Sloppy fielding drowns Sri Lanka
Cardiff: Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed (61 n o, 79b, 5×4) and Mohammed Amir (28 n o, 43b, 1×4) cracked gritty knocks as Pakistan notched up a three-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their must-win Group B match to enter the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy here, Monday. Pakistan will meet England in the first semifinal Wednesday at the same venue.
Chasing a modest 237 to win, opener Fakhar Zaman (50, 36b, 8×4, 1×6) slammed an aggressive fifty at the top but Pakistan suffered an inexplicable collapse to slip to 162 for seven. Finally, it was Sarfraz, who played a resolute captain’s knock to take Pakistan home. The wicket-keeper batsman shared an unbeaten 75-run stand with Amir for the eighth wicket as Pakistan overhauled the target with 31 balls to spare.
Earlier, bowlers helped Pakistan bowl out Sri Lanka for 236. Sri Lanka looked set for a big score after being asked to bat but Amir (2/53) and Junaid Khan (3/40) scripted a turnaround with fiery spells. Hasan Ali (3/43) also bowled brilliantly.
Opener Niroshan Dickwella (73, 86b, 4×4) and skipper Angelo Mathews (39, 54b, 2×4, 1×6) had put on a display of resolute batting before Amir scalped the latter to trigger the collapse at Sophia Gardens.
Amir and Junaid took two wickets each in the space of 3.2 overs as Sri Lanka lost four wickets for six runs. Suranga Lakmal (26, 34b, 3×4) and Asela Gunaratne (27, 44b, 1×4) offered dogged resistance to take Sri Lankan innings close to the 250-run mark.
Brief scores
Sri Lanka 236 (Niroshan Dickwella 71; Junaid Khan 3/40, Hasan Ali 3/43) lost to Pakistan 237/7 (Sarfraz Khan Ahmed 61 n o, Fakhar Zaman 50; Nuwan Pradeep 3/60) by three wickets.