PAK vs SL: Babar, Shadab steer Pakistan to win

Babar Azam scored a fighting 133-ball 103 while Shadab Khan scored a career best 52 not out to lift Pakistan from a struggling 79-5 before Shadab returned with his best figures of 3-47 to dismiss Sri Lanka for 187 in 48 overs.

Pakistan players celebrate their win over Sri Lanka in the second ODI.

Babar Azam scored a succesive hundred while Shadab Khan recorded his career best bowling and batting performance to help Pakistan thump Sri Lanka by 32 runs in the second one-day international in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

One-drop batsman Babar scored a fighting 133-ball 103 while Shadab scored a career best 52 not out to lift Pakistan from a struggling 79-5 before Shadab returned with figures of 3-47 to dismiss Sri Lanka for 187 all out in 48 overs.

MATCH CENTRE: As it happened

Babar and Shadab, who turned 19 earlier this month, were engaged in a match-turning 109-run seventh wicket stand which helped Pakistan reach 291-9 on a sluggish Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

The victory gives Pakistan a 2-0 lead in the five-match series Sri Lanka recorded its ninth defeat in a row.

Sri Lanka skipper Upul Tharanga became the first Sri Lankan and 11th batsmen in ODI history to carry his bat through an innings with a fighting 144-ball 112 not out with 14 boundaries — registering his 15th ODI century.

READ: Sri Lanka to go ahead with Pakistan tour

Despite Tharanga and Jeffrey Vandarsay (22) putting up a fighting 76-run eighth wicket stand, it wasn't enough for Sri Lanka in the end.

Dropped twice — on 13 and 20 — Tharanga waged a lone battle as Sri Lanka needed 51 off the last five overs but the last two batsmen were run out and he was left stranded.

After paceman Junaid Khan removed Niroshan Dickwella for three in the third over, spinners Shadab, Shoaib Malik (1/17) and Mohammad Hafeez (1/24) rocked the Sri Lankan batting with regular wickets.

 

Pakistan, which won the toss and batted first, found the going tough as they lost half the side at the end of 20 overs for just 79, but Azam and Shadab led the fightback.

Azam brought up his seventh one-day hundred off 130 balls — his fourth this year — with a sharp double in the 49th over.

Shadab, who scored 14 not out in his only previous innings, played second fiddle during which he hit just one boundary off 68 balls.

Sri Lankan new-ball bowlers Lahiru Gamage (4/57) and Suranga Lakmal (1/42) made early inroads with three wickets inside first power-play.

Gamage had Fakhar Zaman dismissed for 11 and Mohammad Hafeez for eight while Lakmal dismissed out-of-form Ahmed Shehzad for eight.

Medium pacer Thisara Perera (2/34) then struck twice, removing Shoaib Malik (11) and Sarfraz Ahmed (5) to leave Pakistan in a spot of bother.

Azam added 22 for the sixth wicket with Imad Wasim (10) before his stand with Shadab gave Pakistan's total some respectability.

The remaining matches will be played in Abu Dhabi (October 18) and Sharjah (October 20 and 23). The two teams will also play three Twenty20 internationals, the first two in Abu Dhabi (October 26 and 27) and the third in Lahore (October 29).

Brief scores Pakistan 219/9 in 50 overs (Babar Azam 101, Shadab Khan 52*, Lahiru Gamage 4/57, Perera 2/34) bt Sri Lanka 187 in 48 overs (Upul Tharanga 112, J. Vandersay 22, Shadab 3/47).