Score more, Misbah asks batters

Pakistan skipper Misbahul Haq told his batsmen to shape-up or ship out of the World Cup after the 1992 champions scraped a 20-run win over Zimbabwe on Sunday.

It was Pakistan's first victory of this World Cup after losing by 76 runs to India and suffering a 150-run hiding at the hands of the West Indies in their previous two Pool B fixtures.

Misbah needed his bowlers to set up Sunday's win after his side had been limited to a modest 235 for seven by another poor top-order effort.

It was Pakistan's highest total of the tournament but a long way off the fourteen 300 and over totals so far registered elsewhere in the event.

"We need to work hard to improve our batting. All the teams are getting to 280, 290, or 300, so we need to start well and capitalise," said Misbah.

So far at the World Cup, Pakistan have scored 224 all out against India and were dismissed for just 160 by the West Indies.

Misbah has his team's best two scores of 76 against Pakistan and 73 on Sunday.

Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood got beyond fifty against the West Indies while Wahab Riaz scored a half-century against Zimbabwe at Brisbane's Gabba ground.

"It was really tough because it was a make or break game for us. You can't believe how happy we are because we were out of the tournament if we'd lost this game," added the captain.

"The pitch wasn't easy. It was a bit two-paced and it was really difficult to rotate the strike.

"I felt 250-260 would be really challenging today. We were 15-20 runs short but we showed the kind of quality we have in the bowling line-up and credit should be given to the fast bowlers."

The win gave Pakistan, who won the World Cup when the tournament was last staged in Australia and New Zealand 23 years ago, their first two points.

But they are second from bottom in their pool, with just the top four sides going into the quarterfinals.   

Match facts

• Pakistan were 33 for 2 after 15 overs,  the lowest 15-over score in this World Cup.
•  Mohammad Irfan picked up his career-best ODI haul of 4/30.
• Sri Lanka have now successfully chased 300 or more 8 times, only second to India's 15 times.
• The unbroken 212-run stand between Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne is their third highest in World Cups.
• At 25 years and 174 days, Lahiru Thirimanne has become the youngest Sri Lankan to score a World Cup hundred.
• Joe Root became the youngest World Cup centurion for England, at 24 years and 61 days.