in the tournament and nerves in a must-win game by both Australia (28 runs) and Sri Gujranwala, before taking the In view of the game’s global Lanka’s two ODI masters, Sanath brushed aside the challenge defeating Sri Lanka by 4 wickets. Lanka (7 wickets) and took an series with wins at Faisalabad expansion, ICC granted a four- Jayasuriya (134 not out) and posed by host Bangladesh, India In their first meeting in the early flight home. and Rawalpindi. That Sri Lanka nation ODI tournament to Kenya Aravinda De Silva (102 not out) and Sri Lanka. Consistent middle post-Imran Khan era, the two In the 1990s Pakistan, blessed had come of age was down to the in October 1996. It was in a match added 213 runs together for the order and a superior bowling sides came face to face in the with wonderful talent, was a beast cutting edge provided by left-arm at Nairobi Gymkhana that 3rd wicket and were in such con- attack brought dividends for the three-nation Wills Trophy, held at of a team. One day they were seam of Chaminda Vaas and off- Pakistan unearthed a big-hitting trol that they raced to the target Pakistan team. In the final Sharjah in February 1993. capable of taking on the best in break of Muttiah Muralitharan. 16-year-old all-rounder, Shahid with 10 overs to spare. Pakistan Pakistan bowlers pegged back Pakistan with new captain Wasim the world, only to collapse and The influence of its Sri Lankan Afridi, who sent in as a pinch-hit- bowling attack had rarely taken the Sri Lankans to record an Akram in charge, had little prob- throw it all away the very next born Australian coach, Dav ter at number three, smashed the such beating on home soil. In impressive 39-run win. Batting lem in beating the opposition by day. A sudden dip of form and for- Whatmore too was coming to fore Sri Lankan bowlers to a world- April 1998, Pakistan had the bet- first Pakistan had earlier posted eight wickets in the group stages tunes was often linked, with justi- as the islanders displayed impres- record 37-ball hundred. It was an ter of Sri Lanka by beating them a total of 277 for 4 off 50 overs and then a convincing 114 run fication, with dressing room sive team unity. amazing feat that created a stir at Kimberley (chasing 296) and with Inzamam-ul-Haq (72 not out) win in the final. Eight months disharmony and suspicion of In October 1995, Sri Lanka, and further enhanced Pakistan’s Paarl (110 runs) before tasting and Moin Khan (56not out) later, again in Sharjah, Pakistan match-fixing. In December 1994, buoyant by its recent success in reputation as the most watchable defeat at Benoni (115 runs) in the adding 104 runs in the last 10 and Sri Lanka were joined by Pakistan, overcame the challenge Pakistan, performed exceptional- ODI outfit in world cricket. Sri Standard Bank International overs. (Concluded) Ticket target reached Musaeus College steals E-Wis sponsors on eve of 3rd-place playoff ‘Scrabble Show’ BY JOHN PYE final at the 60,000-seat Eden AUCKLAND, New Park. Musaeus College Colombo, emerged champi- Southern Sharks at Carlton Super Sevens Revenue from ticket sales ons at the All-Island Inter-School Div. ‘A’ Scrabble Zealand (AP) — With the prospects of watching the surpassed the 268.5 million tournament when they beat Lyceum BY MADURA RANWALA This is the first time that E-Wis is sponsoring New Zealand dollars ($213 International School, Wattala, S. Thomas’ a rugby team though they have been involved in All Blacks win the Rugby World Cup, and yet another million) target on Thursday, College, Mt. Lavinia, D. S. Senanayake College, sponsoring cricket and golf. E-Wis CEO, In a bid to promote and popularise rugby chance to see the Wallabies with Rugby New Zealand Colombo and Royal College, Colombo. among fans in Sri Lanka and to attract young tal- Sanjeewa Wickremanayake, played a major role lose, it’s little wonder ticket 2011 chairman Brian Roche Vinu Wijesekara of Musaeus College beat ented players to the sport, Carlton Sports Club in the decision to sponsor the Southern Sharks. sales have just hit tourna- saying it “shows just how Sheroze Sheriffdeen of Royal College in the last has taken a giant step by organising the Carlton The other nine teams will be sponsored by the ment targets in New Zealand. strongly New Zealanders game by mere two points to seal Musaeus’ victo- Super Sevens Championship, for the third con- Sri Lankan business fraternity,providing an New Zealand beat archri- have embraced” the tourna- ry. ment secutive year, with a revamped format, which is opportunity to young talented rugerites to gain val Australia in a World Cup In addition to the individual trophies, Shaini Little doubt, most of the akin to that of the Indian Premier League (IPL), experience. semifinal for the first time to Wilson, captain of Musaeus College received a so-called neutrals in the Teams and captains: earn a spot in Sunday’s final granite trophy from the chief guest, Chandana for the first time in the world. crowd Friday will be wearing Pool A: against another nemesis, De Silva, Director MAS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd., at The championship consists of two legs and red. New Zealanders tend to France. the ceremony held last Sunday, at the Royal the first leg will begin on October 29 at Western Warriors (Dushanth Lewke), Central support the All Blacks, and Kings (Fazil Marija), Eastern Eagles (Lasintha The two-time champion College Colombo Auditorium. Nittawala, Kandy and conclude the next day Australians dropped into anybody who is playing while the second leg will be played on November De Costa), Sabaragamuwa Stallions (Saliya Australia. A total of 155 children representing 31 schools Friday’s third-place playoff participated in the tournament. Two schools 5 and 6 at the Royal College Sports Complex, Handapangoda), Uva Vipers (Kosala Thisera). against Wales, a match both Wales won the third-place Colombo. Pool B: match at the inaugural World from Kurunegala, St. Anne’s College and teams are desperate to win Burhani Serendib School withdrew from the There will be nine teams representing nine North Central Typhoons (Thanujaya in the wake of disappointing Cup in 1987, scoring late for tournament at the last minute. However, it was districts plus one more. Seneviratne), North Western Blacks (Chanaka semifinal defeats. a 22-21 victory over the encouraging to note the participation of 11 out- E-Wis is sponsoring the formidable Southern Chandimal), Jaffna Challengers (Yoshitha More than 52,000 tickets Wallabies. New Zealand beat station schools. The tournament got underway Sharks, comprising foreign players and young Rajapakse), Northen Gladiators (Sanjeewa have sold for the third-place France in the final — and it remains the All Blacks only with 17 teams playing in Division ‘B’ and 14 Sri Lankan players. Jayasinghe), Southern Sharks (Amjad Buksh). match, which is only two nights before the sold-out World Cup title to date. teams in Division ‘A’.