Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets in thriller

A match-winning stand of 219 for the third wicket between rookie Naveed Latif and veteran Inzamam-ul Haq botched the clean slate of Sri Lanka in the league matches of the Champions Trophy and took Pakistan to a 7-wicket victory in the last league match, at the Sharjah cricket ground on Friday.

Playing in only his second ODI, Naveed hit 113 off 141 balls while Inzaman stayed till the end with an unbeaten 118 to overhaul the target of 272 with four deliveries to spare after some initial hiccups.

It was sweet revenge for the Pakistanis as the Lankans had beaten them by seven wickets in their earlier league encounter last Saturday.

Mahela Jayawardane was the top scorer for the Lankans with a superb 84 off 83 balls while Avishka Gunawardane pitched in with a fine 57.

Both teams rested their top players for the match, which held only an academic interest.

While Pakistan benched pace spearhead Wasim Akram and veteran Saeed Anwar, Sri Lanka were without spin wizard Muthiah Muralitharan and fast bowler Dilhara Fernando.