A five-wicket haul from left-arm seamer Ziaul Haq helped Pakistan A dismantle Kenya for 51 – their lowest ever total in a friendly game. Zia bowled five overs, conceded just nine runs, and bowled out four batsmen, as Kenya, chasing 266, crashed to a 214-run defeat, meaning that Pakistan A have an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
The hosts made four changes, resting Mohammad Talha, Imran Khan, Raza Hasan and Sharjeel Khan, and bringing in Zia, Ifftikhar Ahmed, Zafar Gohar and Shahzad Azam. For Kenya, Hamza Malik and Eugene Ochieng came in for Jimmy Kamande and Jadhavji Bhimji.
The day started with Kenya winning the toss and opting to field. They were, however, immediately pegged back as the opener Babar Azam anchored two solid partnerships worth 82 and 69 runs for the second and third wickets. Babar stroked 12 fours and a six, but fell three runs short of a well-deserved century.
Following Babar’s departure, the Kenya bowlers began containing the runs and managed to keep Pakistan A to 193 for 3 by the 37th over. But Fawad Alam (84 off 61) accelerated towards the end, smashing 59 in last five overs.
Kenya’s response was shaky as none of their batsmen could negotiate the hosts’ bowlers, and fell to 13 for 6 by the seventh over. Kenya’s captain Shem Ngoche (11) and Lucas Oluoch (18) were the only two players who managed double-digit scores, as the visitors were dismissed in 22 overs. Apart from Zia’s burst, Shahzaib Ahmed chipped in with 3 for 11.
Pakistan A innings
Babar Azam c †Ouma b NN Odhiambo 97
Iftikhar Ahmed lbw b Oluoch 12
Saad Ali c NM Odhiambo b SO Ngoche 27
Fawad Alam not out 84
Mohammad Rizwan run out (Oluoch) 1
Zafar Gohar c Obanda b NM Odhiambo 3
Fazal Subhan not out 14
Extras (lb 1, w 23, nb 3) 27
Total (5 wickets; 45 overs; 220 mins) 265
Did not batShehzad Azam, Sami Aslam, Shahzaib Ahmed, Zia-ul-Haq
Fall of wickets 1-42 (Iftikhar Ahmed, 7.5 ov), 2-124 (Saad Ali, 25.3 ov), 3-193 (Babar Azam, 36.2 ov), 4-197 (Mohammad Rizwan, 37.3 ov), 5-205 (Zafar Gohar, 39.4 ov)
Bowling
E Otieno 9-0-63-0, L Oluoch 5-0-29-1, NN Odhiambo 8-0-47-1, NM Odhiambo 7-0-32-1, JO Ngoche 7-0-42-0, E Ochieng 3-0-16-0, SO Ngoche 6-0-35-1
Kenya
AA Obanda b Zia-ul-Haq 1 11
Gurdeep Singh c Iftikhar Ahmed b Shehzad Azam 0
Hamza Malik b Zia-ul-Haq 2
MA Ouma b Zia-ul-Haq 0
NM Odhiambo b Zia-ul-Haq 1
NN Odhiambo c †Mohammad Rizwan b Zia-ul-Haq 9
SO Ngoche b Shahzaib Ahmed 11
E Otieno b Zafar Gohar 6
L Oluoch not out 18
E Ochieng b Shahzaib Ahmed 0
JO Ngoche lbw b Shahzaib Ahmed 0
Extras (lb 1, w 2) 3
Total (all out; 22 overs; 87 mins) 51
Fall of wickets 1-0 (Gurdeep Singh, 1.4 ov), 2-2 (Obanda, 2.1 ov), 3-2 (Ouma, 2.5 ov), 4-4 (NM Odhiambo, 4.2 ov), 5-7 (Hamza Malik, 4.5 ov), 6-13 (NN Odhiambo, 6.2 ov), 7-26 (Otieno, 10.4 ov), 8-48 (SO Ngoche, 17.4 ov), 9-48 (Ochieng, 19.5 ov), 10-51 (JO Ngoche, 21.6 ov)
Bowling
Zia-ul-Haq-5-2-9-5, Shehzad Azam-5-1-16-1, Zafar Gohar-6-1-14-1, Shahzaib Ahmed-6-1-11-3
MATCH DETAILS
Toss – Kenya, who chose to field
Player of the match – Zia-ul-Haq (Pakistan A)
Umpires – Javed Ashraf and Mohammad Sajid
TV umpire – Ahmed Shahab
Match referee – Mussadaq Rasool
Reserve umpire – Rashid Riaz
