All-round Thisara powers President's XI win

Sri Lanka Cricket Board President's XI 325 for 7 (Priyanjan 65, Vithanage 56, Perera 52*) beat Pakistanis 290 for 8 (Hafeez 54, Misbah 38, Perera 2-51) by 13 runs (on D/L method)
Scorecard

Thisara Perera struck a brisk half-century and then took two wickets to help Sri Lanka Cricket Board President's XI beat Pakistanis by 13 runs on the D/L method. This was the only warm-up for the Pakistanis before the one-dayers start on Saturday.

Opting to bat, the President's XI openers Danushka Gunathilaka and Tillakaratne Dilshan raced to 48 in 7.2 overs, but Mohammad Talha struck twice in the space of four deliveries to peg the hosts back. President's XI, however, replied with three big partnerships, as four of their batsmen raised fifties.

Gunathilaka (51) first added 69 for the third wicket with Dinesh Chandimal, before Ashan Priyanjan (65) and Kithuruwan Vithanage (56) combined for a fifth-wicket stand which yielded 98 runs. Mohammad Hafeez dealt the hosts three quick blows to reduce them to 262 for 7, but Thisara slammed 52 off 45 balls with three fours and three sixes to lift President's XI to 325 for 7.

The Pakistanis began brightly with a 73-run opening stand, but President's XI kept chipping away at the visitors and were rewarded with regular wickets. The visitors were precariously placed at 137 for 4, but a 68-run association between the captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Fawad Alam brought them back into the game.

Thisara, however, crucially dismissed both batsmen in the 38th over to slow the Pakistanis down. Shahid Afridi accelerated with a 20-ball 37, but it would not prove to be enough, as bad light forced a premature end to the game after 46.2 overs, with Pakistanis still 13 runs short according to D/L.