Pakistan easy victors
Pacemen Umar Gul and Mohammad Sami each took three wickets as Pakistan posted a comfortable six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Pallekele on Thursday.
Man-of-the-match Gul finished with 3-24 and Sami with 3-19 before Pakistan achieved a rain-revised target of 135 with more than seven overs to spare in the day-night match for a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
The duo helped Pakistan restrict the hosts to 135-8 in a match reduced to 42-overs-a-side due to the poor conditions.
Opener Mohammad Hafeez top-scored with 37, while Umar Akmal (36 not out) and skipper Misbahul Haq (30) were the other main scorers as Pakistan recorded their ninth one-day win over Sri Lanka in their last 11 matches.
Misbah added 51 runs for the third wicket with Hafeez after two wickets had fallen for 27 and then 55 for the fourth with Akmal.
Pakistan's win was set up by bowlers in seaming conditions as Gul took three wickets in a sharp opening spell, removing skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal to send Sri Lanka reeling at 23-3.
He was superbly backed by Sami, who dismissed Kumar Sangakkara and all-rounder Angelo Mathews in his first two overs to reduce the hosts to 41-5.
Lahiru Thirimanne, who added 50 for the eighth wicket with Nuwan Kulasekara (18), top-scored for Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 42 while extras contributed 31, the second-highest of the innings.
Thisara Perera (17) and Upul Tharanga (10) were the other batsmen to reach double-figures.
The second one-dayer will also be played in Pallekele on Saturday and the last three games in Colombo on June 13, 16 and 18.
The one-dayers will be followed by a three-Test series starting on June 22.
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