Sri Lanka flexed its bowling muscle to shatter UAE’s hope of producing an upset as they snatched a 14-run win to make a winning start to the Asia Cup yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. UAE raised a prospect of shocking the mighty Lanka by restricting them to 129 for eight but Lasith Malinga-led bowling line up proved to be too hot to handle for them. They crawled to 115-9 for nine eventually. Sri Lanka skipper Lasith Malinga took the game in their grip by claiming four for 26. His new ball partner Nuwan Kulasekara played a perfect foil to him, returning figures of three for just 10.
Malinga himself took the onus to defend the paltry total as he struck twice in the first and last ball of the first over of the innings when UAE came down to chase the target. He was ably supported by his new ball partner Nuwan Kulasekara who was almost unplayable.
Kulasekara also claimed two wickets in his opening spell to leave UAE a precarious 16 for four. Rangana Herath then joined the party to extend the agony. He tormented the inexperienced UAE batsmen with his turn and guile, forcing them to be yielded.
Swapnil Patil then made a huge resistance but the experienced Sri Lankan bowling attack denied them a victory at the end. Patil was the highest scorer with 37.
Earlier, ICC associate UAE produced a stunning bowling performance to hold mighty Sri Lanka back to moderate total.
Skipper Amjad Javed wrecked havoc to Lankan batting line up in a sensational bowling effort. He claimed his career best three for 25 and was complemented by his fellow pacers Mohammad Naveed and Mohammad Shahzad, both of whom grabbed two wickets apiece.
Sri Lanka got off to a decent start before UAE captain Amjad Javed ripped through the Lankan top order in a clever bowling effort. Javed struck thrice in three straight overs to leave Lanka from 67 for 0 to 89 for three. He used the short deliveries to good effect in a bid to get the better of Lankan top order, which couldn’t expect such sustained aggression.
After being sent to bat first, Dinesh Chandimal and Tilkaratne Dilshan ticked the scoreboard effortlessly, keeping the UAE at bay. While Chandimal found the gaps with ease to send the balls across the ropes repeatedly, Dilshan relied on singles and doubles to rotate the scoreboard.
However things changed dynamically once Javed entered into the fray. He dug one short to remove Dilshan for 27 and the same delivery fetched him the wickets of Milinda Siriwardana (6) in his next over. But he inflicted more damage to the Lankan side by getting rid of Chandimal who just reached his fifty.
Chandimal struck seven fours and one six in his 39 ball-50. Javed ended his four overs quota with the dismissal but the damage he caused put a lasting impact on the Lankan side who were bolstered with the return of the likes of Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath. Onus was left on Angelo Mathews but he too failed to deliver as Rohan Mustafa trapped him leg before for 8. Mohammad Naveed on the other hand took the baton from Javed to produce more carnage. He dismissed Danus Shanaka and Shehan Jayasuriya in his consecutive two overs to ensure the Lankan couldn’t break the shackle.