Scorecard

Sri Lanka squandered a blazing start by Sanath Jayasuriya and were dismissed for 253 against a depleted Pakistan in their first Champions Trophy main-round contest at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur on Tuesday.

After a series of low-scoring games and under-prepared wickets, Sri Lanka's batting, on a slow dry track, offered welcome relief at the start.

Winning the toss, captain Mahela Jayawardene elected to bat, and the top order kept a healthy crowd entertained with some big hitting.

With Pakistan bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif returning home on Monday after testing positive for steroids, it was up to the second-line pace attack to do the early damage. Rao Iftikar Anjum kept a tight line to the left-handed Sri Lankan openers, cramping them for room initially, but the runs came thick and fast from the other end.

Naved-ul-Hasan Rana, the more experienced of the two bowlers, wasn't sharp enough to get Pakistan the breakthrough. The wicket had nothing in it for the faster men and Rana multiplied his problems by spraying the ball around. His first spell of four overs cost 33 runs.

Sanath Jayasuriya, after a couple of inside-edges early on, took apart the insipid Pakistani attack with his fierce cuts and drives on the off-side. Having survived a close caught behind appeal by Rao, Jayasuriya knocked him for a six over long-off in the eighth over.

The Sri Lankan openers plundered 23 runs in two overs (seventh and eighth), giving a big push to the run-rate. But Jayasuriya (48, 35b, 5x4, 2x6) lost his leg stump in the next over while going for a big shot off Rao, after playing another explosive innings. Sharing an opening stand of 63 runs in 9.1 overs, the openers gave Sri Lanka a flying start.

Tharanga and captain Jayawardene kept the momentum going, adding 45 runs for the second wicket. The right-left combination worked with precision, cutting through the gaps and punishing the plenty of bad balls on offer.

The confidence though may have turned into complacence as Tharanga went for an ambitious drive, and a thick edge carried to wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal. Both batsmen went after Abdul Razzaq, whose first two overs went for 22 runs.

But the bowler had the final say as Tharanga was drawn into the drive after hitting two successive fours of just the previous deliveries.

Ironically, Razzaq proved the most successful bowler for Pakistan, finishing with figures of four for 49 from 7.2 overs.

As soon as the power plays were over, Pakistan captain Younis Khan introduced spin at both ends. The move paid dividends as Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik didn't let the Sri Lankan middle-order bloom.

Malik scalped the important wickets of Jayawardene (31) and Kumara Sangakkara (39) to put the skids on the Sri Lankan innings. Jayawardene got a top edge while trying to sweep Malik and holed out to short fine leg while Sangakkara was superbly caught by Rao at mid-on.

Tillekaratne Dilshan fell in the very next over, after Sangakkara, when he was bowled by Afridi for three.

Though the pitch was not assisting the spinners much, the slower bowlers were difficult to play. Afridi, known for his fastish leg-breaks, dropped his pace a yard or two while Malik flighted the ball well to tempt the batsmen into playing their shots.

Most of the Lankan batsmen got starts but none could convert them, spelling the difference between a competitive and a big total.

Atapattu (36) tried to rally with the lower order but was run-out in a mix-up with Maharoof. Having directed a no-ball by Razzaq to point, Atapattu went for a run but was sent back by the non-striker. A direct hit from Hafeez caught the batsman outside of his crease.

The lower order gave up timidly after that, gifting wickets to Razzaq and Hafeez as Pakistan was bowled out for 253 in 49.2 overs.

Muttiah Muralitharan played only two balls but was still entertaining. The first one he faced, he tried to charge down the track, changed his mind and just stood there and padded the ball. The second ball saw him try to sweep and was caught plumb in front of the stumps off Hafeez for no score.