Sharjeel propels Pakistan A to victory

Hosts beat English Lions by four wickets to take 2-1 lead in five-match T20 series

KARACHI: Discarded limited-overs opener Sharjeel Khan nudged the selectors with a match-winning knock of 70 against English Lions as Pakistan A beat the visitors by four wickets in the third unofficial T20I — ensuring a 2-1 lead in the five-match series — at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The left-handed opener from Hyderabad was kept on the bench for the first two matches as the team management decided to go with openers Shahzaib Hasan and Fakhar Zaman, but the duo failed to impress and were both replaced in the third match.

Set a target of 143, Pakistan A managed to achieve the target with two balls to spare as they finished with 146-6.



It was a shaky start for the hosts as they lost Sohaib Maqsood (three) and Mohammad Nawaz (nought) early to Steve Finn, while Sharjeel held the fort.

With Pakistan at 24-2, Sharjeel and Iftikhar Ahmed (15) put on a 52-run stand.

Iftikhar was dismissed by Jamie Overton, while Sharjeel lost another partner soon when Babar Azam (seven) was sent back to the pavilion by Finn, leaving Pakistan at 92-4.



Sharjeel was the next to fall after starring with a 51-ball 70, which was laced with a six and eight boundaries.

All-rounder Saad Naseem then played an important hand of 33 off 21 balls, hitting three sixes and a boundary in the process.

Finn took three wickets while Overton picked up two scalps.

Earlier, Pakistan had restricted English Lions to 142-6 in their 20 overs as Rumman Raees and Bilal Asif picked up two wickets apiece, while Nawaz bowled a tight spell of four overs, giving away just 11 runs and picking up a wicket as well.

Dawid Malan (35) and Liam Dawson (45) were the notable scorers from England.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2015.

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