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Shahid Afridi's debut as captain was a dream affair for the affable Pathan as he led his team from the front, first with the bat and then with the ball, to win the one-off T20 International against hosts Sri Lanka. The victory margin was an emphatic 52 runs and was a clear indication of Pakistan's supremacy over the home side in this format of the game.

The one day series was won by Sri Lanka comprehensively and Pakistan's dominant showing in the last two matches was little more than a consolation. Still the Pakistani side had momentum on their side and with the mercurial Shahid Afridi at the helm of the affairs (Afridi was appointed the captain of Pakistan T20 team for just this game), Pakistan were the tea m with the slight edge. But the shortest format of the game has no place for the ‘slight edge' as these matches are determined on the basis of a ‘spark' or a ‘stroke of luck'. And Sri Lanka know this fact as well as any so called 'pundit'.

The conditions were ideal for a high scoring and entertaining match. Pakistan won the toss and decided to take first strike. The decision made sense as the conditions were ideal for batting with an absolute belter of a pitch waiting to be exploited by the stroke players in both teams. A vociferous crowd of more than twenty five thousand was there to ensure that the visitors realized that they were well and truly away from home.

Pakistan included Imran Nazir in their side and the swashbuckling (though highly inconsistent) opener was expected to set the stadium alight with his usual audacious stroke play. While Sri Lanka had Lasith Malinga - the slinger in common cricket parlance and spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan to lend some much needed firepower to the bowling attack

The match was off to a flyer, especially for the home side, as opening bowler Nuwan Kulasekara cleaned up the stumps of Kamran Akmal off the very first ball of the match. Akmal's attempted heave over the infield was undone by the swing generated by the nippy Kulasekara. Shoaib Malik came in next, in an attempt to lend some stability to the innings. Thilan Thushara was the other opening bowler for the Lankans and was greeted with a hit over the top of mid-on by Imran Nazir. Thushara almost struck back with the very next ball, only for Malinga to drop a relatively easy offering from Nazir. Thushara  then ran into Malik who dispatched him for three more boundaries, taking the toll to 17 runs of Thushara's first over. It was exhilarating stuff as the Pakistani duo looked to score a boundary of every ball. Sangakarra took the decision to give Malinga the chance to redeem his missed catch in the third over itself. It turned out to be a master stroke from the Sri Lankan captain as Malinga cleaned up the stumps of Malik with a ball that seemed to keep low.

The next man in was ‘boom-boom' Afridi in his debut match as captain. The platform was set for an Afridi blitz. At the other end, Nazir was in no mood to curb down and took heavy toll of Nuwan Kulasekara in the 5th over and took 13 runs of it (with the aid of a six over mid wicket). Luck too was on Nazir's side as he survived a close caught behind shout from Malinga in the very next over. At the end of the 6 Power play overs, Pakistan were at a healthy position - 49 for the loss of two wickets.

Sangakarra immediately opted for the wise old fox Murali to stem the flow of runs. He wasn't off to a great start though, as Nazir swept him fine for a four off the very first ball. Afridi meanwhile was surprisingly subdued and took 5 balls to open his account. Maybe the pressure of being the captain for the first time was taking a toll on him.

Nazir finally ended his ‘honeymoon' period as he holed out to Malinga off the bowling of Thushara (a welcome coincidence for Thushara). His innings of 40 off 28 balls had set the stadium alight - albeit too briefly for Pakistan's liking. Umar Akmal strode in next and looked to assist his skipper for the day to build the innings. Afridi and Akmal started milking the bowling with ones and twos and kept the scoreboard ticking at a healthy rate. At the end of the first 10 overs, the score was 72 for the loss of 3 wickets  and the platform seemed to be there for some serious fireworks by the Pakistani batsmen.

Angelo Matthews was taken to the cleaners by the duo as Afridi hit him for a six and Akmal helped himself to a boundary too. The 100 came up in the 13th over and the signs were looking ominous for the Lankans. Thilan Thushara continued in his extravagant ways as he leaked  3 boundaries off the 13th over. Both Afridi and Akmal were in great nick and brought up their 50 run partnership in just 31 balls. Even Murali wasn't spared as Afridi went after the maestro and helped himself to two more boundaries.

The much needed breakthrough finally came for Sri Lanka as Umar Akmal's attempt at ‘doing a Dilshan' ended in Sangakkara's wicket keeping gloves off the bowling of Matthews. Akmal departed after a breezy innings of 30 in a mere 20 balls. With five overs to go and the score at a whopping 125, hard hitting all rounder Abdul Razzaq made his way into the centre in search of some quick runs.

Malinga meanwhile continued with his policy of not pitching the ball in the batsmen's half with great success as the Pakistanis found it really difficult to score off him. It took Afridi's brilliance to unlock the Malinga mystery as he managed to hit the ‘slinger' for some much needed boundaries. In the process, he completed his half century off just 35 balls. The fireworks didn't last too long as Afridi departed in the very next over as he holed out in the deep off a relieved Thushara.

Misbah-ul-Haq strode in next with less than 4 overs to go and needed to be on song from the word go. Abdul Razzaq stepped up the gas as he smacked Kulasekara for some much needed boundaries in the 19th over - 14 runs came off that over. Malinga bowled an excellent last over as his slower deliveries bamboozled Misbah and Razzaq. The innings finally ended at 172 for the loss of 5 wickets, a par score on a track filled with runs.

Sri Lanka started proceedings with veteran Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Udawatte doing the opening honours. Jayasuriya started in ominous fashion as he clipped one to the fine leg boundary. Pakistan's tactic of bowling short was too predictable and the great man helped himself to some easy runs (including a six off Aamer). Some shoddy bowling from the Pakistanis also allowed the Lankan openers to get off to a flyer.

Rana Naved provided the crucial breakthrough as he got Udawatte for just 11 with one that swung sharply. Jayawardene stepped in and looked to keep the momentum going. The Sri Lankans got a huge jolt as Jayasuriya holed out in the deep in the very next over off the bowling of Aamer. It was up to the captain Sangakkara and former captain Jayawardene to stem the rot and keep the Lankans in the hunt. At the end of the power play overs Sri Lanka were at 55 for the loss of two wickets and the two senior pros looked at ease.

Afridi pushed the spinners into the attack but it seemed to backfire as the duo milked the bowling with an occasional boundary in between. Jayawardene didn't last long thereafter as he got out to a leading edge off Rao Iftikhar's bowling. Sri Lanka were tottering at 71 for 3 when Kapugedara stepped in. Afridi cleverly slipped in some quick overs of his own without conceding a lot of runs. Sri Lanka needed just above 90 runs in the last ten overs and needed their captain to stay there till the end to stand any chance of overhauling the Pakistani total. Sangakkara kept Sri Lanka in the hunt with some lusty hitting in between some clever manouvering. However, his heroics came to an end as he dragged one on to his stumps of Ajmal's off spin. With the required run rate at over 10 runs per over, the writing looked on the wall for the Lankans. At 100 for the loss of 4 wickets and a required run rate getting closer to 12 runs per over, Angelo Mathews stepped in.

Afridi was however unrelenting as he picked up Kapugedara to leave Sri Lanka at 110 for five and all but out of the contest. His figures at the end of his allotted 4 overs - 1 for 21 - were exceptional (after leading the way with the bat too). It was Afridi's day for sure as he ran out the dangerous Matthews. And when Kandamby got out off the very next ball, the match was as good as over for the Lankans.

Pakistan finally wrapped up the Lankan innings with Sri Lanka cleaned up at a score of 120 runs.The final margin of victory - 52 runs was a just indication of Pakistan's dominance in the match. Shahid Afridi made his debut as captain with a great performance - whether it was with the ball, bat or on the field. He was the deserving man of the match for his scintillating all round performance.

Match Summary:
Pakistan: 172/5 (20 overs)
Shahid Afridi 50(37)        Thushara 2-37
Imran Nazir 40(28)           Matthews 1-25

Sri Lanka: 120 all out (18.1 overs)
Kumar Sangakkara 38(31)         Ajmal 3-18
Sanath Jayasuriya 23(17)          Naved 3-19

Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi

File Photograph Copyright: ICC T20 World Cup