Pakistan Academy rout hosts

The Pakistan Academy team kicked off the tri-series in style as they thrashed hosts Bangladesh Academy by seven wickets with almost fifteen overs to spare at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan Ground.

Khalid Latif smashed an unbeaten 100 off only 88 deliveries with the help of 10 fours and no less than five hits over the fence. He shared a quick-fire 113-run second wicket partnership with Babar Naeem (69 off 46 deliveries) who had already taken three wickets earlier in the day. The stand came off only 12 overs as Naeem matched Latif's sixes and added six fours to his name.

Some rash strokeplay and running between the wickets saw Pakistan Academy lose four wickets before the 200-mark but Latif and Adnan Raza (24*) ensured the visitors chased down the mediocre target in the 36th over.

Earlier, captain Fawad Alam captured three wickets with his left-arm spin as Bangladesh Academy threw away a decent start to be dismissed for 219 in the 48th over. Building on a 62-run opening partnership, eight batsmen managed to go into double figures but only opener Junaid Siddique contributed significantly to the total.

Mamudullah and Mosharraf Hossain threatened a late charge but Alam, together with Naeem, brought down any hopes of that with some smart bowling. Fawad finished with three for 33 while Naeem gave away 32 runs for his three wickets as Pakistan Academy took away five points from the match.

The third team in the tournament, Sri Lanka Academy, will take on the hosts on April 22. The four-day series between Pakistan and Bangladesh preceding the tri-series ended 1-1.