COLOMBO: Opener Abdullah Shafique starred with the bat on the final day as Pakistan’s three-day warm-up match against Sri Lanka Xl ended on a draw, here on Wednesday.
Abdullah scored a magnificent 63 runs including five boundaries and two sixes before getting retired hurt. Whereas, Azhar Ali chipped in with 40, as Pakistan finished on 178/2 in their second innings.
Opener Imam ul Haq combined excellently with Abdullah to raise an opening stand of 61 runs before Imam was sent back to the pavilion on 30.
Fawad Alam fell cheaply on 6 before Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz remained firm on the crease till the end of the day’s play on 21 and 13, respectively.
For Sri Lanka Xl, Lasith Embuldeniya and Lakshitha Manasinghe made a scalp each.
Earlier, Sri Lanka Xl resumed with the overnight score of 278/5 at the onset of the final day’s play and gained a 52-runs lead before declaring their inning on 375/8.
Sadeera Samarawickrama remained the top-scorer of the match with his blistering knock of 91 while Nuwanidu Fernando and Nishan Madushka scored the fifties to frustrate Pakistan bowlers.
For Pakistan, Nawaz grabbed two wickets while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hassan Ali, Naseem Shah, Agha Salman, Yasir Shah and Faheem Ashraf claimed wicket apiece.
Pakistan are set to lock horns against the hosts Sri Lanka for the two-match Test series with the first Test scheduled from July 16 to 20 at Galle.
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COLOMBO: Pakistan captain Babar Azam led the way for his side with a magnificent knock of 88 runs and bolstered Pakistan to finish on 277/7 on the opening day of the ongoing warm-up match against Sri Lanka XI.
Veteran right-handed batter Azhar Ali, who took up the captaincy role in the absence of Babar Azam opted for his team to bat first after the coin flipped in his favour.
Batting first, the touring side had an unwanted start to their campaign as the Green Shirts lost their both openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique for a mere three runs.
Azhar alongside Babar then anchored the inning for Pakistan with an astonishing 143 runs partnership for the third wicket. The former remained slow in his important knock of 43 runs as he faced a mammoth 119 deliveries.
Babar, on the other hand, scored a magnificent 88 at a decent pace with the help of eight boundaries and four sixes.
Following the Azhar-Babar partnership, Pakistan again began to lose wickets at a quick rate as wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood fell cheaply for 31 and six respectively.
Left-handed middle-order batter Saud Shakeel and Salman Ali Agha then assured a great finish for the side as they put on a valiant 71 runs. Saud remained unbeaten with 30, while Agha scored 43 not-out.
For Sri Lanka Cricket XI, Lakshitha Manasinghe claimed three wickets, while Lasith Embuldeniya bagged two.
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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket Selection Committee has announced a 15-member Sri Lanka Cricket XI squad for the three-day warm-up match against Pakistan, scheduled to commence on July 11.
As per the recently-announced squad by the Sri Lanka Selection Committee, young Sri Lankan all-rounder Nipun Dhnanjaya has been given the captaincy role of the 15-member squad, scheduled to take on Pakistan in a three-day warm-up match.
The young squad further includes Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka (wk), Nuwanidu Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Nipun Dananjaya (c), Sahan Arachchige, Chamika Karunaratne, Lakshitha Manasinghe, Praveen Jayawickrama, Dilshan Madushanka, Pramod Madushan, Lasith Embuldeniya, Udith Madushan, Minod Bhanuka, and Ashen Bandara.
It is pertinent to mention here that following the conclusion of the warm-up match, Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series, scheduled from July 16 to 28.
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