Emulating the poor performance of the first team, the Fawad Alam-led Pakistan A crashed to a convincing eight-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka A in the opening match of the unofficial ODI series.

Set a meagre target of 204, the hosts finished the game off in just 28.2 overs.  Sri Lanka’s limited overs opener Kusal Perera was in scintillating form, the left-handed batsman smashed the bowlers all around the park in an 88-ball 114. Perera struck as many as 18 fours besides a solitary six in his superb match-winning century.

Captain Ashan Priyanjan provided solid support to Perera with a composed 57 off 77 balls. His innings included four boundaries and one six.

Leg-spin prodigy Shahzaib Ahmed was taken apart by Perera and Priyanjan, the Karachi-rookie conceding 64 runs in 7.2 overs as the hosts cantered home.

Left-arm pacers Mir Hamza and Ziaul Haq were the only successful bowlers as they snapped a wicket each but also failed to keep the flow of runs in check.

Earlier in the day, the Pakistan A batsmen struggled on the Uyanwatte Stadium pitch. Captain Fawad Alam opted to bat first but the batting line-up failed to live up to their captain’s expectations. Fawad top-scored with 58 off 74 balls, a knock that included three fours and a six.

All-rounder Imad Wasim scored 35 while ODI and T20 discard Umar Amin managed 32. Khurram Manzoor, who was dropped from the Test side last year, contributed 24 runs.

Like recent batting trends in official ODIs, the Pakistan A batsmen got in and out — failing to convert their starts as the team was bundled out for just 203 in 48.1 overs.

(The Express Tribune)