Bowlers can do precious little when Shahid Afridi goes berserk and the buccaneering Pakistani all-rounder hit a 73-run knock off just 34 balls to power his side to five-wicket win against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi.
After Sri Lanka posted a total of 235 for nine in their allotted 50 overs, Pakistan romped home with eight overs to spare and five wickets in hand.
Afridi thrived on the largesse of the butter-finger Sri Lankan fielders, who dropped the batsman twice and had to pay the price for the goof-up.
Afridi milked 32 runs off one over, which included two fours and four successive sixes.
Pakistan’s win also meant that their new captain Shoaib Malik opened his skipper’s account on a victorious note.
Apart from Afridi, Kamran Akmal also contributed with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 51.
Earlier, Sri Lanka reached 235 in 50 overs losing nine wickets and Farveez Maharoof’s half century was the highlight of their innings. For Pakistan, Umar Gul was the pick of the bowlers, claiming three for 61.
The star-studded Sri Lankan top order came a cropper in the match with Sanath Jayasuriya (1), Upul Tharanga (17) and skipper Mahela Jayawardene (18) failing to give the side a good start.
