Outplayed: Pakistan A suffer big defeat in first unofficial ODI

Kusal Perera scores century as hosts chase down 204 in just 28.2 overs


Our Correspondent April 26, 2015
Like recent batting trends in official ODIs, the Pakistan A batsmen got in and out — failing to convert their starts as the team was bundled out for just 203 in 48.1 overs. STOCK IMAGE

KARACHI: Emulating the poor performance of the first team, the Fawad Alam-led Pakistan A crashed to a convincing eight-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka A in the opening match of the unofficial ODI series.

Set a meagre target of 204, the hosts finished the game off in just 28.2 overs.  Sri Lanka’s limited overs opener Kusal Perera was in scintillating form, the left-handed batsman smashed the bowlers all around the park in an 88-ball 114. Perera struck as many as 18 fours besides a solitary six in his superb match-winning century.

Captain Ashan Priyanjan provided solid support to Perera with a composed 57 off 77 balls. His innings included four boundaries and one six.

Leg-spin prodigy Shahzaib Ahmed was taken apart by Perera and Priyanjan, the Karachi-rookie conceding 64 runs in 7.2 overs as the hosts cantered home.

Left-arm pacers Mir Hamza and Ziaul Haq were the only successful bowlers as they snapped a wicket each but also failed to keep the flow of runs in check.

Earlier in the day, the Pakistan A batsmen struggled on the Uyanwatte Stadium pitch. Captain Fawad Alam opted to bat first but the batting line-up failed to live up to their captain’s expectations. Fawad top-scored with 58 off 74 balls, a knock that included three fours and a six.

All-rounder Imad Wasim scored 35 while ODI and T20 discard Umar Amin managed 32. Khurram Manzoor, who was dropped from the Test side last year, contributed 24 runs.

Like recent batting trends in official ODIs, the Pakistan A batsmen got in and out — failing to convert their starts as the team was bundled out for just 203 in 48.1 overs.

 

‘Selfish approach plagues batting at all levels’

Head of the junior selection committee Basit Ali has bemoaned the ‘selfish’ approach which, he feels, is eating away at Pakistan cricket. Commenting on the ‘A’ team’s performance, the former Test batsman claimed that the scorecard reflected a shoddy game plan.

“I think Rizwan shouldn’t open the innings when he played in the middle-order for Pakistan, I don’t understand the strategy, and it seems the coaching staff didn’t know the players. From a distance, it seems that the Pakistan batsmen misread the conditions or perhaps played selfishly.”

Basit feels that one of the biggest reasons for Pakistan’s current cricketing predicaments is the players’ penchant for putting their own performance over the team’s. “We need to realise that Pakistan players have been following a selfish approach where they play only for themselves, and this trend was introduced in the 80s.”

 

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