Misbah-ul-Haq hails team effort and Sharjah after win

Sharjah: Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq said he was a happy man after both his bowlers and batsmen played their roles to perfection in trouncing Sri Lanka by 113 runs in the third match of the five-match series for the Cool & Cool Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Mohammad Hafeez led the run spree for Pakistan with an unbeaten knock of 140 runs and also bagged two wickets to be rightly adjudged the man of the match.

Answering a query from Gulf News on Hafeez’s role in the victory, Misbah said he had made his case as a very effective allrounder. “Hafeez’s contribution is very important for us because whenever he has scored runs, they could really help the team win the game. He is the kind of player who can really bat through and, when he gets good starts, he can really convert them into big ones. His strike rate is very good and he is one who can play spin well, so whenever he is there throughout the innings, he can really assess the situation and play the other guys around. It is really good for us as he is one of our senior players and vice-captain of this team and captain of our T20 team. These kinds of characters, if they perform, are really good for the team and a good inspiration for the whole bunch of batsmen.”

Misbah said he was also thrilled with the impressive return from injury of medium pacer Umar Gul. “Gul is an experienced and class bowler. He landed here only early this morning from Pakistan and he was willing to play. He proved that he is still a match-winner. He set the tone and bowled very well with the new ball. He is the kind of character who always just gives his 100 per cent and is willing to do good for the team.”

Misbah ventured to suggest that the big win over Sri Lanka was possible due to Gul’s early strike. “In the last two matches, Sri Lankans had chased very well, but in this match we took early wickets and so it became tough for them to chase over 300 runs. The main difference was the bowling of Gul and Junaid Khan, especially with the new ball. After that, Shahid Afridi mounted pressure; even Bilawal Bhatti bowled well and Saeed Ajmal also contributed in adding to the pressure. The fielding was also very supportive because we took catches at crucial times.”

Pakistan also equalled a world record as it was their 78th win at Sharjah in 117 matches, which matched Australia’s record at Sydney for the most One Day International victories at a single venue.

When asked about the landmark in terms of the most wins at a venue, Misbah said: “Sharjah has been good for Pakistan right from the start and we are really happy that we are winning games here. The conditions here suit us, so we feel really at home when we play in Sharjah. The crowd supports us a lot as there are many Pakistanis here. It is like we are playing in one of the cities of Pakistan.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan opening batsman Ahmad Shehzad was fined half of his match fee for shoving Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan by the shoulder during the game on Sunday.

Ahmad has pleaded guilty to the charge of ‘inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players’ brought by the umpires, the International Cricket Council said in a statement on Monday.

The incident occurred at the end of the 19th over of the Pakistan innings following a debate between Dilshan and Shehzad, who scored 81 before being run out.

The win put Pakistan 2-1 up in the five-match series. The fourth ODI will be played on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, with the final match slated for Friday.