Umar cracks unbeaten century in lost cause
Umar cracks unbeaten century in lost cause
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
By By our correspondent
KARACHI: Youngster Umar Akmal staked his claim for a place in the one-day playing eleven with some style as he cracked an unbeaten hundred but failed to save the visiting Pakistanis in a warm-up match against Sri Lanka A at the Welagedara Stadium in Kurunegala on Monday.
Umar, 19, was in top gear as he piled up 103 off just 76 balls with the help of three sixers and seven fours only to see his team lose the high-scoring thriller by 15 runs.Centuries by left-handed opener Mahela Udawatte and Chamara Kapugedara shepherded Sri Lanka ‘A’ to victory in the practice match ahead of the five-match one-day series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka which gets underway in Dambulla from July 30.
The hosts, who lost their first two wickets in the first over, scored 348 for 6 in 50 overs and were in sight of a huge win when Pakistan were gasping for air at 129-6 in the 26th over.
But in-form youngster Fawad Alam rescued Pakistan with a 95-ball 85 that was punctuated with seven fours. Together with Umar, Fawad revived Pakistan’s chances in the match.
Seasoned all-rounder Abdul Razzaq lifted Pakistan’s hopes with 56 off just 29 balls with the help of four sixers and an equal number of fours. However, his knock came a bit too late as Pakistan were bowled out for 333 off the last ball of their innings.
The highlight of the innings was a high quality knock from Umar, the younger brother of wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal. Umar, who was included in Pakistan’s 16-man ODI squad after a prolific tour of Australia with Pakistan A, came in at number eight but played with great determination to score a century that can earn him a place in the playing-eleven for the one-day series.
Earlier, opener Upul Tharanga, who was recalled to Sri Lanka squad was out for a first ball duck but fellow opener Udawatte played a marathon innings of 161, scored off just 135 balls with two sixers and 19 boundaries. Kapugedara joined the run feast with a brilliant ton — a 91-ball 101 which included two sixers and six boundaries.
Udawatte, 23, shared two important partnerships to architect the home team’s revival — 114 for the third wicket with Thilina Kandamby (59) and a further 222-run alliance for the fourth wicket with Kapugedara.
Razzaq was Pakistan’s most successful bowler, taking four wickets but gave away 70 runs in nine overs. On his comeback trail, medium pacer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan picked up 2-74.
Sri Lanka A won toss
Sri Lanka A
W U Tharanga c Fawad b Razzaq 0
M L Udawatte c Fawad b Razzaq 161
†J K Silva b Razzaq 0
*S T Kandamby lbw b Naved-ul-Hasan 59
C K Kapugedera c Misbah b Razzaq 101
N C Perera c Younis b Naved-ul-Hasan 8
M F Maharoof not out 2
Extras (b1, lb3, w10, nb3) 17
Total (6 wickets; 50 overs) 348
Did not bat: C M Bandara, M Pushpakumara, T A M Siriwardana, C R D Fernando
Fall: 1-0, 2-0, 3-114, 4-336, 5-342, 6-348
Bowling: Abdul Razzaq 9-1-70-4 (1w); Iftikhar Anjum 10-1-74-0 (1nb, 4w); Naved-ul-Hasan 10-0-74-2 (2nb, 1w); Shahid Afridi 9-1-49-0 (1w); Fawad Alam 4-0-22-0; Misbah-ul-Haq 6-0-42-0 (1w); Younis Khan 2-0-13-0 (1w)
Pakistanis
†Kamran Akmal c Kapugedera b Maharoof 7
Nasir Jamshed lbw b Fernando 0
Shahid Afridi c Silva b Perera 34
Imran Nazir c Bandara b Fernando 0
Fawad Alam b Pushpakumara 85
Misbah-ul-Haq lbw b Kapugedera 17
*Younis c Kapugedera b Pushpakumara 16
Umar Akmal not out 103
Abdul Razzaq c Udawatte b Fernando 56
Naved-ul-Hasan c Siriwardana b Maharoof 1
Iftikhar Anjum lbw b Maharoof 6
Extras (b1, lb2, w5) 8
Total (all out; 50 overs) 333
Fall: 1-3, 2-25, 3-29, 4-55, 5-100, 6-129, 7-214, 8-316, 9-318
Bowling: Fernando 9-0-50-3 (4w); Maharoof 10-1-75-3; Perera 5-0-35-1 (1w); Bandara 8-0-57-0; Kapugedera 7-0-28-1; Pushpakumara 8-0-58-2; Siriwardana 3-0-27-0
Umpires: M W D P de Silva and R S A Palliyaguruge. Match referee: G F Labrooy
caption
KURUNEGALA: Sri Lanka A’s Mahela Udawatte hits a six during their match against Pakistan here on Monday
Pretty beast. We will see their abilities in the real game.
