Melbourne:
Opener Ahmed Shehzad (93) missed out on a hundred but Pakistan punished the United Arab Emirates bowlers by putting on board a challenging 339 for six in a Pool B cricket World Cup match, here today.
The score has come against not an impressive attack but Pakistan batsmen got some runs under the belt as they strive to make the quarterfinal grade.
After being invited to bat, Pakistan lost opener Nasir Jamshed (4) but Shehzad and Haris Sohail, who scored 70 runs, shared a huge 170-run stand for the second wicket to lay foundation of a big score.
Mohammed Naveed broke the stand by having Sohail caught by Shaiman Anwar. Shehzad then missed the milestone of a World Cup hundred as he was run out as Pakistan lost two quick wickets.
Shehzad’s 93-run knock came off 105 balls with nine boundaries, including a six.
The following batsmen also treated the UAE attack with disdain as they scored runs at will. Sohaib Maqsood scored a fiery 45 and captain Misbah ul Haq further consolidated the innings with a 65 off 49 balls.
Both Maqsood and Misban hit four shots each to the fence and cleared the boundary twice.
Misbah was dismissed at the fag end of the innings, attempting a big shot off left-arm paceman Manjula Guruge but Shahid Afridi did the finishing job in style, scoring 21 unbeaten off just seven balls with two sixes and a four.
Guruge was the most successful UAE bowler as he scalped four Pakistani batsmen.
