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| Photo: @PCB/X |
In the eighth match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by achieving the biggest target in the history of the World Cup.
Pakistan chased down Sri Lanka's target of 345 runs in the 49th over at the loss of 4 wickets, Abdullah Shafiq scored 113 runs. Mohammad Rizwan remained unbeaten on 131 runs.
The target of 345 runs is the highest target achieved successfully by any team in the history of the World Cup.
Earlier in the 2011 World Cup, Ireland had successfully achieved the target of 329 runs against England.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan. Kusal Perera was caught by Hasan Ali for zero on Sri Lanka's total score of just 5.
Patham Nissanka and Kusal Mendis shared a 102-run partnership for the second wicket, but then Nissanka returned to the pavilion after scoring 51 runs.
After the fall of two wickets, Kusal Mendis and Samara Wickrama lathi-charged against the Pakistani bowlers and applied attractive shorts around the ground and batted aggressively.
Meanwhile, Mendis also scored the fastest century of the World Cup for Sri Lanka, completing 100 runs off 65 balls.
Mendis and Samarawickrama shared a 111-run partnership, but then Mendis was dismissed for 122 off 77 balls, while newcomer Batter Charith Asalanka returned to the pavilion for one run.
Apart from this, De Silva scored 25 runs, while Samara Wickrama also scored his first century of ODI career on the other side. He scored 108 runs off 89 balls.
Dasun Shanaka scored 12 and Velalage scored 10 runs, thus Sri Lanka scored 344 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 50 overs.
For Pakistan, Hasan Ali took 4 wickets, Haris Rauf took 2 and Shadab, Nawaz and Shaheen Afridi took one wicket each.
Chasing sri lanka's target of 345 runs, Pakistan did not have a good start, opener Imam-ul-Haq scored 12 and captain Babar Azam left the team with only 10 runs.
After losing two wickets on a total score of 37, young batter Abdullah Shafiq and wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan batted responsibly and took over the team.
Both the batters hit attractive shots around the ground, first Abdullah Shafiq scored a brilliant century, after which Mohammad Rizwan also followed in his footsteps and scored a century. A 176-run partnership was also formed between the two batters.
However, Abdullah Shafiq was dismissed for 113 off 103 balls, his innings included 10 fours and three sixes.
Abdullah Shafiq becomes first Pakistani batter to score a century on World Cup debut
Abdullah Shafiq was playing his first match in the World Cup today, he is the first Pakistani batter to score a century on World Cup debut. Apart from this, Saud Shakeel was dismissed for 31 runs.
On the other hand, Mohammad Rizwan scored 131 runs off 121 balls and gave the team a record victory. Iftikhar Ahmed remained unbeaten on 22 runs.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was adjudged player of the match for his superb batting.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 8th consecutive World Cup win
Pakistan and Sri Lanka have competed 8 times in the ODI World Cup and each time Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka.
