Toss: Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat.

Teams:

Pakistan: 1. Sharjeel Khan, 2. Ahmed Shehzad, 3. Mohammad Hafeez, 4. Sohaib Maqsood, 5. Misbah-ul-Haq (c), 6. Umar Akmal (wk), 7. Shahid Afridi, 8. Bilawal Bhatti, 9. Sohail Tanvir, 10. Junaid Khan, 11. Saeed Ajmal

Sri Lanka: 1. Kusal Perera, 2. TM Dilshan, 3. Kumar Sangakkara, 4. Dinesh Chandimal, 5. Angelo Mathews, 6. Lahiru Thirimanne, 7. Thisara Parera, 8. Seekugge Prasanna, 9. Lasith Malinga, 10. Sachitra Senanayake, 11. Suranga Lakmal




Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat first on a pitch which seemed to have a nice sheen to it. Sharjeel Khan, who was making his ODI debut, took on Lasith Malinga in the fourth over, slamming him for a six and two fours. However, his partner Ahmed Shehzad was trapped lbw by Suranga Lakmal in the seventh over for 11(22).

Mohammad Hafeez, who was due some runs, joined Sharjeel Khan in the middle. He stroked Suranga Lakmal for two fours in the ninth over. At the other end, Sharjeel Khan continued his onslaught, slogging Thisara Perera for a four and two sixes in the thirteen over. Sharjeel Khan reached his maiden 50 and became the eighth Pakistani batsman to reach the landmark on ODI debut. Mohammad Hafeez wasn't far behind either, and managed a four and a six off TM Dilshan in the 20th over. Sharjeel Khan was dropped, but couldn’t capitalise and was caught by Senanayake off Prasanna for 61(61).

Sohaib Maqsood was the new man in. He and Mohammad Hafeez kept the scoreboard ticking over without taking too many risks until the 29th over, when Sohaib cut loose and hammered a four and a six. The batting Powerplay was taken before it was due and it yielded 25 runs without any casualties. After the Powerplay had ended, Mohammad Hafeez targeted Thisara Perera and brought up his 7th ODI century in some style, answering his critics back home, while Sohaib Maqsood brought up his third ODI fifty in five matches. Runs came thick and fast from both ends until Sohaib Maqsood was unluckily run out on 73.

Shahid Afridi was promoted up the order in a bid to accelerate and the move paid immediate dividends as he benefited from some loose bowling by Lakmal, hitting him for two sixes. In the next over, Thisara Perera also suffered from the Afridi onslaught, as he mercilessly stroked him for a six and a four, but was soon bowled for an entertaining 34(12).

Mohammad Hafeez fell in the final over for an excellent 122(129) and Pakistan ended up scoring 322/5 from 50 overs. Sri Lanka were set a stiff target of 323.


Fall Of Wickets

1-35 (Ahmed Shehzad, 6.2 overs)
2-118 (Sharjeel Khan, 22.2 overs)
3-258 (Sohaib Maqsood, 43.6 overs)
4-301 (Shahid Afridi, 47.4 overs)
5-320 (Mohammad Hafeez, 49.4 overs)


The Sri Lankan openers gave their team a cautious yet stable start. The first boundary was struck in the 8th over, while the mandatory Powerplay yielded 52 runs. The first wicket to fall was that of TM Dilshan, who perished for 30(43), removed by Junaid Khan.

Kushal Perera continued on from where he had left in the 2nd T20I. He managed to find the fence twice in Junaid Khan’s next over and brought up a well-deserved 50 in the 16th over of the innings. Runs seemed to have dried up a bit until Shahid Afridi came and gave away 10 runs in his first over, but Mohammad Hafeez brought some control and a wicket - trapping Kushal Perera lbw for 64(68). Shahid Afridi then joined the party, getting rid of key man Kumar Sangakkara for 23.

Lahiru Thirimanne was Shahid Afridi’s second wicket as he was caught in the deep by a flying Sohaib Maqsood. Dinesh Chandimal slogged Shahid Afridi for a six in his 7th over, which became his last as he was not brought back on by Misbah-ul-Haq. Chandimal looked in good touch, but was unfortunate as he had to leave courtesy of some excellent fielding by Saeed Ajmal off his own bowling having made 46 runs. In the very next over, Junaid Khan sent Angelo Mathews packing for 31 and Thisara Perera was also dismissed by Bilawal Bhatti for 6 soon after.

Just when the Pakistanis thought the match was in the bag, Senanayake and Prasanna gelled together in a blistering partnership. Senanayake targeted Junaid’s over and squeezed three boundaries. Prasanna found his touch to send the ball over the ropes off a Sohail Tanvir over. He replicated the feat in the next over of Saeed Ajmal. Senanayake, on the other hand, struck Tanvir and Bilawal for fours, followed by a six and. Senanayake looked to be taking the game out of Pakistan's hands, before he holed out to Anwar Ali off Sohail Tanvir for 42.

Junaid Khan bowled the last over with 14 runs to defend. Lasith Malinga was run out while Prasanna failed to take his team home and departed for 42, handing Pakistan a closely-contested 11-run win.


Fall Of Wickets

1-66 (Dilshan, 12.5 overs)
2-113 (MDKJ Perera, 22.4 overs)
3-127 (Sangakkara, 25.2 overs)
4-141 (Thirimanne, 29.4 overs)
5-214 (Chandimal, 39.6 overs)
6-216 (Mathews, 40.4 overs)
7-221 (NLTC Perera, 41.2 overs)
8-308 (Senanayake, 48.5 overs)
9-310 (Malinga, 49.1 overs)
10-311 (Prasanna, 49.4 overs)



Pakistan edged Sri Lanka out in the opening match of the five-match ODI series by mere 11 runs. The match saw over 600 runs being scored, which will leave both sides with something to ponder for the next game on Friday.