HAMBANTOTA-
Pakistani batsmen Sohaib Maqsood and Fawad Alam batted beautifully to chase down a daunting target of 276 and helped Pakistan win first one day international against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Earlier, Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews smashed 89 off 85 balls and Mahela Jayawardene made 63 as Sri Lanka recovered to post 275-7 from 45 overs.
Jayawardene, 37, who retired from Tests earlier this week to concentrate on one-day cricket till next year’s World Cup, hit eight boundaries in his 73rd half-century in the shorter format.
Sri Lanka, who were sent in to bat in overcast conditions, slumped to 75-4 by the 18th over before Jayawardene and Mathews put on 116 for the fifth wicket.
Mathews hit nine fours in his best score in one-day cricket, but it was Ashan Priyanjan’s unbeaten 39 off 15 balls at the end that lifted Sri Lanka to a commanding total.
Lanky left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, who stands at seven feet, one inch (2.16 metres), generated good bounce from the moisture-laden pitch to claim two wickets for 48 runs.
Wahab Riaz, one of the three left-arm seamers for Pakistan alongside Irfan and Junaid Khan, took three for 50.
The match was reduced to 45-overs-a-side after a rain halted play for 30 minutes in the sixth over of the Sri Lankan innings.
The tourists missed their top spinner Saeed Ajmal, who has flown to Australia to undergo tests of his bowling action after being reported by the umpires during the preceding Test series which Sri Lanka swept 2-0.
The remaining two one-dayers will be played in Colombo on August 27 and Dambulla on August 30.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan.
Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Ashan Priyanjan, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath.
Umpires: Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI) and S. Ravi (IND)
