Historic series, convincing win

Hosts crush Afghanistan by 150 runs to clinch series.

KARACHI:

Pakistan ‘A’ clinched the three-match one-day series against the touring Afghanistan team after a mammoth 150-run win in the second game held at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

It was almost a fairytale script after Pakistan opted to bat: The top-order fired followed by a late flourish at the end of the innings that propelled the hosts to 327 for seven before the bowlers provided wickets at regular intervals to dismiss Afghanistan for just 177.

All-rounder Sohail Tanvir could not have hoped for a better start from his top three batsmen as Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam and Umar Amin all scored half-centuries at a quick rate. A slight set back saw Pakistan reduced from 220 for two to 290 for six as the batsmen went for big hits but discarded wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed gave the selectors something to think about with a cracking 28-ball 46 that took Pakistan past 320 and made things difficult for the tourists.

For Afghanistan, bowling figures provided little hope and did not trouble the Pakistani batting line-up. And even though Dawlat Zadran claimed three wickets, his 10 overs cost 82 runs.

Pakistan’s day kept getting better with fast-bowler Sadaf Hussain providing a breakthrough in the second over. The left-armer, who was part of the limited-overs squad in the West Indies, finished with four for 46 and won the man-of-the-match award.

Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar claimed two for 34 and even though Samiullah Shenwari scored a  61 runs, at snail’s pace consuming 111 deliveries, Afghanistan found no answer to Pakistan’s bowling variation.

The third match of the series will be played tomorrow in Faisalabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2011.