March 07, 2007	Wednesday	Safar 17, 1428

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ST AUGUSTINE (Trinidad), March 6: Splendid half-centuries by skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal helped Pakistan post an impressive 273-8 in 48 overs of their World Cup warm-up game against Canada on Tuesday.

The Asian side, put into bat on a dusty track, was tottering on 66-4 at one point after a familiar top-order collapse saw opener Imran Nazir (26), experienced Younis Khan (11) and Mohammad Yousuf (21) returning to the pavilion in quick succession.

But a fine rear-guard action through a partnership of 96 between skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq (59) and Mohammad Hafeez (61) rescued Pakistan as they reached 193-6 in the 40th over. All-rounder Shahid Afridi fell for a first-ball duck but talented wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal stepped up the run-rate with a typically hard-hitting 56 to push the innings beyond the 200-run mark. He found an able partner in all-rounder Azhar Mahmood who chipped in with a breezy 23 to take Pakistan to 273.

For Canada, medium-pacer Cummins (2-60) and Osinde (2-40) bowled with great control to restrict the strokeplay of the Pakistani batsmen. Later, off-spinner Dhaniram also chipped in with two wickets for 32 off his six overs.

Earlier, a fallen sightscreen held up play for more than an hour. The temporary sightscreen, a flimsy, wheeled structure of steel and fabric divided into two sections, was blown over at southern end of the Frank Worrell Oval. The incident halted play with Pakistan having limped to 82 for four in the 20th over.

A squad of at least 30 ground staff swarmed over the upended sightscreen and eventually managed to lift it upright.

The sightscreens were originally erected using cranes, and organisers feared the manual method employed by the ground staff might damage the welded joints.

But the black sails billowed once more and an early lunch was taken while ropes were retied in an attempt to stabilise the structure. —Agencies