 Afridi (centre) led from the front as Pakistan romped home |
A Sri Lanka batting collapse helped Pakistan to a 52-run victory in their Twenty20 international in Colombo.
Pakistan opener Kamran Akmal was bowled by the first ball of the match but his partner Imran Nazir made 40.
Shahid Afridi, leading Pakistan for the first time, smashed 50 off 37 balls as his side finished on 172-5.
Sri Lanka looked well set at 100-3 but lost their last seven wickets for 20 runs as Saeed Ajmal (3-18) and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (3-19) did the damage.
The result will be some consolation for Pakistan at the end of a tour which saw them lose the three-Test series 2-0, while they were beaten 3-2 in the one-day international series.
It was the teams' first Twenty20 encounter since Pakistan won the World Twenty20 final at Lord's in June, after which captain Younus Khan announced his retirement from Twenty20 internationals.
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Afridi passed his first test as skipper by winning the toss and deciding to bat first, but despite the early loss of Akmal, he and Nazir kept the scoreboard ticking over to give the tourists a total to defend, while veteran spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was wicketless.
In reply, fellow veteran Sanath Jayasuriya gave Sri Lanka a good start with 23 from 17 balls.
But although they had selected seven batsmen, Sri Lanka's collapse began when Ajmal bowled captain Kumar Sangakkara for 38.
As the required run-rate crept up from the improbable to the nigh-impossible, the home side lost their last five wickets for five runs.
Afridi, who claimed the wicket of Chamara Kapugedera and also ran out Angelo Mathews with a direct hit, saw his side triumph with 11 balls to spare.
Sri Lanka now host New Zealand in two Tests, two Twenty20 internationals and an ODI tri-series also featuring India - while Pakistan are not in action until the Champions Trophy in September.
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