Kolkata: Shahid Afridi-led Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by 15 runs in the warm-up match between the two sides played at Eden Gardens. (ICC World Twenty20: FULL COVERAGE)
Over 20 | Score 142/9 | (Shanaka 13*, Chameera 0*)
Finally some good news for the Pakistani fans! Their team has found form, just at the right time ahead of ICC World T20's main event which starts from tomorrow. The Lankans never looked like they were in the game as Imad Wasim ran through their batting order with a four-wicket haul.
SMSM Senanayake lbw b Wahab Riaz 10 (15b)
KMDN Kulasekara run out 7 (8b)
Over 15 | Score 110/7 | (Kulasekara 1*, Senanayake 0*)
Imad Wasim picked his second wicket of the match when he dismissed Kapugedera in the 11th over and followed it with a double blow to the Lankans, with key wickets of Thirimanne and Mathews in the next over. Thisara Perera was the next man in and while his team needed several hits outside the park from his willow, he perished for 5 runs in the 15th over, while Siriwardana was run-out in the same over. The Lankans are wobbling here are Kulasekara is their only hope now.
NLTC Perera b Mohammad Irfan 5 (4b)
TAM Siriwardana run out 2 (5b)
AD Mathews b Imad Wasim 10 (7b)
HDRL Thirimanne c Shahid Afridi b Imad Wasim 45 (37b)
CK Kapugedera c Umar Akmal b Imad Wasim 14 (11b)
Over 10 | Score 74/2 | (Thirimanne 31*, Kapugedara 13*)
Chandimal was looking dangerous at the crease before he was removed by Imad Wasim in the sixth over. After that dismissal, Thirimanne unleashed a few lusty blow and now that he is in rhythm, Lankans would want him to bat till the end.
LD Chandimal c Mohammad Hafeez b Imad Wasim 30 (21b)
Over 5 | Score 38/1 | (Chandimal 30 *, Thirimanne 8*)
Mohammad Irfan struck off the first ball of his spell as Dilshan edged one to the keeper. The Pakistani bowlers seemed to have contained the runs before Dinesh Chandimal smashed three boundaries and a six off Wahab Riaz in the fifth over of the innings.
TM Dilshan c Sarfraz Ahmed b Mohammad Irfan 0 (1b)
Over 20 | Score 157/5 | (Hafeez 70 *, Wasim 2*)
The Professor played a fine innings for Pakistan as none of the other batsmen could play a big knock from the other end. Thisara Perera was the pick of the Lankan bowlers with two wickets. It's not a huge total and it remains to be seen whether Sri Lanka, who have been stuggling in the last few months, can chase this down.
Over 15 | Score 100/3 | (Hafeez 39 *, Akmal 5*)
Pakistan lost the third wicket of Ahmed, who was stumped for 13 off Herath. After a poor show in Asia Cup 2016, Mohammad Hafeez seems to have found the much-needed form just at the right time. The Professor has hit some brilliant shots and Pakistan need him to bat till the end. Akmal also needs to play a cameo here for the team.
Over 10 | Score 63/2 | (Hafeez 11 *, Ahmed 9*)
Senanayeke got the first breakthrough for Pakistan when he removed Sharjeel for 23. Very soon, Shehzad too was scalped by Chameera. Hafeez and Sarfraz Ahmed are the two new batsmen at the crease.
Ahmed Shehzad b Chameera 18 (19b)
Sharjeel Khan b Senanayake 23 (21b)
Over 5 | Score 28/0 | (Sharjeel Khan 18 *, Ahmed Shehzad 10*)
Pakistani openers Sharjeel Khan and Ahmad Shehzad have got the team to a decent start so far. They however need to step up the tempo now.
Due to the delay in arrival of Shahid Afridi's side, their first practice match against Bengal was canceled.
Sri Lanka were easily beaten by New Zealand in their first warm-up match at the Wankhede Stadium.
Both teams lost to Bangladesh in the recently concluded Asia Cup and are in need of putting up a strong show at the mega tournament.
The two Asian giants have had to deal with plenty of issues off the pitch ahead of WT20.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Sunday accused former selection committee chief Kapila Wijegoonawardena of hurting the morale of the national team ahead of their ICC World Twenty20 campaign by making "inaccurate and misleading" statements in the media.
While, several reports have indicated that all is not well between skipper Afridi and coach Waqar Younis. Moreover, Pakistan prepared for the tournament amid plenty of undertainty due to security-related issues in India.
This last warm-up match presents a chance for both teams to get their combinations right. The Sri Lankans are well versed with the Indian conditions, as they were part of a three-match T20I series against the home team recently.
Pakistan team has not played in India for a long time, hence their players need to acclimatize to the conditions as soon as possible.
There will be a lot of focus on star players from both sides and their respective team management will want to enter the tournament on the back of a solid win.
Pakistan face Bangladesh on March 16 in their WT20 opener, while Sri Lanka play Afghanistan on the same day.
