Press Trust of India
Kolkata, March 14: Pakistan’s bowling came to the fore after Mohammad Hafeez’s (70 n o, 49b, 9×4, 1×6) unbeaten knock as they defeated World T20 defending champions Sri Lanka by 15 runs in their warm-up match at the Eden Gardens here Monday.
Hafeez’s knock help Pakistan post 157/5 before they restricted Sri Lanka to 142/9 in front of a cheering crowd of more than 10,000. The biggest cheer was reserved for Pak skipper Shahid Afridi, but he was dismissed first ball.
In reply, Pakistan rookie left-arm spinner Imad Wasim (4/25) rattled the Lankan chase with his tidy spell after the towering left-arm quickie Mohammad Irfan (2/18) gave his team a good start.
Lahiru Thirimanne (45, 37 b, 4×4, 2×6) and Dinesh Chandimal (30, 21b, 5×4, 1×6) were the only Sri Lankan batters to offer some resistance. Mohammad Aamir, however failed to tick the wickets column.
This was Sri Lanka’s second successive loss in the warm-up games, after going down to New Zealand by 74 runs in Mumbai.
Brief scores: Pakistan 157/5 (Mohammad Hafeez 70 n o; Thisara Perera 2/21) beat Sri Lanka 142/9 (Lahiru Thirimanne 45; Imad Wasim 4/25) by 15 runs.
