KARACHI: Just like their senior counterparts in Bangladesh, Pakistan ‘A’ launched their tour of Sri Lanka on an inauspicious note when Sri Lanka ‘A’ eased to an eight-wicket victory in the first of the three one-dayers in the coastal town of Matara on Sunday.

Kusal Perera starred for the home side as the left-handed opener stroked 114 from just 88 balls to help the home side reached their target of 204 with as many as 106 balls to spare at the Uyanwatte Stadium.

Perera retired not out with the total on 184-2 after having dominated a match-winning partnership of 152 with Sri Lanka ‘A’ skipper Ashan Priyanjan, who contributed an undefeated 57 off 77 balls with the aid of four fours and ne six.

Perera’s knock featured 76 runs in boundaries as the 24-year-old slammed 18 fours and one six after left-arm pacemen Mir Hamza and Zia-ul-Haq had got rid of Shehan Jayasuriya (5) and Dhanuskha Gunathilaka (4) inside the opening six overs of the chase.

Earlier after opting to bat first, Pakistan ‘A’ struggled to post a formidable total on the board after losing wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan (5), Israrullah (25) and Khurram Manzoor (24) to be 66-3 in 17 overs.

Captain Fawad Alam and his deputy Umar Amin added 62 but once their partnership was broken by Jayasuriya in the 32nd over, the innings fell apart. Fawad struck just three fours and one six as he top-scored with a 74-ball 58.

Umar made 32 off 50 balls with four boundaries while Imad Wasim was the only other batsman to cross 30. He scored 35 off 53 balls with five fours.

Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera picked up three wickets for 34 runs in eight overs. Fellow paceman Lahiru Gamage and the off-spin duo of Tharindu Kaushal and Shehan Jayasuriya chipped in with two wickets apiece.

The teams will now travel to Hambantota for the second game on Wednesday with the third and final tie set to be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo next Saturday (May 2).

The one-day series will be followed by three unofficial ‘Tests’ in Colombo (May 6-10), Pallekele (May 13-16) and Dambulla (May 20-23).

Meanwhile, the senior Pakistan side will begin a two-match Test series against Bangladesh in Khulna from Tuesday after the hosts swept the ODI series 3-0 before clinching a crushing seven-wicket win to celebrate their maiden T20 International triumph against the beleaguered tourists.

Summarised scores:

PAKISTAN ‘A’ 203 in 48.1 overs (Fawad Alam 58, Imad Wasim 35, Umar Amin 32, Israrullah 25, Khurram Manzoor 24; P.V.D. Chameera 3-34, P.H.T. Kaushal 2-35, P.L.S. Gamage 2-40, D.S.M.F.G. Jayasuriya 2-49); SRI LANKA ‘A’ 204-2 in 32.2 overs (M.D.K.J. Perera 114 retired not out, S.M.A. Priyanjan 57 not out).

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2015

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