Batting sensation Sanath Jayasuriya

Spin master Ajantha Mendis

The Left Handed master blaster entertained a boisterous crowd gathered at the King city cricket ground, Canada with a superb knock of 40 which included some classic sixes while the wrecker in Chief, unorthodox spin guru Ajantha Mendis brought a dangerous partnership between Pakistan Skipper Shoib Malik and Salman Butt to a complete stop.

The weather conditions were great and the crowd was ready to be entertained as thousands flocked into the biggest cricket fiesta Canada has ever seen. The fans filled the stadium dressed in attire that best represents their favourite cricket team. One part of the Stadium appeared Blue and Yellow with a multitude of Srilankan Cricket fans wearing the Sri Lankan Cricket T’ Shirts and with painted faces as the other side of the stadium was packed to capacity with Pakistani supporters in Green T’shirts and face painting to go with it. The Pakistani and Sri Lankan flags were showcased with such pride. The fans were well equipped with their drums which rang the “Paparay” from the Sri Lankan side and the “Bangra” from the Pakistani side.

The captains of the two teams walked in to toss the coin a midst a crowd which was visibly impatient. Sri Lankan Skipper adjudged Captain of the year by ICC won the toss and elected to field and send the Pakistanis to face the ball.

The Sri Lankan team entered the grounds to kick start the Finals of the T20 Canada Cup as the openers for Pakistan Salman Butt and Shoaib Khan Jr walked -in to take the SriLankans with the intention of registering a huge score on the board that would be difficult for the Lankans to chase.

Farveez Maharoof opened the bowling for the Sri Lankans and Salman Butt made no mistake as he dispatched the first delivery four for and the Pakistani supporters were convinced that they were in for another win against the Asia Cup Champions to win the T20 Canada Cup.

Their hopes were short lived as Sri Lanka’s Dilhara Fernando bowled Shoaib Khan Jr. for no score. Then came Shahid Afridi who was caught by Jehan Bubarak off the bowling of Thilan Thushara for 14. Kaushaliya Weeraratne managed to send another danger man back into the pavilion with no score as Younis Khan was run out in the seventh over.

With a 3 wicket loss Pakistan was feeling the pressure and it was up to the captain Shoaib Malik to stand his ground and put a decent score on the board and he did just that as he managed to bring the Pakistani score to a reasonable 64 for 3 in just over 10 overs with the help of Salman Butt.

Captain Mahela Jayawardena read the game well to understand the threat posed by the Pakistan batsman and called on his talented spin guru to deliver results.

Mendis wasted no time as he tempted Shoaib to go for a big hit and was beautifully caught by tall Jehan Mubarak . Salman Butt didn’t last long either as he stared at the ball which went up in the air to land in the safe hands of Thushara. Wickets fell regularly as Pakistan posed a final score of 132 for 7 in their allocated 20 overs.

Sri Lankan innings

The Master Blaster Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Udawatte opened the Sri Lankan innings. Their target was to get beyond the Pakistani score of 132. Jayasuriya and Udawatte wasted no time and got on to a brilliant start as they took on the trio of fast bowlers namely Shoaib, Sohail and Tanvir. SriLanka’s Fifty was up in less than 5 overs. It was true Thankgiving celebrations for all Canadians as the Finals were played on Thanksgiving day, 13th of October, 2008 and cricket fans soon forgot which side they were supporting as Jayasuriya punished the Pakistani bowling attack. Shoaib struck Jayasuriya on his wrist with a fast delivery as the master blaster was seen leaving the crease to ease the pain caused by a ball which struck him at high speed and managed to get the needed medical attention and his return was seen as vengeance at its best as he smashed Shoaib for two consecutive sixes into the midwicket stand. Some in the crowd commented Shoaib was getting his long awaited Turkey treat this Thanksgiving day!

Pakistan had to bring in their spin attack to stop the pace of the Sri Lankan batting massacre. Shahid Afridi was given the ball and he managed to bring the opening partnership which was full of fire works to an end as Sri Lanka lost its First wicket at 66 in the 7th over of the game. Captain Shoaib Malik needs to be credited for his efforts as he continued the spin attack from the other end. Master Blaster Jayasuriya’s brilliant inning came to an end as he was bowled out by Shoaib and the Pakistani skipper didn’t stop their as the next to head towards the pavilion was a very important wicket to the Pakistanis and it was Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardena who attemped to sweep Shaoib and was bowled out!

It was a little bit too late for the Green shirts as Mr. Cool and Carm Chamara Kapugedera from Dharmarajah College, Kandy guided Sri Lanka to a comfortable win with 5 wickets in hand and 6 balls remaining to end a fabulous weekend of cricket at the King City Cricket Grounds, Canada.