Related Links : Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka in UAE 2011/12 : Scorecard of Pak Vs SL, 1st ODI
Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka easily by 8 wickets with as many as 169 balls to spare in the first ODI at the beautiful Dubai International Stadium yesterday. This was after Sri Lanka collapsed to 131 all out in 40.3 overs having won the toss and elected to bat first on a greenish track that had good bounce and seam movement.
After a tight spell with the new balls from the fast bowlers, the Pakistani spin trio of Afridi, Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal strangled the Lankan batsmen completely. The top scorer of the sorry Sri Lankan innings was middle order batsman Dinesh Chandimal who got 28 from 31 balls which included a couple of sixes.
Pakistan eased to victory in the 22nd over itself largely because of the Lankan bowlers bowling freebies and leaking no-ball and wides. A solid partnership of 103 runs between opener Imran Farhat (50 from 65 balls with 7 fours) and Younis Khan (56* from 57 balls with 7 fours) sealed the chase for Pakistan who won a match in this part of the wold on yet another friday. Shahid Afridi who picked up three wickets got the Man of the Match award.