Cricket: De Silva maintains rich run

Aravinda de Silva left an indelible mark on the Sharjah Cup with another high-quality innings as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by four wickets in the final yesterday.

De Silva crowned his prolific form in the three-nation event with an unbeaten 87 off 124 balls to guide Sri Lanka home at 215 for 6 with four balls remaining after they dismissed Pakistan for 214.

With a total of 410 runs in five innings at an average of 136.66, De Silva was named man of the series.

De Silva, who hit only three fours, first put on 66 for the fourth wicket with Arjuna Ranatunga, and then added 60 in 91 balls for the fifth wicket with Roshan Mahanama.

Inzamam-ul-Haq (61) and Salim Malik (58) provided middle order substance to Pakistan's innings after they opted to bat on winning the toss. However, after reaching 185 for 3 in 43 overs, they lost their last seven wickets for 29 runs in 31 balls.