Pakistan put up a challenging total of 175 for the loss of five wickets © AFP
Triple big knocks in the form of 46 from Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal helped Pakistan put up a challenging total of 175 for the loss of five wickets in the first of the two-match T20I series at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday. 46 seemed to be the lucky number for all of these batsmen with Shehzad and Akmal being dismissed on it, while Malik remained unbeaten on the same score. Earlier, Pakistan skipper, Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bat first. Sarfraz Ahmed has been dropped and Umar Akmal coming in, while Sri Lanka move in with a fairly strong squad. LIVE SCORECARD: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2015, 1st T20I at Colombo
Pakistan began their innings on a sad note as they lost opener, Mukhtar Ahmed for a mere couple after he was dismissed by Angelo Mathews as he was caught off Jeffrey Vandersay. Out came Mohammad Hafeez, but could only contribute 17 before falling to Thisara Perera after being caught by Kithuruwan Vithanage. However, he put up a healthy 42-run stand along with opener, Shehzad. LIVE UPDATES: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 2015, 1st T20I at Colombo
Out came Shoaib Malik, and following a brief 31-run stand, it was Shehzad who departed for 46, missing his half-century by just four runs as Perera again claimed his man after being caught by Malinga. It was then the pair of Malik and Akmal that put an impressive 81-run stand, before Akmal fell for 46 to Malinga, who trapped him leg-before. Out came Afridi, in the final over, but was dismissed after hitting a hige six by Binura Fernando, who bowled him up and claimed his first T20I wicket. Anwar Ali was the final man in in the final ball of the innings, but settled for a duck as Pakistan finished on a challenging total of 175.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 175 for 5 in 20 Overs (Ahmed Shehzad 46, Shoaib Malik 46, Umar Akmal 46*; Thisara Perera 2 for 30) vs Sri Lanka.
(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)