Sharjeel leads Pakistan with fifty on debut

Sharjeel Khan's half-century on debut set Pakistan's series off to a bright start in Sharjah, as the hosts built towards a commanding total on a pitch that proved excellent for batting.

Riding on gall and self-belief, Sharjeel chose Lasith Malinga's second over to begin his surge and picked his moments, as well as his bowlers, wisely by rarely offering a poor stroke. Sharjeel sent three balls into the stands and six across the ropes in his run-a-ball 61. He favoured the leg side for his big shots, particularly as Sri Lanka's bowlers continued to pitch short, but also collected runs down the ground when the bowlers' length went to the other extreme. He departed trying to hit the legspin of Seekkuge Prasanna over long on, and the stroke would have brought him six had it not been for a well-taken catch from Sachithra Senanayake at the boundary.

Mohammad Hafeez had partnered Sharjeel during most of his debut innings, and though more reticent, he remained unbeaten at the half-way mark, one short of his own fifty. Perhaps because he had not passed 33 in his last eight innings, Hafeez avoided risk almost as a rule, content to mine gaps in the outfield that Sharjeel had created and only showing aggression to the more benign bowling in Sri Lanka's ranks, like Tillakaratne Dilshan's offspin.

Having left Nuwan Kulasekara out of the side, Angelo Mathews had rifled through his attack, using seven of his eight bowling options, but on a true pitch neither the seam bowlers nor spinners could find enough venom to challenge Pakistan. There were more wayward deliveries than the visitors would have liked, but it had hardly been a theme of their bowling effort - Pakistan's batsmen had simply made good judgement to exploit the conditions.  Watch live cricket streaming

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