Kamran Akmal hit unbeaten 92 off 50 balls
Kamran Akmal hit 92 off 50 balls as Pakistan snatched an incredible five-wicket victory from the jaws of India in the ICC World Twenty20 warm-up match at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Monday.
The swashbuckling wicketkeeper, slamming five boundaries and half-dozen sixes on his way, shared unbroken 95 runs sixth wicket stand with Shoaib Malik (37 off 18) as Pakistan overhauled the formidable 186-run target with five balls to spare.
Losing five wickets for 91 runs inside 12th over thanks to Ashwin’s four-wicket burst, Pakistan were in deep trouble but Kamran Akmal took the charge single-handedly and made the mockery of Indian bowlers with flamboyant shots all across the ground.
Malik also shut down the mouths of his critics with a whirlwind knock, which was studded with two boundaries and as many sixes.
Barring Aswhin (4-23) almost all bowlers received the same treatment from Kamran Akmal. Irfan Pathan, who claimed five wickets against Sri Lanka in the first warm-up match, was the most expensive bowler as he conceded 40 runs in 3.1 overs.
Zaheer Khan leaked 31 runs from 3 overs while pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji and Harbhajan Singh conceded 41 and 40 runs from their four overs.
Kamran Akmal earlier combined with skipper Mohammad Hafeez (38 off 29) for a 51-run third-wicket stand to recover Pakistan from 2-33 when opener Imran Nazir (13) and Nasir Jamshed (0) departed In the same over.
Pakistan were desperately galloping towards target but Ashwin invaded drastically in 10th over and scalped Hafeez, Shahid Afridi (0) and Umar Akmal (2) in six balls to leave Pakistan wobbling.
Earlier, electing to bat, India rode on the blistering half-centuries from Virat Kohli (75 off 47 not out) and Rohit Sharma (56 off 40) to post a challenging total of 185-3.
Kohli and Sharma shared 127 runs for the third wicket after Gautam Gambhir (10) and Virender Sehwag (26 off 14) departed in quick-succession.
Kohli hit seven boundaries and two sixes in his sweltering dig while Sharma hit four boundaries and two sixes.
