When I interviewed Alishan Sharafu as a 14-year-old schoolboy following his huge scores in domestic matches, he told me he wanted to bat like A B de Villiers.
A large number of Kerala fans have been waiting to watch their statemate Sanju Samson bat. Since India won against the UAE and Pakistan before Samson could get to bat, they were disappointed.
However, they were thrilled when another Malyali hit a half century even before Samson could. UAE Opener Alishan Sharafu won the Player of the Match award with his knock of 51 against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
By hitting Jasprit Bumrah for a delectable boundary and Axar Patel for a six in the match against India, the 22 year old displayed his aggressive batting skills.
This reporter, who interviewed Sharafu as a 14-year-old schoolboy following his huge scores in domestic matches, recall him saying he wanted to bat like South Africa's A B de Villiers.
Some of the strokes he plays now resemble de Villiers' shots; he once scored 100 in just 36 balls, with his fifty coming off only 14 balls in a domestic match.
In 2024, he smashed an unbeaten 87 off 47 balls for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders against the Desert Vipers in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament, hitting 11 boundaries and four sixes against a bowling lineup featuring Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga and Pakistan's Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan.
Staking Claim For First No Handshake
The talk about the 'no handshake' incident after the India-Pakistan match spilled over to the Sri Lanka-Hong Kong match too.
More than the performance of the players, many preferred to discuss this issue. It is a fact that a negative incident will continue to be talked about more than any positive one.
A Sri Lankan team supporter at the stadium reminded this reporter that it was his team that had set the trend of no handshake before the Indians.
In the 2023 World Cup, during an ODI against Bangladesh, when Angelo Mathews became the first player in history to be timed out, the Sri Lankans protested by refusing to shake hands after the match.
An Indian fan standing nearby defused the Sri Lankan's claim by reminding him that in 2008, New Zealand had refused to shake hands with England after their batter Grant Elliott was declared run out following a collision with bowler Ryan Sidebottom.
The debate ended in a chuckle when someone asked if Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan would have shaken hands with Umpire Darrell Hair, who had no-balled him for chucking on the Australian tour in 1995!
Two Sri Lankan Run-Getters As Coaches
Two Sri Lankan players were in the dressing room in the role of coaches. Sanath Jayasuriya is the head coach of the Sri Lankan team. In fact, he is the highest run-getter in the Asia Cup, with 1,220 runs from 25 Asia Cup matches.
This reporter was fortunate to have covered his knock of 189 against India in the 2000 Coca Cola Champions Trophy at the Sharjah cricket stadium, which is remembered by many UAE fans as one of the best knocks they have witnessed.
Interestingly, the Hong Kong team coach is another prolific Sri Lankan run-getter, Kaushal Silva, who had made his Test debut at the Dubai international stadium in 2011 against Pakistan and went on to score 2,099 Test runs.
Lady Lankan Fans Outnumber The Men
There is a popular old saying 'Behind the success of every man is a woman'. Wonder is that was the reason Sri Lankan women supporters turned up in large numbers to back their men during the Sri Lanka-Hong Kong match?
They outnumbered their male counterparts and cheered more loudly than the men, and tirelessly danced to the music in the isles.
Could it be that the loud cheering by these lady fans caused Hong Kong to drop 11 catches, which helped Sri Lanka win the tense match by four wickets with only seven balls to spare?
As for the butter-fingered fielding by the Hong Kong team, there seems one solution now to remedy this problem: Hong Kong players should not be served butter for breakfast during the entire series, because they don't have enough time to train and sharpen their catching skills!
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