Pakistan edge out Sri Lanka to seal semi-final showdown with England

● Mathews rues dropped catches

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is wary of the threat posed by England ahead of tomorrow’s Champions Trophy semi-final in Cardiff.

Pakistan progressed by claiming a nail-biting threewicket win against Sri Lanka at Cardiff Wales Stadium, with Sarfraz undefeated on 61 as he compiled an unbroken eighthwicket partnership of 75 with Mohammad Amir to see his team home.

When they slumped from 92 for one to 137 for six in pursuit of 237 for victory, Pakistan looked down and out, but Sarfraz – despite being dropped twice – ensured a return to the Welsh capital as Pool B reached a thrilling conclusion.

“I think it’s a great win today, and credit goes to the bowlers, who bowled really well at a crucial time,” Sarfraz said.

“Yes, there is a little bit of concern about the middle order batting, but we will sort out the problems.

“England is a very good team, a very, very good team. They’ve been playing really good cricket for the last two years.

“If you are playing a worldclass team you play more positive cricket. So definitely, we will do so against England.”

Pakistan, meanwhile, were fined for a slow over-rate after they were ruled to be one over short of the target when time allowances were taken into consideration.

Sarfraz was fined 20 per cent of his match fee, while his players have received 10 per cent fines. Sarfraz pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so a formal hearing was not required.

If there is a second minor over-rate offence committed by Pakistan during the event with Sarfraz as captain, he will be suspended for one match.

Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews was left to rue dropped catches as Pakistan squeezed into the last four.

“If we had held those catches, it would have been a different story, especially at very crucial times,” he said.

“Towards the end, where we letgoofsarfraz,itwasverycrucial. We dropped three catches [Azhar Ali was put down in the first over], but there has been a genuine effort from the boys and from the support staff, and we’ve expressed a lot about our fielding and we’ve talked about it a lot.

“There has been a genuine effort on fielding.

“Yes, we were 30-40 runs short but I am really proud of the guys, the way they came out and tried to defend that. Unfortunately, the fielding let us down.” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has urged his team to keep their feet on the ground after Lewis Hamilton’s crushing victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Hamilton dominated from start to finish at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to lead home Valtteri Bottas in a Mercedes onetwo and slash Sebastian Vettel’s 25-point championship lead to just 12.

Vettel recovered to finish fourth after damage sustained in a first-corner incident forced him into the pits for repairs.

But Mercedes, and in particular Hamilton, will be delighted with their recovery after a weekend to forget at the previous round in Monaco a fortnight ago.

Wolff said: “We have finally taken a one-two finish and done so at a track that we expected would be difficult for us.

“Lewis delivered a stellar performance this weekend with a pole lap that was almost scary when you watch the onboard, and then a totally dominant race.

“To bounce back in this way shows the calibre of the group that we have in the team.

“This is the time to keep our feet on the ground, keep working hard and take it one race at a time.”

Canada has proved kind to Hamilton over the years – he had his first win there a decade ago – and, while his task was made easier by Vettel’s issues, the 32-yearold completed another hat-trick of pole position, racevictoryandfastestlap.

Mercedes are also back in charge of the constructors’ championship following their one-two finish and Hamilton said: “It has been an incredible weekend and I couldn’t be happier,

“The team came away from Monaco scratching their heads but everyone just wanted to work and pull together, which we did.

“I don’t think in the five years at this team, they have pulled together so well, really work towards the same cause, and to understand the car.

“To come here and to deliver what we have delivered is a great blow to the Ferraris.’’