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KOLKATA, Dec 23: Russel Arnold powered Sri Lanka ‘A’ to a thrilling five-wicket victory over Pakistan ‘A’ with an unbeaten century in the triangular one-day tournament on Tuesday.
The Sri Lankan captain hammered an exact 100 off 105 balls with 13 fours to help his team overtake Pakistan’s total of 300 with five balls to spare in a tense finish at the Eden Gardens.
Sri Lanka successfully chased the same target against India in the opening match on Monday, with left-handed Arnold (96 not out) playing a big role.
Arnold, who represented the national team in Test matches and One-day Internationals, received valuable support from opener Shantha Kalavitigoda who scored 74 off 96 balls with one six and 10 fours.
Pakistan ‘A’ skipper Shahid Afridi put his team on course for a challenging total with a brisk 47-ball 63 which contained two sixes and eight fours.
Middle-order batsmen Bilal Asad (52 not out) and Faisal Iqbal (50) then built on their captain’s knock, but their team still failed to stop Sri Lanka from posting the second successive win.
Left-arm spinner Ranga Herath was the most successful Sri Lankan bowler, finishing with 3-52 off 10 overs.
Pakistan ‘A’ will meet India ‘A’ in the next match on Thursday.
Scoreboard
PAKISTAN ‘A’:
Imran Nazir c J’wardena b Zoysa 11
Shahid Afridi b Herath 63
Salman Butt lbw b Lakshitha 29
Mohammad Hafeez st J’wardena b Herath 28
Faisal Iqbal c Jayantha b Kulasekera 50
Naved Latif c K’tigoda b Arnold 17
Bilal Asad not out 52
Amin-ur-Rehman st J’wardena b Herath 4
Junaid Zia c Arnold b Kulasekera 4
Mansoor Amjad run out 7
Abdul Rauf b Lakshitha 7
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-4, W-8, NB-14) 28
TOTAL (all out, 49.5 overs) 300
FALL OF WKTS: 1-40, 2-113, 3-119, 4-180, 5-217, 6-230, 7-236, 8-243, 9-273.
BOWLING: Zoysa 10-0-62-1 (6nb, 2w); Lakshitha 9.5-1-68-2 (5nb, 1w); Kulasekera 10-0-65-2 (2w); Herath 10-1-52-3 (2w); Jayantha 7-0-33-0 (2nb); Silva 1-0-9-0 (1nb); Arnold 2-0-5-1.
SRI LANKA ‘A’:
S. Kalavitigoda b Shahid 74
S. Jayantha b Junaid 14
J. Mubarak c Amin b Hafeez 42
R.P. Arnold not out 100
M.N. Nawaz c sub b Hafeez 24
L.P.C. Silva b Shahid 11
D.N.T. Zoysa not out 6
EXTRAS (LB-14, W-18, NB-1) 33
TOTAL (for five wkts, 49.1 overs) 304
FALL OF WKTS: 1-32, 2-109, 3-190, 4-252, 5-286.
DID NOT BAT: H.A.P.W. Jayawardena, K.M.D.M. Kulasekera, A.B.T. Lakshitha, H.M.R.K.B. Herath.
BOWLING: Abdul Rauf 9-0-67-0 (1nb, 4w); Junaid Zia 5-0-24-1 (7w); Shahid Afridi 10-0-56-2 (4w); Mohammad Hafeez 10-0-46-2; Bilal Asad 6-0-32-0 (2w); Mansoor Amjad 7.1-0-47-0 (1w); Salman Butt 2-0-18-0.
RESULT: Sri Lanka ‘A’ won by five wickets.
UMPIRES: K. Hariharan and Jasbir Singh (both India).
TV UMPIRE: C.B.C. Rodrigo (Sri Lanka).
MATCH REFEREE: J. Srinath (India).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Russel Arnold.
NEXT MATCH: India ‘A’ v Pakistan ‘A’ on Thursday.—AFP
