Pakistan ‘A’ draw first blood against Afghanistan

Hosts show all-round skills to go one-up in three-match series.

KARACHI:

Afghanistan lost to Pakistan’s second side yesterday at the Diamond Cricket ground by five wickets in their first confrontation of the three-match series.

Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first but found themselves struggling early at 94 for eight. Vice-captain Mohammad Nabi helped his side to recover as he scored 72 to propel the tourists to 152 all out in 37.3 overs. Captain Nawroz Mangal, who scored 33, was the only other batsman to reach double figures.

The majority of the damage to Afghanistan’s batting line-up was done by fast-bowler Mohammad Talha who took three for 29 while Sadaf Hussain grabbed two wickets for 25 runs. Pakistan ‘A’ captain and left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir chipped in with two wickets for 33 runs.

Chasing a small total, the hosts lost an early wicket but Sharjeel Khan, who smashed 47 runs, withstood Dawlat Zadran’s challenge and despite a flurry of wickets that caused a bit of a scare in Pakistan’s camp, Naveed Yasin and Sarfraz Ahmed helped Pakistan reach the target in the 40th over.

The hosts will be looking to wrap up the series in Rawalpindi tomorrow, with another win over their low-ranked opponents, when the two sides meet for the second match. The third and last, a day-night affair, will be played in Faisalabad on Sunday.

“The whole Afghan team is happy to be part of history and we hope teams come here and play,” said Mangal. “It was disappointing batting and we need to learn from this experience.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2011.