It was half-centuries galore from the Pakistani top order as they crushed Kenya by 205 runs in their ICC Cricket World Cup opener at Hambantota in Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Pakistan, a true dark horse at this year's event, recovered from a disappointing start to reach to reach a strong score of 317 on the back of fifties from both the Akmal brothers and sometime skippers Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. They then backed up their batting effort with an efficient performance in the field to knock Kenya over for just 112 runs in 33.1 overs. Skipper Shahid Afridi led the way on the field picking up 5-16 to lead the rout.
Winning the toss and batting first, Pakistan started slowly as their openers struggled to come to terms with the pace of the track at Hambantota. Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shahzad fell cheaply after spending a fair bit of time at the crease and Pakistan were struggling at 12 for 2 after 7 overs. A much needed partnership came with Kamran Akmal and Younus Khan putting together 98 runs for the 3rd wicket before the former was stumped for 55 off the bowling of left arm spinner Shem Ngoche.
Misbah-ul-Haq joined Younus in the middle and opened his account hitting a six straight down the ground. Younus and Misbah added 55 runs together before Younus was trapped leg before. The former skipper made an even 50 runs, doing a lot of running on the big Hambantota ground with boundaries not so easy to come by. He referred his dismissal to the third umpire for review, but the decision was upheld.
Umar Akmal came in next and looked his natural self, attacking the Kenyan bowling right away. Misbah and Umar brought up their fifties in a partnership of 118 runs lasting till the 47th over. Pakistan finished for 317 in the end losing seven wickets with Umar Akmal top scoring with 71.
The Batting Powerplay proved to be vital for Pakistan in taking their total above 300 as they picked up 71 runs during those 5 overs. The Kenyans looked exhausted as the innings drew to a close, conceding lots of extras including 37 wides, a new record.
Kenya started cautiously with both openers Maurice Ouma and Seren Waters defending early on. Shoaib Akhtar was on target from the first ball he bowled, conceding just 10 runs in his 4 overs and beating the bat on several occasions.
The opening stand of 37 was Kenya's best of the innings, and was cut short when Waters (17 from 31b) was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from Umar Akmal. Ouma fell shortly after for 16 with Umar Gul picking up his first wicket.
Steve Tikolo and Collins Obuya tried to build another partnership but Shahid Afridi bowled a charging Tikolo in the 23rd over. After that the wickets just kept falling with Obuya scoring freely from the other end. The veteran once-upon-a-time-leg-spinner smashed three huge sixes in his innings of 47 which finally ended when he was caught in the deep off the bowling of Shahid Afridi, becoming the skipper's fifth scalp.
Umar Gul came back to finish things off with Pakistan just one wicket away from victory and bowled Ngoche with the first ball of his new spell as Kenya were knocked over for just 112. It was another poor display from the Kenyans with the bat, and their lack of skill against quality bowling resulted in another huge loss for them today. For Pakistan though, it was the perfect game to kick-start their tournament, with most of their batsmen taking advantage of the opportunity to bat themselves into some form, and then the bowlers doing the business when asked.
The only areas of concern for the Asian giants will be the ideal mix of their side with Abdul Razzaq proving a touch expensive early on in his spell and the opening batsmen not getting their act together at all. They have little time to iron out those flaws as they take on Sri Lanka in a huge game at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.
Kenya's tough start to the tournament continues on the 1st of March as they face a third consecutive test playing nation when they too take on co-hosts Sri Lanka at the same venue.
Teams:
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi (c), Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar
Kenya: Seren Waters, Maurice Ouma (wk), Collins Obuya, Tanmay Mishra, Steve Tikolo, Rakep Patel, Jimmy Kamande (c), Thomas Odoyo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Shem Ngoche, Elijah Otieno
Mini Scorecard
Pakistan 317/7 in 50 overs (6.34 runs per over)
U Akmal 71(52) T Odoyo 3-41
Misbah-ul-Haq 65(69) S Tikolo 1-44
Kenya 112 all out in 33.1 overs (3.38 runs per over)
C Obuya 47(58) S Afridi 5-16
S Waters 17(31) U Gul 2-12
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