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Pakistan batting lived upto their reputation and proved that they are not bad “Chasers” to win the 2009 ICC T20 Championship in their second attempt, defeating favourites Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the Final at the Lords.

Set to a chase a moderate total of 139, the top order of Pakistan displayed immense responsibility and controlled aggression to run home with 8 balls to spare. Shahid Afridi played a stellar role, scoring 54 runs off 40 balls to earn a Batting Momentum (BM) of 73. Afridi, known for his hard hitting style of batting, changed his game in the Final and played a more restrained innings. He built a solid partnership of 76 runs with Shoaib Malik which saw Pakistan reaching the finishing line with flying colours. Afridi also chipped in with his bowling, picking up a lone wicket for 20 runs, to be judged the Man of the Match. Opener Kamran Akmal also played his part with a 28-ball 37 runs (BM of 49) which gave Pak the start they needed in the Final.

Pakistan was successful where Sri Lanka failed – batting. The batsmen dominated the Lankan bowling right from the start. During the middle overs - when Mendis and Murali usually keep a tight leash on the opponent batsmen - Pak batsmen carefully saw them through and instead targeted the weak-link in the Lanka bowling – Isuru Udana. He was clobbered at 11 runs per over which made all the difference in the match.

However, Sri Lanka couldn’t capitalise much from the seemingly batting friendly track after they decided to bat first. Traditionally, batting first at Lords has helped teams win 5 times in the previous 7 matches played here, but in the Finals, the Lankan top order with the exception of skipper Kumara Sangakkara drew a blank against some top class bowling from Pakistan, especially Abdul Razzaq who picked up 3 wickets for 20 to earn a Bowling Efficiency (BE) of 90. Sangakkara remained unbeaten on 64 runs off 52 runs (BM of 79) and his partnership of 68 runs with Angelo Mathews (35 runs off 24 balls and BM of 51) took the Lankan total to respectability after being reduced to 6 for 70 by the 13th over. The failure of openers Dilshan and Jayasuriya in the Finals proved crucial as Sri Lanka fell short by 20 runs in the final total.

In 2007, Pakistan perished while chasing India in the Finals. In 2009, however, Pakistan resurrected themselves to become a better “Chaser” and win the World T20 Championship.