<img alt="" src="/imagedata/2009/jun/buddha12.jpg" align="left" border="0" />How absolutely fitting that Younis Khan's yateem warriors wandering gypsies shunned by the cricketing world following the Mumbai carnage and the Lahore terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus and Kumar Sangakkara's traumatised campaigners should have met in the final of the Twenty20. However, the greatly anticipated, mouth-watering clash turned out to be as much of a one-sided damp squib as last month's Indian general elections. Yesterday was summer solstice, the longest day of the year, but Pakistani all-rounder Abdul Razzaq ensured the sun set early on the aspirations of the Sri Lankans. Bow-legged, battle-scarred veteran Razzaq, returning to the fold in place of the injured Yasir Arafat, after a stint in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), broke the back of the islanders' vaunted top order with a lethal spell of swing bowling. He finished with three for 20 off three overs to lay the foundation for a comfortable Pakistan win. 'Boom-boom' Shahid Afridi, the temperamental Pathan, who rediscovered his form with the bat rather belatedly in the tournament, applied the finishing touches to Razzaq's effort with a blistering unbeaten 54. Captain Sangakkara, in tears during the rendition of his national anthem, stood firm among the ruins with a courageous unbeaten knock of 64 off 52 balls and added 68 for the seventh wicket with Angelo Matthews to steer his side to 138 for six, a total which his feared 3M attack, consisting of Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga was certainly capable of defending. Alas there was no magic spell, no duel in the sun between Muralitharan, Mendis and Malinga on one hand and Afridi and ex-captain Shoaib Malik, on the other, the Pakistani veterans steering their side to a facile win after Kamran Akmal, who batted with refreshing aggression in his knock of 37 (off 28 balls) and Shahzaib Hasan, who was dismissed with Pakistan 63 for 2 in 9.3 overs. Having made it to the Super Eights stage of the competition by the skins of their teeth, the late-peaking Pakistanis, who had not won a World Cup since capturing the 1992 ODI World Cup under Imran Khan's inspirational leadership with a late surge, made sure they did not fall short this time. They had lost to champions India by five runs in Johannesburg in the last T20 World Cup two years ago. Imran had reportedly rallied his beleaguered troops with a "cornered tigers" call to action. The genial Younis Khan is cast in a different 'bindaas' mould. Early in the tournament, with his team of serious danger of elimination, skipper Younis reportedly told the media: "In this form of the game it is better to take it easy and have fun. It is like WWF". Younis promised to dedicate the trophy to former coach Bob Woolmer if his team won. "If we win I will straightaway dedicate the final to him," he promised. "He was fantastic and very helpful to Pakistan cricket, to players, our domestic cricket and our academy." The captain fulfilled his promise yesterday. Sangakkara had hailed his troops before the final for overcoming adversity. He said: "It's a fitting reward for our courage and the way we have played. Lahore brought home to us that we are the same as everyone else. It can happen to anyone and it happened to us." The Sri Lankan captain said: "Pakistan have always been a temperamental side and we are not going to take them lightly." As it turned out, it was the Sri Lankans who proved to be temperamental when push came to shove.

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the greatly anticipated, mouth-watering clash turned out to be as much of a one-sided damp squib as last month's Indian general elections.

Pakistan punished temperamental Lankans to be T20 champions<br/>

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Home / News / Opinion / Article / Pakistan punished temperamental Lankans to be T20 champions<br/>

Pakistan punished temperamental Lankans to be T20 champions<br/>

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