Pakistan v Sri Lanka

At Sharjah, November 2 (day/night). Pakistan won by seven wickets. Pakistan 4 pts. Toss: Sri Lanka.

Pakistan's often mercurial batsmen found the resolve to overhaul Sri Lanka's 272. Inzamam-ul- Haq, in his 250th one-day international, joined Naved Latif, in his second, at 41 for two, and their brilliantly paced 219-run stand carried them to the threshold of victory. Against disciplined seam bowling from Fernando, Naved struggled initially, but ground on, eschewing risk. At the halfway mark, Pakistan had only just reached 100 with the asking-rate approaching seven. Then Inzamam reeled off a series of nonchalant cuts and drives; Naved took his cue, and attacked Jayasuriya's spin. The seamers returned but, with Muralitharan resting, Sri Lanka could not halt the momentum - four dropped catches did not help. Naved finally fell for a 141-ball 113, Inzamam remained unbeaten on 118 in 124. Sri Lanka could have batted Pakistan out of the game if the middle order had backed up Jayawardene, who survived an apparent run-out to score 84 from 83 balls.

Man of the Match: Naved Latif.