Picture : ICC / X
Pakistan pulled off a majestic run chase powered by Mohammad Rizwan who battled severe cramps to smash an unbeaten century, while young Abdullah Shafique hit a maiden ton as Pakistan scripted a world-record chase to defeat Sri Lanka by six wickets in a high-scoring ODI and extend their winning run in the World Cup, in Hyderabad
Rizwan paced his innings superbly, sharing a match-winning 176-run stand for the third wicket with the 23-year-old Shafique (113), to first resurrect Pakistan’s chase of a stiff 345 and then added another 95 runs with Saud Shakeel (31) as they romped home in 48.2 overs.
This was the highest successful run-chase in the history of the World Cup as Pakistan extended their winning streak against Sri Lanka in World Cups to an overwhelming 8-0.
Opting to bat, Sri Lanka dished out a dominating batting performance to post a challenging 344 for 9, built around the superlative hundreds by Kusal Mendis (122) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (108).
Mendis’s 77-ball 122 was the fastest hundred by a Sri Lankan in World Cup history, while Samarawickrama scored his maiden ODI ton with an 89-ball 108 as the islanders posted their highest World Cup total against a Full Member.
The 28-year-old Mendis batted with absolute authority, clobbering six maximums and 14 fours. He starred in two 100-plus partnerships with Pathum Nissanka (51) and Samarawickrama to take Sri Lanka across the 200-mark in the 28th over.
Samarawickrama took the onus and paced his innings superbly, using his cuts and drives as Sri Lanka kept accumulating runs with ease. He cracked 11 boundaries and two sixes in his 89-ball knock.
owever, Pakistan pulled things back a bit at the back-end as Hasan Ali removed Charith Asalanka (3), Mohammad Nawaz removed Dhananjaya de Silva (25) and Afridi got rid of Dasun Shanaka (12) as Pakistan conceded just 18 runs between 30 to 35 overs.
Samarawickrama held the innings together to keep Sri Lanka on track. But with the pitch slowing down, Pakistan picked up two more wickets to limit them inside 350 in the end.
For Pakistan, Hasan Ali (4/71) claimed four wickets and Haris Rauf (2/64) snapped two but, overall, it was a poor outing for the bowling unit, especially Shaheen Afridi (1/66 in 9 overs) and Shadab Khan (1/55 in 8 overs).
Sri Lanka then left Pakistan reeling at 37 for 2 in 7.2 overs, with Dilshan Madushanka claiming both the wickets. While a pull shot was Imam-ul-Haq’s undoing, skipper Babar failed again trying to play one down the legside.
However, Shafique, playing only his fifth ODI, showed great maturity as he and Rizwan steadied the ship, bringing up the team’s 100 in the 19th over.
Match: World Cup 2023, 8th Match
Venue: Hyderabad | Date: October 10, 2023
