UNDERDOG PAKISTAN MAKE IT TO SEMIS
After Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets to reach the semi-final. India and Bangladesh are already there. Odd one out is England
Sarfraz Ahmed (pix) and his boys pulled off a stunning victory against Sri Lanka at Cardiff, Endland, on Monday. Batting first, Lanka scored 236. Pakistan reached the winning target sparing 3 wickets.The team will now take on England in the semi-final.
Pakistan rode on skipper Sarfraz Ahmed’s unconquered 61 to recover from a middle-order collapse and pull off a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in a virtual quarter-final Group B ICC Champions Trophy clash at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Monday to qualify for the semifinals.
Chasing 237 for a win, fast bowler Mohammad Amir (28 not out) showed great resolve to stitch together an unbeaten 75-run stand with Sarfraz for the eighth wicket to help his side register the win in a seesaw battle. At one point, Sri Lanka had their rivals on the mat at 162/7 but had poor fielding and dropped chances to blame for their loss.
Pakistan, which chased the target in 44.5 overs, got off to a rollicking start riding young southpaw Fakhar Zaman's quickfire 36-ball 50 but Nuwam Pradeep (3/60) put a spanner on his works by getting him out just when he was looking very good.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan pacers put up a stunning display to dismiss Sri Lanka for 236 runs in 49.2 overs in a virtual quarter-final Group B ICC Champions Trophy clash at Sophia Gardens.
Fast bowlers Junaid Khan (3/40), Hasan Ali (3/43), Mohammad Amir (2/53) and debutant Fahim Ashraf (2/37) ran through the deep Lankan batting line-up which stood firm against favourites India the other day, giving Pakistan’s less equipped batting a 237run target to chase down for victory.
For Sri Lanka, Niroshan Dickwella (73; 86b; 4x4) was the top-scorer who alongwith skipper Angelo Mathews (39; 54b; 2x4; 1x6) stitched together the highest partnership of the innings of 78 runs for the fourth wicket.
Towards the end, Suranga Lakmal (26) and Asela Gunaratne (27) joined hands for a vital 46-run partnership for the eighth wicket which helped their side cross the 200-mark.
At the start, Junaid sent back Danushka Gunathilaka (13; 20b; 2x4) early with the latter finding Shoaib Malik at mid-off for an easy catch.
Kusal Mendis (27; 29b; 4x4) and Dickwella were looking good for a 56-run secondwicket stand when a Hasan Ali ripper went through the former’s defence as he was trying to whip the ball on the leg side.
In the previous delivery, an inside edge had saved Mendis his wicket off Ali's bowling.
Debutant Fahim Ashraf further shaved off the Lankans’ top order by bagging his first ODI scalp, sending Dinesh Chandimal back in the hut for a duck. Chandimal dragged the ball onto his stumps, trying to slap it through covers and finding a thick edge back onto his stumps.