Pakistan beats Sri Lanka in a thriller!

What a game! Pakistan really needed this. I had the game on video, but I thought the commentary on cricinfo was great. I usually keep both running. Osman Samiuddin, Charlie Austin , and Siddhartha Vaidyanathan wrote some great commentaries on the game, while the bulletin by Dileep Premachandran basically said that this was the best game thus far in the series. All articles echo the same general theme, that this Pakistani side really needed this victory, and they achieved it, not emphatically, but more importantly, dramatically. Obviously, winning this first game was really important if Pakistan is to make a run for the finals. Sri Lanka were a dangerous side. I had predicted we would lose, but I am glad no ones listens to me!
It's also nice to see cricket writers rooting for a Pakistan team that really has been through a lot these past few months.

Some thoughts about the game that stood out for me...

Jayawardene's captaincy
Was anyone else impressed with his field placing? I thought some of the position were unique and quit interesting. Jayasuria was position next to the runner on the off side for a bit. He put himself as a slip whenever a new batsman would come. In contrast, though our bowlers kept in tight, Younis was nowhere near this innovative with the field. Jayawardene also had point and backward point for an over! Thats so strange....but pretty cool. He's also so passionate on the field.

Pitch
The pitch seemed good. The batsman got out to some careless shots. There wasn't much spin in it either. Thank goodness Murali had a wet ball to deal with. Why are all the games at night? This dew factor really does make batting first the easier option if you dont have to many spinners on the side.

Crowd
What an awesome crowd! Were we in Jaipur, India? I thought their support was magnificent. I've always thought Indian crowds were pretty biased, but in the absence of the home nation, I guess they really did support Pakistan after all the controversies and ups and downs.

Afridi
What in the world was he doing. He had no clue how to play Murali. i think he should be dropped til he recovers some sort of form. But will he dropped for the next game though? i doubt it. We won this game, so they will stick to the same side.

Pakistani middle order
Definitely seemed very weak without Inzy in the lineup. After Younis Khan's dismissal, a lot of the onus and leadership went to Yousuf. I think Faisal should play in the next game as he is the next best thing to Inzi. Plus, he has the propensity to play a steady, yet big innings. He is a proper middle order batsman and our middle order is weak. Malik, Razzak, Farhat and Hafeez sorta clicked today, but their techniques against spin and the moving ball are still weak. We need someone with a better temperament to substitute one of them. But which one?