COLOMBO: Kamran Akmal smashed an unbeaten 92 off 50 balls as Pakistan came from behind to defeat India by five wickets in a warm-up match for the World Twenty20 on Monday.
Pakistan, chasing India's commanding 185-3, appeared to be out of contention when they lost five wickets by the 12th over with just 91 runs on the board at the Premadasa stadium.
But Akmal and former captain Shoaib Malik turned the game around with a brilliant unbroken stand of 95 off 46 balls that helped Pakistan beat the shell-shocked Indians with five balls to spare.
Akmal plundered six sixes, including the winning shot off seamer Irfan Pathan which sailed over the cover fence. Malik remained unbeaten on 37 off 18 balls.
Virat Kohli had earlier top-scored for India with 75 not out, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed four wickets for 23 runs.
Some 3,000 Sri Lankan fans watched the arch-rivals battle out in the middle in the only warm-up match to be beamed live by the host broadcasters of the World Twenty20 that opens on Tuesday.
"We knew that if India could post a huge total, so could we," said Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez. "Kamran was exceptional, and Malik's experience also helped."
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the batting worked well, but the bowlers needed to contain runs on the easy-paced wickets.
"It was not really a bad game for us," he said. "We have got to work on a few things with our bowling."
India and Pakistan are drawn in different groups for the preliminary league, but are seeded to meet in the Super Eights round in Colombo on September 30.