Kamran hits form with bat

Published October 15, 2006

JAIPUR, Oct 14: Kamran Akmal scored a quickfire 69 off 49 balls to guide Pakistan to an easy six-wicket win in their second practice match against Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) President's XI here on Saturday.

Chasing 199, Kamran opened the innings with Mohammad Hafeez and the pair put on 86, scoring at a quick clip.

An occasional opener, Kamran, who was such a dismal failure on the recent England tour, scored 58 of his runs in boundaries, including three sixes.

All the Pakistan batsmen had a good hit in the middle, including Shahid Afridi, who also tonked three sixes in his 28. Faisal Iqbal and Shoaib Malik coasted past the target in the 33rd over.

The Pakistan bowlers however failed to role over the opposition, as RCA XI chose to get bat out the 50 overs, losing only four wickets in the process. Choosing to bat first, the RCA openers, Mumbai's Rohit Sharma, and S. Vijay got off to a good start, adding 54 in just over ten overs till Umar Gul got the first breakthrough.

Rahul Kanwat and Nikhil Doru both scored half centuries and looked at ease against the Pakistan attack. Doru remained unbeaten on 51 at the close, with captain Ajay Jadeja.

Scoreboard

RCA PRESIDENT’S XI:

R. Sharma c Rao Iftikhar b Razzaq 21

S. Vijay c Rana Naved b Umar Gul 22

R.J. Kanwat c Rana Naved b Afridi 53

R. Bishnoi run out 2

N.S. Doru not out 51

A. Jadeja not out 19

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-3, W-25, NB-1) 30

TOTAL (for four wkts, 50 overs) 198

FALL OF WKTS: 1-54, 2-63, 3-84, 4-124.

DID NOT BAT: M. Aslam, Shamsher Singh, Pankaj Singh, M. Khatir, A.M. Dave, Kuldeep Singh, R.N. Jhalani, S. Mathur, S. Gehlot.

BOWLING: Mohammad Asif 6-1-23-0 (2w); Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 5-0-24-0 (4w); Umar Gul 8-1-35-1 (1nb, 12w); Abdul Razzaq 6-0-14-1; Rao Iftikhar 5-2-14-0; Shahid Afridi 10-0-29-1; Shoaib Malik 8-0-47-0 (6w); Mohammad Hafeez 2-0-8-0 (1w).

PAKISTAN:

Mohammad Hafeez b Khatir 25

Kamran Akmal c Kanwat b Dave 69

Abdul Razzaq c Bishnoi b Kanwat 19

Shahid Afridi c Gehlot b Shamsher 28

Faisal Iqbal not out 32

Shoaib Malik not out 18

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-7) 8

TOTAL (for four wkts, 33 overs) 199

FALL OF WKTS: 1-86, 2-114, 3-135, 4-154.

DID NOT BAT: Younis Khan, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul.

BOWLING: Pankaj Singh 8-1-33-0 (3w); Gehlot 3-0-20-0; Mathur 4-0-26-0; Khatir 5-0-38-1 (1w); Dave 7-0-42-1 (1w); Kanwat 2-0-9-1; Shamsher Singh 4-0-30-1.

RESULT: Pakistan won by six wickets.

UMPIRES: Balwant Sharma and K. Sharma.—Agencies

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