Published: Dec 26, 2013, 12:01 AM (IST)
Edited: Dec 26, 2013, 12:01 AM (IST)
Dec 25, 2013
Mohammad Hafeez scored his third ton in the series as Pakistan crushed Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the fourth One-Day international against Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Hafeez was unbeaten on 113 along with Shoaib Maqsood who scored 46 not out.
Chasing a modest target of 225 Pakistan reached the target with more than eight overs top spare. Pakistan didn’t have any hiccups in the chase. Opener Sharjeel Khan was dismissed for 13. Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad (44) shared an 84-run partnership to set the momentum in favour of Pakistan. Hafeez dominated the Sri Lankan bowling and along with Maqsood took the team past finish line.
In a must-win encounter, Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews this time elected to bat unlike the previous match where their decision of fielding turned out to be a nightmare after Hafeez and other batsmen plundered their bowlers all around. Less than 10 overs into the match, Sri Lanka were on the backfoot again with three wickets down for 36 runs. However, debutant Ashan Priyanjan and Kumar Sangakkara played well to help them recover to 225. But it was no challenge against the in-form Hafeez and co.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 225 in 48.5 overs (Ashan Priyanjan 74, Kumar Sangakkara 51; Umar Gul 3 for 37, Saeed Ajmal 4 for 39) lost to Pakistan 226 for 2 in 41.1overs (Mohammad Hafeez 113*, Shoaib Maqsood 46*) by 8 wickets.
