Sri Lanka inflict crushing defeat on Pakistan With skipper Sanath Jayasuriya (102*) leading from the front, Sri Lanka went on to cap a day of celebration by inflicting a crushing eight-wicket defeat on Pakistan in the Champions Trophy opener, virtually booking their place in the semi-final. The Pakistani batsmen failed to take advantage of a flat Premadasa stadium track after Waqar Younis won the toss and elected to bat. Despite a studious 52 off 87 balls from Saeed Anwar and Younis Khan’s 35 and Misbah-ul-Haq’s 47, the Pakistanis only managed to post 200 runs before being dismissed. A modest total at best, it was never going to challenge the strong Sri Lankan batting line-up. With Jayasuriya at his free-stroking best during an innings that also saw him become only the eighth batsman to score 8,000 ODI runs, the hosts duly motored past the target with more than 13 over to spare. The other Sri Lankan to among the runs was Aravinda De Silva, who made an unbeaten 66 during his 156-run unbeaten second-wicket stand with his skipper.

Jayasuriya: I wasn't really 100 percent fit but I was keen to play There was a touch of the heroic to a tired Sanath Jayasuriya when he came down to talk to pressmen shortly after he had led Sri Lanka to a crushing eight-wicket win over Pakistan. The southpaw slammed 102 and deservedly walked away with the Man of the Match award. What adds gloss to his knock is the fact that he dislocated a shoulder recently and was not even a sure starter for this game till late Wednesday. In scoring his 13th one-day hundred, Jayasuriya also became the second Sri Lankan (after Aravinda de Silva) and the eighth cricketer overall to score 8000 runs. "Pakistan are a great side with great fast bowlers, and though I had pain in my shoulder I wanted to play for my country. I wasn't really 100 percent fit but I was keen to play," the skipper said. Speaking of his innings, Jayasuriya said in his typical understated fashion, "Even though my shoulder was a bit sore I think I played well today. Maybe in different conditions if I was fully fit I might have done even better." Jayasuriya's counterpart, Waqar Younis, was understandably critical of the performance of his top order. "This is the third tournament in a row where our top order had done badly. We knew that we had to keep wickets in hand in the first 15 overs but could not do so," said a disappointed Pakistan captain. With a touch of a threat in his voice, he added, "we have to make some changes for the Test series that's coming up. Maybe we'll bring in some youngsters." Waqar also stressed on the fact that Pakistan were without their star batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, observing that "when he's not playing there's a big hole in the team."

Tendulkar is the best and daylight's second, says Warne Sachin Tendulkar is one batsman who has had the measure of Shane Warne over the years. At Colombo, Warne talked about his relationship with Tendulkar, emphasizing his belief that the little master was the best batsman of his era. "I don't know if I've always been in awe of him. I respect his cricket and we get on well off the field. We've both got respect for each other. We've both been around for a long time now and I think we both admire each other. To me, he's the best player of our generation. People who have played with Bradman and Ian Chappell and those sort of guys would say they were the best. I think it's unfair to compare eras. Any good player in any era would adjust and be a fine, excellent player. To me, Sachin is the best player and daylight's second," Warne said.

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