T H U R S DAY, JU LY 23, 2 0 1 5
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SPORTS Shehzad leads Pakistan to series win SCOREBOARD
The series win kept Azhar Ali’s Pakistan in contention for a place in the eightnation Champions Trophy in England in 2017
COLOMBO: Ahmed Shehzad smashed 95 off 90 balls as Pakistan thrashed below-par Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the fourth oneday match in Colombo on Wednesday to clinch the five-match series. Mohammed Hafeez chipped in with 70 as the tourists surpassed Sri Lanka’s 256-9 in the 41st over at the Premadasa stadium to take a decisive 3-1 lead in the series. The series win kept Azhar Ali’s Pakistan in contention for a place in the eight-nation Champions Trophy in England in 2017. Pakistan are two points ahead of the West Indies at number eight in the rankings, but both teams are due to play a tri-series in Zimbabwe next month that will determine the final spot. Pakistan’s one-day success follows their 2-1 victory over Sri
MATCH WINNER: Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad plays a shot during the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. – AFP
Lanka in the preceding Test series under Misbah-ul Haq’s captaincy. Sri Lanka are assured of taking part in the Champions Trophy, but their lacklustre display did not do justice to the former world champions. Shehzad and Azhar put Pakistan on the road to victory with an opening stand of 75 in 11 overs before the skipper was removed by sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga for 33. Hafeez helped Shehzad build on the fine start by adding 115 for the second wicket, but Sri Lanka hit
back to remove both batsmen in the space of 23 runs. Shehzad fell five runs short of his fourth one-day century when he cut seamer Suranga Lakmal to a diving Kusal Perera at third man. He hit 12 boundaries and a six. Hafeez was caught behind by Dinesh Chandimal off spinner Milinda Siriwardana to leave Pakistan on 213-3, but Sri Lanka’s recovery came too late. Shoaib Malik hit a 16-ball 29 and ended the match by lofting Siriwardana over mid-wicket for his fourth six. Sarfraz Ahmed re-
mained unbeaten on 17. Earlier, Lahiru Thirimanne topscored with 90 for Sri Lanka after skipper Angelo Mathews won the toss for the first time on Pakistan’s current tour and elected to bat. The left-hander put on 109 for the second wicket with Tillakaratne Dilshan (50) after Perera had been dismissed by Mohammad Irfan off the second ball of the match. Thirimanne missed his fifth one-day century when he swept leg-spinner Yasir Shah to deep square-leg, where Shehzad picked
T20 SERIES
Yasir in Pakistan Twenty20 squad KARACHI: Fast-rising spinner Yasir Shah is set to make his Twenty20 comeback in Pakistan’s upcoming series against Sri Lanka while injured pacer Wahab Riaz could also make a return subject to fitness, chief selector Haroon Rasheed said Wednesday. All-rounder Shahid Afridi will lead the squad for the two matches to be played in Colombo on July 30 and August 1. Shah, 29, took 24 wickets in Pakistan’s 2-1 win in the three-Test series, taking him to third position in the official world bowlers’ rankings after just ten matches. The leg-spin bowler, who has won praise from Australian legend Shane Warne, then helped Pakistan win the third one-day with figures of 4-29 to give the visitors a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Both teams were playing the fourth one-day in Colombo on Wednesday. Strike bowler Chief selector Rasheed said: “Shah has emerged as a strike bowler who takes wickets, and in T20 cricket a bowler having this ability is a big plus. That is why he has been included.” Shah played the last of his two Twenty20 internationals in Zimbabwe in September 2011 but has so far failed to pick up a wicket in the format. Explaining Riaz’s inclusion, Rasheed said he hoped the left-
arm paceman, who has been the pick of Pakistan’s pacers in recent months, would soon be bowling after hurting his hand during the second Test. “Riaz is expected to start bowling from July 24 after recovering from hand injury and would be included in the squad upon clearance that he is injury free and bowling freely. “Otherwise Ziaul Haq, a budding young fast bowler having toured recently with Pakistan ‘A’, would take his place in the team.” Tanvir recalled Left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir was recalled after being axed from the squad for the two T20 matches against Zimbabwe in Lahore — Pakistan’s first international series at home for six years. Talented but temperamental batsman Umar Akmal was also included despite team management complaints about his attitude during the 2015 World Cup, which forced his omission from the one-day squad. Umar featured in both the Twenty20s against Zimbabwe, scoring four and 30. Squad: Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Nauman Anwar, Mohammad Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz or Ziaul Haq. - AFP
MAKING A COMEBACK: Fast-rising spinner Yasir Shah is set to make his Twenty20 comeback. – AFP
up a low catch to make amends for a dropped catch in the bowler’s previous over. Besides Thirimanne and Dilshan, none of the other top-order batsmen settled in as Mathews fell for 12 and Dinesh Chandimal was dismissed after making 20. Tailender Malinga smashed 17 off 13 balls at the end to ensure Sri Lanka crossed the 250-run mark. Irfan finished with three wickets, while fellow seamer Anwar Ali took two. The fifth match will be played in Hambantota on Sunday. - AFP
SRI LANKA K. Perera c Imad b Irfan 0 T. Dilshan b Imad 50 L. Thirimanne c Shehzad b Yasir 90 A. Mathews c Yasir b Rahat 12 D. Chandimal c Yasir b Irfan 20 A. Priyanjan c Hafeez b Anwar 18 M. Siriwardana c Rizwan b Anwar 19 S. Pathirana run out 14 L. Malinga c Rizwan b Irfan 17 S. Lakmal not out 1 N. Pradeep not out 0 Extras: (b-4, lb-1, w-8, nb-2) 15 Total (for nine wickets, 50 overs) 256 Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Perera), 2-109 (Dilshan), 3-143 (Mathews), 4-170 (Chandimal), 5-186 (Thirimanne), 6-215 (Siriwardana), 7-228 (Priyanjan), 8-243 (Pathirana), 9-252 (Malinga). Bowling: Irfan 10-0-50-3 (nb2, w2), Anwar 7-0-41-2 (w4), Rahat 7-0-39-1 (w2), Yasir 10-0-50-1, Azhar 2-0-13-0, Imad 10-0-43-1, Malik 4-0-15-0. PAKISTAN Azhar Ali c sub (Senanayake) b Malinga 33 Ahmed Shehzad c Perera b Lakmal 95 M. Hafeez c Chandimal b Siriwardana 70 Sarfraz Ahmed not out 17 Shoaib Malik not out 29 Extras: (b-4, w-9) 13 Total (for three wickets, 40.5 overs) 257 Fall of wickets: 1-75 (Azhar), 2-190 (Shehzad), 3-213 (Hafeez). Bowling: Malinga 9-2-46-1, Lakmal 8-050-1 (w3), Pathirana 10-0-81-0, Pradeep 2.2-0-9-0 (w1), Mathews 2.4-0-9-0 (w2), Siriwardana 5.5-0-28-1, Dilshan 3-030-0 (w3). Series: Pakistan lead 3-1.