Opener Salman Butt hit a sparkling century and paceman Rao Iftikhar returned career-best bowling figures as Pakistan crushed Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the first day-night international in Karachi on Tuesday.
The left-handed Butt scored a 117-ball 100 and put on a solid 168-run opening stand with Khurram Manzoor (83) as the home team chased down a modest target of 220 with 4.1 overs to spare.
The win gave Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Sri Lanka, bowled out for 219 in 45.2 overs, failed to put up a solid resistance and their celebrated spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis were rendered ineffective by Pakistan’s aggressive approach. Mendis, failed to live up to the billing, finishing with 0-41.
The 24-year-old Butt, who reached his eighth one-day hundred with a single, hit 13 boundaries in his 117-ball knock.