da betobet： Karachi, Feb 13: Marvan Atapattu struck his maiden century againstPakistan to power Sri Lanka to a convincing 29-run victory in thefirst one-day international at the packed-to-capacity National Stadiumhere on Sunday
Samiul Hasan14-Feb-2000Atapattu’s unbeaten century inspires Sri Lanka to victoryKarachi, Feb 13: Marvan Atapattu struck his maiden century againstPakistan to power Sri Lanka to a convincing 29-run victory in thefirst one-day international at the packed-to-capacity National Stadiumhere on Sunday.The 29-year-old from Kalutara scored a flawless and elegant unbeaten119 – his third century in 90 one-dayers – to lift Sri Lanka to animposing 274 for eight after Saeed Anwar had won the toss and opted tofield first on a perfect batting track.A cool and calculated Atapattu, named Man-of-the-Match, faced 134balls during his entertaining innings that spiced seven hits to thefence.The Sri Lankan bowlers and fielders continued the good work done byAtapattu to dismiss Pakistan for 245 in 48 overs after Saeed Anwar andAamir Sohail had provided the home team a solid 71-run start in 15overs.Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan took a blinder off his own bowling todismiss debutant Imran Abbas and then added the prized scalps of WasimAkram and Abdur Razzaq to finish with three for 31. Chaminda Vaasremoved Yasir Arafat and Saqlain Mushtaq to finish with two for 32.But it was Sri Lanka’s fielding that won the hearts of approximately38,000 spectators and millions watching the match on thetelevision. The tourists were agile and alert, giving their best tothe bowlers and their skipper.The athleticism shown by Upul Chandana and the bull’s eye throw byIndika de Saram from mid-on that beat another debutant Younis Khanwere the glimpses of the tourists brilliance in the field.Chandana dived full length off his own bowling and in one action hitthe stumps at the striker’s end to take a casual Yousuf Youhana bysurprise. De Saram’s throw from mid-on that uprooted the middle-stumpwas another example of clean piece of fielding the visitors put up inthe second phase of the match.Younis Khan, surprisingly demoted to No 7 despite scoring over 1,100runs in domestic season while batting at No 4, salvaged Pakistan’spride after the home team had slumped to 166 for six in 36.5 overs.Debutant Younis showed the wristy elegance and displayed a fine arrayof strokes to make a fine 46 off 41 balls that included fiveboundaries.Younis added 61 runs for the seventh wicket from 50 balls with AbdurRazzaq (24) after some over cautious batting by debutant Imran Abbassaw the run-rate shoot to 8.5 with 13 overs to go.The seasoned left-handed duo of Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar hadprovided Pakistan a perfect platform when they put on 71 for the firstwicket. But the Pakistan lost their way with the dismissal of Saeed(36) and then Aamir (47) in a space of 30 runs.Wasim Akram entertained a festive crowd by scoring 23 off 20 balls,including 14 runs off three deliveries from Chandana. But it was onlya delay of the inevitable.Saeed Anwar was himself guilty of squandering an ideal battingopportunity by putting Sri Lanka into bat without realizing howdifficult it would be for the home team to chase in the wake of aninexperienced middle-order. To rub salt into the wounds, Saeed sentYounis out to bat at No 7 and wasted a golden chance to get the bestout of one of the finest young batsmen on the domestic circuit.Sanath Jayasuriya pounced on the opportunity from his counterpart’sblunder to field first and set a stepping stone for Sri Lanka for ahuge score by featuring in a 111-run second wicket partnership withMarvan Atapattu to take the score from 10 for one to 121 for two in23.3 overs.The partnership ended when Jayasuriya holed out to Wasim Akram to givePakistan’s third debutant Yasir Arafat his first internationalwicket. But by then the damage had already been done.Jayasuriya notched up his 34th career half century while scoring 54off 73 balls with five boundaries.Atapattu was also involved in two useful partnerships that propelledSri Lanka to a match-winning score. He added 56 for the third wicketwith Mahela Jayawardena (27) and 65 for the fifth wicket withTillekeratne Dilshan (34).Atapattu, who initially played a sheet-anchor role, came out of hisgroove in the last 10 overs and helped Sri Lanka add 71 valuable runs.Atapattu batted with admirable concentration and application. Theunderrated batsman’s selection of stroke was brilliant while hegeometrically bisected the Pakistan fielders for ones and twos. He wasquick between the wickets and made the fielders commit unforcederrors.Atapattu showed Pakistan batsmen that if one stroke-maker occupies thecrease for full 50 overs, any team can reach a score of around 250 andmore.Atapattu’s enthralling knock helped Sri Lanka break their jinx at theNational Stadium where the tourists won their first match in fivevisits. For Pakistan, it was their seventh defeat in 17 matches andtheir fourth on a trot since 1996-97.