Pakistan 317 for 7 (Umar 71, Misbah 65, Kamran 55, Odoyo 3-41) beat Kenya 112 (Obuya 47, Afridi 5-16, Gul 2-12) by 205 runs A five-wicket haul from skipper Shahid Afridi and an impressive batting performance from the middle order helped Pakistan beat minnows Kenya by a huge margin of 205 runs in the Group A encounter here on Wednesday.
Afridi scalped two quick wickets of Steve Tikolo (13) and Tanmay Mishra (6) to start Kenya's slide against spinners, who took a stranglehold of proceedings Pakistan notched up a mammoth 317/7.
Afridi finished with figures of 5/16 as Kenya lost their last eight wickets for 39 runs.
Following a decent start, Kenya openers Seren Waters (17) and Maurice Ouma (16) departed in quick succession as Kenya fell way behind the required run rate.
The Kenyan slide began when Umar Akmal effected a direct hit to give Pakistan their first wicket in the form of Waters, while Umar Gul induced an edge from Ouma for a simple catch to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.
Until then, Kenya openers had got their team off to a promising start against Pakistan's fast-bowling duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq.
Earlier, Umar Akmal was one of four batsmen to score half-centuries as Pakistan overcame a sluggish start to post 317-7.
The 21-year-old right-hander, playing his first World Cup match, top-scored with a 52-ball 71 and gave the innings the final flourish with a rapid fire 118-run stand for the fifth wicket with Misbah-ul-Haq who hit a 69-ball 65.
Umar's elder brother, Kamran, notched 55 and senior batsman Younis Khan made exactly 50 as Pakistan racked up 70 runs in the batting power-play on a flat, grassless pitch at the Mahinda Rajapakse stadium.
Haq, Pakistan's best batsman in the recent Test and one-day series in New Zealand, also added 45 runs for the fourth wicket with Khan before giving impetus to the innings with Umar to help Pakistan put up an impressive total.
Haq, whose first scoring shot was a six, hit one more six and a single boundary, while Umar notched eight boundaries and a six before holing out off Thomos Odoyo who finished with 3-41, conceding 20 in wides in a total of 46 extras.
In the afternoon, both Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shahzad managed just 10 runs in the first five overs with the new-ball pair of Odoyo and Elijah Otieno bowling three maidens between them.
Hafeez was the first to go, failing to keep a drive down as a diving Seren Waters picked up a beautiful catch at short mid-wicket.
Two overs later, Shahzad, who scored his first run after 13 deliveries, was caught by skipper Jimmy Kamande off Odoyo to leave Pakistan struggling at 12-2.
Khan and Kamran revived the innings through a solid 98-run stand for the third wicket, pushing for singles off some tight bowling.
Kenya, who were shot out for 69 runs in their first match against New Zealand in a 10-wicket loss on Sunday, spoiled the early good work with erratic bowling throughout the Pakistan innings.
Kenya again appeared totally out of their depth and posed no challenge to Pakistan at Hambantota, Collins Obuya's death-or-glory 47 being the only highlight for them as Shahid Afridi helped himself to 5 for 16 in a massive 205-run win. Four of Pakistan's batsmen cashed in to raise half-centuries and set up a total of 317 for 7 after a brief wobble against the new ball and Kenya made little effort to mount a serious challenge in their pursuit, rather looking to a lay a solid platform in the hope of batting out their full quota of overs. That ultimately proved a futile effort, too, although their innings did at least last until the 34th over - longer than their entire match against New Zealand three days ago.
Presentation:
Kamande: "We gave lot of extras. May be because the guys were trying too hard ... We are not performing at both areas. Today, I thought the bowling was 70%. I didnt bowl and let down the other three bowlers. We are playing Pakistan after a long time. It's a difficult situation for us. The batting .. I don't know .. we didn't go for the score. We will try to encourage the boys it doesn;t matter, go for the score."
Shahid Afridi : We should be more positive in the batting. It was a slow track but we should have started more positively. You should take a chance after 5-6 overs to disturb the line other wise they will keep bowling on the same line if you don't take any chances. The next game, we will come harder. It was good to see Shoaib Akthar bowl really well." Asked about his own bowling, Afridi says with a smile, " I am a bowler first, then a batsman!"
Umar Akmal is the Man of the Match: "I have played this kind of knock after a long time. I am happy that the seniors like Waqar, Afridi all backed me. I have practised hard and long and Shahid bhai told me if I continue to work like this runs will come. There is always pressure, so you can't take any additional pressure on yourself. I am enjoying my fielding, been training well. I will take this form in the upcoming games. Not only in the next game but in all games that Shahid bhai will offer me."
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