Hambantota, Feb 23: Pakistan thumped Kenya by a whopping 205-run margin in a day/night match here at Hambantota, Sri Lanka, to register their first win of the 2011 ICC World Cup. The main stars of the Pakistani effort were Umar Akmal with the bat (52-ball knock of 71 runs) and Shahid Afridi with the ball (5/16).
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan began on a disappointing note. But their middle-order helped them recover from the horrors of a 12/2 start as all four batsmen – Kamran Akmal (55), Younis Khan (50), Misbah-ul-Haq (65) and Umar Akmal (71) posted half centuries. The real star, though, was Umar Akmal, whose late flourish helped Pakistan plunder as many as 112 runs off the last 10 overs.
Kenya didn’t help their own cause by gifting away as many as 46 runs in extras to Pakistan’s innings total of 317/7.
The Kenyan batsmen continued to disappoint and were bowled out for a paltry 112, Shahid Afridi’s five-wicket haul doing most of the damage. The only positive for Kenya from the game was an innings of 47 runs (3x4, 3x6) from No. 3 batsman Collins Obuya.
Brief scores: Pakistan 317/7 in 50 overs (Umar Akmal 71, Misbah-ul-Haq 65, Kamran Akmal 55, Thomas Odoyo 3/41) beat Kenya 112 all out in 33.1 overs (Collins Obuya 47, Shahid Afridi 5/16) by 205 runs
Man-of-the-Match:Umar Akmal for his 52-ball 71 (8x4, 1x6) that helped Pakistan to a winning total of 317
