Shahid Afridi on top of the world

SHAHID AFRIDI struck an unbeaten 54 to propel Pakistan to an eight-wicket victory against Sri lanka in the final of the World Twenty20 at lord’s. afridi, the man at the heart of Pakistan’s revival after they lost their opening game to England, stood and saluted the thousands of elated Pakistani fans after he hit the winning run with eight balls to spare.

It was the second global one-day title for Pakistan after Imran Khan’s side rallied in similar fashion to win the 1992 50-over World Cup. They had also lost the inaugural World Twenty20 final in 2007 to India.

Pakistan captainYounus Khan, whose country is undergoing political turmoil and an uncertain cricketing future after the terror attacks on the Sri lankan team in lahore in March, said: ‘For a nation like us, it is the right time. ‘It’s fantastic. We were the underdogs and nobody picked us. That’s why there was less pressure and certainly we turned it on in the big games.’ afridi added: ‘The last two and a half, three years I have bowled really well but I was struggling with my batting.

‘Younus gave me good confidence. I told him I wanted to bat at no.3 in the side and he said okay, if you’re confident just go and play”.’ Sri lanka were up against it after Mohammad aamer, 17, removed the tournament’s top scorer Tillakaratne dilshan for a duck in the first over. abdul razzaq then claimed a wicket in each of his first three overs as Sri lanka limped to 70 for six. But captain Kumar Sangakkara (64 not out) helped post a total of 138 for six after a 68-run stand with angelo Mathews (35 not out). Sangakkara, looking to continue that momentum, switched his bowlers continually but Pakistan never looked in trouble and eased to their target.

Fidel’swaiting game

THE WEST Indies will wait until the last minute before deciding whether or not to risk injured strike bowler Fidel Edwards in today’s World Twenty20 semi-final against Sri Lanka at the Brit Oval.

Team spokesman Philip Spooner said Edwards was suffering from an irritation of a nerve root in his lower back. ‘He won’t bowl today but we are very optimistic he will be available for tomorrow’s match,’ he said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, whose unbeaten team will play at the venue for the first time this tournament, feels more pace and bounce could assist his spinners and batsmen. ‘It seems a pretty even track with good bounce and will stay consistent throughout,’ he added.

Jayasuriya sets up Sri Lanka win

SANATH JAYASURIYA and Tillekeratne Dilshan’s century opening stand powered Sri Lanka to a 15-run win against the West Indies in the World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge.

In the absence of injured captain Chris Gayle, the Windies were unable to match the tempo of Sri Lanka’s 192 for five – despite a swift half-century from Dwayne Bravo. As a result, Sri Lanka ended their Group C campaign with two wins from two, while the West Indies must bounce back to face India in the Super Eights on Friday. Jayasuriya (81) enjoyed most of the strike but even so made his fellow Indian Premier League star Dilshan (74) look almost pedestrian as he hit ten fours and three sixes from 47 balls, after Sri Lanka were put in.

In the day’s other game, India beat Ireland by eight wickets. Ireland still join the defending champions in the Super Eights after their shock win against Bangladesh earlier in the week. But they were unable to cope with India’s bowlers as they made 112 for eight in a match reduced to 18 overs a side because of rain. In reply, Rohit Sharma hit an unbeaten 52 as India reached their

target with 15 balls left.