September 10, 2007	Monday	Sha'aban 27, 1428

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 9: Pakistan warmed up for the Twenty20 World Championship with a shock five-wicket win over World Cup finalists Sri Lanka in a practice match on Sunday.

Mohammad Hafeez led the way with an all-round effort, claiming 2-18 in his four overs to restrict Sri Lanka to 162-7 before making 45 as Pakistan cruised home with seven balls to spare in Centurion.

At Benoni, Kenya carved out a thrilling last-ball win over Bangladesh, dismissing their rivals for 116 before overtaking the modest target for the loss of four wickets.

Sri Lanka, sent in to bat, failed to build on a solid start of 45 in five overs by openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga and lost wickets at regular intervals.

Jehan Mubarak was the top scorer with 42 off 33 balls before being run out by Umar Gul in the final over.

Pakistan made a flying start in reply as Hafeez and Salman Butt (51) hammered 94 for the first wicket by the 10th over.

The loss of four quick wickets reduced Pakistan to 149-5 in the 18th over but captain Shoaib Malik guided his team to victory with an unbeaten 34.

Pakistan, who sent pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar home last week after a bust-up with Mohammad Asif, had thrashed Zimbabwe by 54 runs on Saturday.

Pakistan are drawn with arch-rivals India and Scotland in Group D of the preliminary league with the top two advancing to the Super Eights round.

Kenya recovered from their six-wicket defeat by the West Indies on Saturday to score a morale-boosting win over Bangladesh in another practice match.

Seamer Nehemiah Ngoche claimed 3-37 in four overs as Bangladesh, sent in to bat on a seaming wicket, were shot out for 116 in the 17th over. Opener Tamim Iqbal was the only batsman to shine with 56.

Kenya spaced their innings with steady, but unspectacular batting and coasted home with one ball to spare in Saqibul Hasan’s final over.

Openers David Obuya and Collins Obuya put on 41 for the first wicket before captain Steve Tikolo and Tanmay Mishra set up the win with a half-century stand for the third wicket.

Captain Graeme Smith led South Africa to an eight-wicket win over Australia with 89 not out and A.B. de Villiers smashed 65 off 35 balls as the hosts surpassed the world champions’ 179-8 with five deliveries to spare at a packed Supersport Park in Centurion.

New Zealand stumbled to a 35-run defeat at the hands of the West Indies in Benoni.

The hosts outwitted Australia from the moment veteran seamer Shaun Pollock clean bowled Adam Gilchrist and Brad Haddin with the last two balls of his second over.

Australia slipped to 21-3 before Andrew Symonds hit 45 off 26 balls and tailender Michael Johnson boosted the total with an unbeaten 30 off 12 balls that included six boundaries.

Smith put on 54 for the first wicket with Herschelle Gibbs in 5.3 overs and a match-winning 116 for the second with de Villiers to give South Africa a morale-boosting win.

The West Indies owe their win over New Zealand to fast bowler Daren Powell who grabbed three wickets for four runs in his quota of four overs.

All-rounder Darren Sammy claimed 3-21 as the West Indies, restricted to 150-6, hit back to bowl out New Zealand for 115 in 18.4 overs.

At Potchefstroom, Zimbabwe defeated Scotland by five wickets as Vusi Sibanda (42) and Chamu Chibhabha (43) helped their team chase down the rivals’ total.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA:

W.U. Tharanga c Afridi b Asif 30

S.T. Jayasuriya lbw b Hafeez 27

M.D.K. Perera c Younis b Rao Iftikhar 8

K.C. Sangakkara c Misbah b Yasir 18

L.P.C. Silva st Kamran b Hafeez 3

J. Mubarak run out 42

T.M. Dilshan run out 23

M.F. Maharoof not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-5, NB-1) 10

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 20 overs) 162

FALL OF WKTS: 1-45, 2-63, 3-77, 4-80, 5-116, 6-157, 7-162.

DID NOT BAT: D.P.M.D. Jayawardene, W.P.U.J.C. Vaas, G. Wijekoon, S.L. Malinga, K.H.R.K. Fernando, C.R.D. Fernando.

BOWLING: Mohammad Asif 4-0-33-1 (2w); Umar Gul 4-0-28-0 (1w); Mohammad Hafeez 4-0-18-2; Rao Iftikhar 3-0-29-1 (1nb, 1w); Yasir Arafat 3-0-27-1 (1w); Shahid Afridi 2-0-23-0.

PAKISTAN:

Salman Butt b Perera 51

Mohammad Hafeez c S’kkara b Wijekoon 45

Younis Khan lbw b Jayasuriya 15

Shoaib Malik not out 34

Shahid Afridi c J’wardene b D. Fernando 7

Kamran Akmal c Malinga b D. Fernando 2

Misbah-ul-Haq not out 2

EXTRAS (B-1, W-6) 7

TOTAL (for five wkts, 18.5 overs) 163

FALL OF WKTS: 1-94, 2-108, 3-120, 4-131, 5-149.

DID NOT BAT: Fawad Alam, Imran Nazir, Rao Iftikhar, Yasir Arafat, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif.

BOWLING: C.R.D. Fernando 4-0-33-2 (5w); Maharoof 3-0-31-0; Malinga 3.5-0-38-0 (1w); K.H.R.K. Fernando 1-0-16-0; Perera 2-0-16-1; Wijekoon 3-0-20-1; Jayasuriya 2-0-8-1.

RESULT: Pakistan won by five wickets.

UMPIRES: I.L. Howell (South Africa) and A.L. Hill (New Zealand).

NOTE: 14 players per side (11 bat, 11 field).

Scores of other warm-up matches on Sunday:

At Benoni: Kenya beat Bangladesh by six wickets.

BANGLADESH 116 in 16.3 overs (Tamim Iqbal 56; N. Ngoche 3-37); KENYA 117-4 in 19.5 overs (S.O. Tikolo 36).

At Centurion: South Africa beat Australia by eight wickets.

AUSTRALIA 179-8 in 20 overs (A. Symonds 45, M.G. Johnson 30 not out; S.M. Pollock 2-16, M. Morkel 2-37); SOUTH AFRICA 183-2 in 19.1 overs (G.C. Smith 89 not out, AB de Villiers 65).

At Benoni: West Indies beat New Zealand by 35 runs.

WEST INDIES 150-6 in 20 overs (N. Deonarine 34, D. Ramdin 26 not out; M.R. Gillespie 2-35); NEW ZEALAND 115 in 18.4 overs (P.G. Fulton 51, D.B.L. Powell 3-4, D.J.G. Sammy 3-21).At Potchefstroom: Zimbabwe beat Scotland by five wickets.

SCOTLAND 155-6 in 20 overs (R.R. Watson 64, N. Poonia 36); ZIMBABWE 156-5 in 18.5 overs (V. Sibanda 42, C.J. Chibhabha 43; R.M. Haq 2-29).

—Agencies