That Pakistan is an unpredictable side is a given. While they went all to pieces in their match against India; causing past players to lament and bemoan the pusillanimous nature of their defence, against Sri Lanka they were doughty, committed and focused. It is possible that their win against South Africa buoyed the flagging spirits of the team; in any case, Pakistan managed to defeat Sri Lanka and to reach the semi finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
The final league match of the tournament; match no 12 of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 was between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at Cardiff, Wales.
Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed put the Sri Lankans in to bat first after winning the toss. Opener Niroshan Dickwella’s innings of 73 off 86 was the backbone of the Lankan innings. Skipper Angelo Mathews was the second highest run getter for his team with 39 off 54.
The Pakistani bowlers kept chipping away at the Lankan batsmen and took wickets at fairly regular intervals to restrict them to 236 (all out). Junaid Khan and Hasan Ali (once again) were the pick of the Pak bowlers with three wickets each.
The openers Azhar Ali (34 off 50) and Fakhar Zaman (50 off 36) gave a good start to the team. However, the middle order seemed shaky and there were many moments when Sri Lanka seemed to be in charge of the proceedings.
Sarfraz Ahmed played a captain's innings, remaining not out with his 61 off 79 to steer his team to victory.
Sarfraz Ahmed was declared player of the match for his innings with the bat.
So while in Group A, England and Bangladesh have made it to the semi finals, in Group B, India and Pakistan have made it to the semi finals. Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa are out of the tournament.
Since the Group leader of A plays the group runner up of B according to the rules, it will be England v Pakistan and India taking on Bangladesh in the semis. The first semi final will be on Wednesday at Cardiff; the second will be at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Thursday with the finals slated for Sunday, 18 June 2017 at the Oval, London.
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