Pakistan recovery sinks Sri Lanka
 Alam's bold hitting in partnership with Malik inspired a superb Pakistan win |
An unbroken 50 partnership in four overs led Pakistan to a three-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the quadrangular Twenty20 event in Canada's King City.
Jehan Mubarak hit six fours in 39 and Kaushalya Weeraratne added 20 from 13 balls as Sri Lanka posted 137-9.
Pakistan lost two wickets in the third over and were 92-7 after the 16th.
But Fawad Alam hit three sixes in his 23 off eight balls and successive fours from skipper Shoaib Malik, who made 42, sealed victory with one ball remaining.
Mubarak was at the crease in the first over of the match as Sanath Jayasuriya, after hitting Shoaib Akhtar for consecutive fours, top-edged to fine-leg.
His fellow left-hander Mubarak gave the Sri Lankans an excellent platform, striking three fours in one Shoaib over, and adding two more in the next from Sohail Tanvir.
Kaushalya Weeraratne hit a mammoth six onto the adjacent moto-cross track, but that proved to be the final boundary for Sri Lanka, as the final four overs produced only 18 runs.
After the two-wicket burst from Farveez Maharoof early in the Pakistan reply there was a brief flurry of runs, Misbah-ul-Haq hitting Dilhara Fernando for four and six in successive deliveries.
But a promising stand of 48 was ended by Weeraratne, who dismissed both Misbah and Younus Khan in the space of three balls.
In his next over Weeraratne had dangerman Shahid Afridi caught on the boundary second ball.
Alam swiped his third ball over the VIP stand at mid-wicket and when he just cleared long-on for six more in the next over from Fernando it left 13 needed from the final six balls.
They were bowled by Nuwan Kulasekara, who was also deposited into the VIP stand by Alam, and then it was left to the captain to hit the winning runs with his fifth boundary.
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