Sarfraz, Amir guide Pak to semifinal
CARDIFF: Sarfraz Ahmed produced a superb captain’s innings following a top-order collapse to see Pakistan into the semifinals of the Champions Trophy with a three-wicket win over Sri Lanka at Cardiff on Monday.
Pakistan, chasing a seemingly modest 237 to win, collapsed to 162 for seven.
But an unbroken stand of 75 between Sarfraz, dropped twice on his way to 61 not out, and Mohammad Amir (28 not out) saw Pakistan complete a thrilling win.
They will return to Sophia Gardens for a last-four clash with tournament hosts England on Wednesday.
Pakistan induced a middle-order collapse as Sri Lanka slumped to 236 all out.
Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka had to win on Monday to join already qualified title-holders India from Group B in the knockout stages of a tournament featuring the world’s top eight one-day international sides.
India will play Bangladesh in Thursday’s second semifinal at Edgbaston, with the final at the Oval on Sunday.
Earlier, Sri Lanka, sent in to bat, were making steady progress at 161 for three while top-scorers Niroshan Dickwella (73) and skipper Angelo Mathews (39) were at the crease. But the loss of Mathews sparked a middle-order collapse that saw four wickets lost for just six runs as Sri Lanka slumped to 167 for seven.
Only same late tail-order hitting, with the last three wickets adding 69 runs, got Sri Lanka past 200 in an innings where Pakistan pacemen Junaid Khan (three for 40) and Hasan Ali (three for 43) did the bulk of the damage.
Prior to their middle-order slup, Sri Lanka lost two wickets for one run to be 83 for three. Hasan, as he’d done while taking three wickets in Pakistan’s surprise win over South Africa, went wide of the crease to bowl Kusal Mendis (27) with a delivery angled towards the legside that clipped the top of off stump.
Two balls later, medium-pacer Fahim Ashraf struck on his ODI debut when Dinesh Chandimal played on for a duck. Mathews helped staunch the flow of wickets while keeping the scoreboard ticking over as Dickwella dug in. Mathews drove off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez for six, while Dickwella ended a sequence of 54 balls without a boundary by cover-driving left-arm spinner Imad Wasim for four. Mathews, however, fell when an inside edge off Mohammad Amir gave the elated left-arm paceman his first wicket of the tournament.