Pakistan 7-146 (Shahid Afridi 39*, Sharjeel Khan 34, Mohammad Hafeez 32, Lasith Malinga 3-26) beat Sri Lanka 5-145 (Angelo Mathews 50, Lahiru Thirimanne 23*, Saeed Ajmal 2-34) by three wickets.
Shahid Afridi sparkled both with bat and ball as the Green Shirts clinched the first Twenty20 against the visiting Lankan Lions at Dubai.
Sri Lanka scored 5-145 in 20 overs and Pakistan hammered 146 for the loss of seven wickets with five balls to spare.
Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his excellent all round performance.
The first Twenty20 of the two match series was played on Wednesday, December 11, 2013, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Earlier, Mohammad Hafeez, the skipper of Pakistan won the toss and invited the Islanders to bat first. The first wicket was claimed at 9 as Dinesh Chandimal got together with Kusal Perera. They took the score to 41 when the latter was gone for 15 and Chandimal followed him at 59 after scoring 22. Angelo Mathews and Kumar Sangakkara kept the score board moving while the latter became the next victim for 21 and was replaced by Lahiru Thirimanne.
Angelo Mathews smashed his second T20 fifty on the 33rd ball with a four but lost his wicket on the very next delivery for 50. Thirimanne remained unbeaten for 23 while the Lankan Lions reached 5-145 in 20 overs.
Saeed Ajmal grabbed two wickets and completed his tally of 400 in international cricket. Sohail Tanvir got two whereas Shahid Afridi chipped in with one wicket.
The host went down by one wicket at 12 when Mohammad Hafeez joined in with Sharjeel Khan. They assembled 50 runs in 45 balls when the latter left the scene at 69 after scoring 34. Mohammad Hafeez made way for the new batsman after nine runs at his personal contribution of 32.
The Green Shirts were reeling at 5-96 in 14.1 overs when Shahid Afridi got together with Sohaib Maqsood. The pair was separated at 117 when Sohaib Maqsood was gone for 13. Shahid Afridi took over from there with a valuable assistance from Bilawal Bhatti who became the next victim at 139 for 10. The first hit the winning six, secured his end for 39 off 20 with 3 towering sixes and 2 fours as the home side blasted 7-146 in 19.1 overs.
Lasith Malinga was the chief wicket taker with three whereas Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis and Thisara Perera claimed one wicket each.
Pakistan triumphed in the first T20 by a margin of three wickets and leads the series at 1-0.
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