LAHORE: Pakistan celebrated the return of international cricket with a thumping 33-run win to clinch the final Twenty20 match and the series against a World XI team at Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium Friday.

The hosting of the short series is a major step towards convincing international teams to begin touring Pakistan again, with Sri Lanka already due to play a Twenty20 match in Lahore on October 29.

Foreign teams have refused to tour Pakistan since a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

Under Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistan team outsmarted the World XI — with players from seven countries — in Friday’s decider to match the important occasion by claiming the series 2-1.

Pakistan had won the first match by 20 runs on Tuesday before World XI levelled the series with a seven-wicket victory in the second on Wednesday.

Batting for World XI, only Thisara Perera, with a 13-ball 32 including three sixes and two fours, and David Miller, who hit a 29-ball 32, made significant contributions.

Others never got going in a shaky chase which saw three World XI batsmen run out. Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali finished as the best bowler with figures of 2-28.

Pakistan had piled up 183-4 after they were sent into bat by World Xi skipper Faf du Plessis.

Pakistan’s innings was built around opener Ahmed Shehzad’s 55-ball 89 and a 31-ball 48 by Babar Zaman. The two added 102 runs for the second wicket after Pakistan lost Fakhar Zaman for 27.

Shehzad fell 11 short of his second Twenty20 hundred as he attempted a single off a wide ball. He cracked eight boundaries and three sixes.

His and Pakistan’s only hundred in a Twenty20 international had come against Bangladesh during the World Twenty20 tournament in 2014.

Shoaib Malik hit two sixes in his seven-ball 17 not out as Pakistan added 58 in the final five overs to reach 183.

Sri Lankan seamer Perera was the pick of World XI’s bowlers with 2-37 in his four overs.

During the innings break the Pakistan Cricket Board arranged a lap of honour for retired greats Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq. The two were given a standing ovation by a packed 25,000 crowd.

The series was arranged as part of Pakistan’s efforts to bring back international cricket to the country, which has only hosted Zimbabwe for a limited-over series in 2015.

Pakistan hopes the successful staging of this series will help them host Sri Lanka for a Twenty20 international on October 29, at the end of their full series in the United Arab Emirates.

A month later they are also likely to host the West Indies for three Twenty20 matches.

LIVE UPDATES

WORLD XI: 150/7

OVER 20: Rumman Raees (0-0-0-0-4-1)

Darren Sammy: 24 (23)

Samuel Badree: 0 (2)

OVER 19: Hasan Ali (0-4-0-0-1-0)

Darren Sammy: 19 (17)

Samuel Badree: 0 (2)

OVER 18: Usman Shinwari (1-1-wk-0-1-0)

Darren Sammy: 14 (12)

Samuel Badree: 0 (1)

Morne Morkel: 1 (2)

OVER 17: Hasan Ali (6-1-0-1-1-wk)

Darren Sammy: 12 (9)

David Miller: 32 (29)

OVER 16: Rumman Raees (0-1-1-1-2-4)

David Miller: 31 (26)

Darren Sammy: 4 (6)

OVER 15: Usman Shinwari (1-1-2-1-1-1)

David Miller: 25 (23)

Darren Sammy: 2 (3)

OVER 14: Rumman Raees (1-0-1-1-4-wk)

David Miller: 21 (20)

Thisara Perera: 32 (13)

OVER 13: Shadab Khan (6-6-6-4-1-1)

David Miller: 19 (18)

Thisara Perera: 27 (9)

OVER 12: Hasan Ali (1-1-0-1-1-4)

David Miller: 18 (17)

Thisara Perera: 4 (4)

OVER 11: Shadab Khan (0-1-1-1-1-1)

David Miller: 12 (13)

Thisara Perera: 2 (2)

OVER 10: Imad Wasim (1-0-6-0-2-wk-1)

David Miller: 9 (9)

Faf du Plessis: 13 (13)

OVER 9: Shadab Khan (1-0-1-1-1-1)

Faf du Plessis: 12 (11)

David Miller: 2 (5)

OVER 8: Imad Wasim (1-1-1-wk-0-0)

Faf du Plessis: 9 (8)

David Miller: 0 (2)

George Bailey: 3 (12)

OVER 7: Muhammad Nawaz (0-1-1-4-1-0)

Faf du Plessis: 7 (6)

George Bailey: 2 (10)

OVER 6: Rumman Raees (0-0-0-0-0-0)

Faf du Plessis: 1 (2)

George Bailey: 1 (8)

OVER 5: Hasan Ali (4-wk-wk-1-0-1)

Faf du Plessis: 1 (2)

George Bailey: 1 (2)

Hashim Amla:  21 (12)

Ben Cutting: 5 (4)

OVER 4: Usman Shinwari (2-4-0-4-4-0)

Hashim Amla:  21 (12)

Ben Cutting: 1 (2)

OVER 3: Imad Wasim (1-4-1-0-1-0-1)

Hashim Amla:  7 (6)

Ben Cutting: 1 (2)

OVER 2- Usman Shinwari (0-0-1-0-1-w)

Hashim Amla  1 (2)

Ben Cutting 0 (0)

Tamim Iqbal  14 (10)

 

WORLD XI – 13/0

OVER 1- Imad Wasim (0-4-4-0-4-1)

Tamim Iqbal 13 (6)
Hashim Amla 0 (0)

World XI starts its innings

Pakistan: 183/4

OVER 20: Thisara Perera (wk-6-1-0-wk-1)

Shoaib Malik: 17 (7)

Sarfraz Ahmed: 0 (0)

Imad Wasim: 0 (2) 

Babar Azam: 48 (31)

OVER 19: Morne Morkel (1-1-1-0-6-2)

Babar Azam: 48 (30)

Shoaib Malik: 9 (4)

OVER 18: Ben Cutting (1-6-6-6-1-wk-1)

Babar Azam: 46 (28)

Shoaib Malik: 0 (0)

Ahmed Shehzad: 89 (55)

OVER 17: Morne Morkel (4-1-4-4-0-2)

Ahmed Shehzad: 70 (51)

Babar Azam: 44 (26)

OVER 16: Thisara Perera (4-1-1-2-0-1-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 60 (47)

Babar Azam: 39 (24)

OVER 15: Imran Tahir (1-2-1-1-4-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 57 (44)

Babar Azam: 33 (21)

OVER 14: Thisara Perera (1-1-1-1-1-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 55 (42)

Babar Azam: 25 (17)

OVER 13: Darren Sammy (1-1-1-1-1-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 52 (39)

Babar Azam: 22 (14)

OVER 12: Samuel Badree (1-2-1-4-1-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 49 (36)

Babar Azam: 19 (11)

OVER 11: Darren Sammy (1-1-4-1-1-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 45 (33)

Babar Azam: 13 (8)

OVER 10: Imran Tahir (0-2-4-1-2-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 43 (31)

Babar Azam: 6 (4)

OVER 9: Darren Sammy (2-wk-1-1-1-2)

Ahmed Shehzad: 36 (27)

Babar Azam: 3 (2)

Fakhar Zaman: 27 (25)

OVER 8: Imran Tahir (1-0-1-1-2-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 32 (23)

Fakhar Zaman: 27 (25)

OVER 7: Darren Sammy (1-0-1-0-0-0)

Ahmed Shehzad: 28 (19)

Fakhar Zaman: 25 (23)

OVER 6: Thisara Perera (4-0-1-6-1-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 27 (15)

Fakhar Zaman: 24 (21)

OVER 5: Ben Cutting (0-0-0-2-1-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 21 (11)

Fakhar Zaman: 17 (19)

OVER 4: Morne Morkel (4-1-0-0-1-0)

Ahmed Shehzad: 20 (10)

Fakhar Zaman: 14 (14)

OVER 3: Samuel Badree (0-0-0-4-1-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 15 (7)

Fakhar Zaman: 13 (11)

OVER 2: Morne Morkel (4-4-1-0-0-1)

Ahmed Shehzad: 14 (6)

Fakhar Zaman: 8 (6)

OVER 1: Samuel Badree (1-0-4-1-4-2)

Ahmed Shehzad: 5 (3)

Fakhar Zaman: 7 (3)