Arab News

Pakistan celebrates internatio­nal revival with T20 win in Lahore

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LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan took a giant step toward reviving internatio­nal cricket at home with a 20-run victory on Tuesday over the World XI in a match before excited crowds amid tight security.

The Twenty20 match, accorded internatio­nal status by the Internatio­nal Cricket Council (ICC), is only the second time Pakistan has hosted an internatio­nal match since militants attacked the bus of the visiting Sri Lankan team in March 2009, killing eight people and injuring seven players and staff.

Long before the match started at 7 p.m., around 9,000 police officers and paramilita­ry forces were deployed to the area, cordoning off the team’s hotels and stadium.

But the large security presence did little to temper the enthusiasm of fans in the cricket-mad country.

“I came here early to watch the teams come but that was not possible due to security so I only watched them in the ground and it made my day,” said spectator Azfar Ali.

Pakistan, sent into bat by World XI skipper Faf du Plessis, notched 197-5 with Babar Azam hitting a Tamim Iqbal hitting 18 with three boundaries and Hashim Amla smashing three boundaries and a six in his 17-ball 26 but left-arm pacer Rumman Raees dismissed both in the same over to put the brakes on their innings.

Skipper Faf du Plessis hit four boundaries and a six while Darren Sammy smashed three sixes — both scoring 29 — but were unable to see their team through.

For Pakistan, paceman Sohail Khan and leg-spinner Shadab Khan finished with two wickets apiece.

World XI skipper du Plessis blamed his dismissal for the team’s loss.

“I needed to get a 50 or 60 for us to win,” he said, adding that it was “great to play in front of the Pakistani fans.”

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed thanked the crowd.

“It was a historic occasion and I thank the crowd for coming in good numbers,” said Ahmed.

“It was a very important match and I think no praise is too high for our players, especially Azam.”

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