CT 2017, Match 12, SL v PAK Review: Sarfraz, Amir stun Sri Lanka to guide Pakistan to the semis

The stage was set for the ultimate game of the group stages of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Team Sri Lanka faced off with Pakistan in the second virtual quarter final of the tournament. A day ago, it was team India that beat South Africa to march into the semi-finals in the other virtual quarterfinal. The scenario was pretty much the same yet again.

The winner was set to take it all, and the loser would have got nothing but an ouster from the tournament. Amidst this backdrop, the two captains – Angelo Mathews and Sarfraz Ahmed – walked to the toss. Sarfraz won the toss and opted to bowl first considering the overcast conditions. They made one change in the lineup by bringing in Fahim Ashraf is place of Shadab Khan.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had a forced change wherein they had to bring in Dhananjaya de Silva in place of injured Kusal Perera. Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka opened the innings for Sri Lanka as Mohammad Amir shared the new ball with Junaid Khan for Pakistan. Surprisingly, there was swing on offer on the day.

Despite that, Dickwella and Gunathilaka got a brisk start but could not convert it to a big one. Gunathilaka, the star of the previous game, could only score 13 before being caught on mid off by Shoaib Malik off the bowling of Junaid Khan in the 6th over. Kusal Mendis then joined Dickwella at the crease. The two batsmen added crucial 56 run stand for the second wicket as they negated the swing in the process.

Mendis perished after scoring 27 off 29 deliveries with 4 boundaries to his name. Dinesh Chandimal, who was yet to get a good go in the tournament, walked in as the next batsman. But it was yet another off day for him as he was sent packing on a duck with Fahim Ashraf bagging his maiden ODI scalp. Skipper Angelo Mathews came in to bat at number 5. Meanwhile, Dickwella cruised past his fifty and looked good for more.

The two batsmen added 78 runs for the fourth wicket to help the Sri Lankan scorecard tickle past 150-run mark. The base was set for a big score but what followed was absolute shocker. They lost the remaining 7 wickets for a mere 75 runs. This included a middle-order collapse from 161/3 to 167/7. The Pakistani bowlers shared wickets among themselves to bring about this procession.

Dickwella, the set batsman, scored 73 off 86 balls with 4 fours to his name and Mathews scored 39 off 54 balls. Had there not been crucial contributions from Asela Gunaratne (27) and Suranga Lakmal (26), the team would have crashed badly. Sri Lanka bundled out for 236 in 49.2 overs. Junaid Khan was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan with 3/40 to his name and Hasan Ali returned with figures of 3/43.

And the run chase

In the run chase, Pakistan openers Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman got off to a brisk start. Zaman, in particular, looked in ominous touch with the bat. He smashed the new ball bowlers to all parks and had the luck riding his way. Meanwhile, Azhar took his time to settle in. They added 65 runs in the first 10 overs with Fakhar Zaman notching up his maiden fifty. However, he could not add any more to his total post that.

The first wicket partnership of 74 runs that came off 68 deliveries came to an end with Nuwan Pradeep dismissing Fakhar on 50. His knock came off 36 balls with 8 fours and a six. Babar Azam was the new man in. He could only score 10 before becoming Pradeep’s second wicket. The experienced batsman Mohammad Hafeez was dismissed on 1 soon after by Thisara Perera.

The other set batsman, Azhar Ali, also headed back to the pavilion in succession with 34 runs to his name in 50 deliveries. Suranga Lakmal got the better of the Pakistani opener. At 110/4 in 19.2 overs, the Pakistan team was in a spot of bother. Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed were expected to bail them out of trouble. Malik was dismissed on 11 in the 25th over by Lasith Malinga.

Imad Wasim threw his wicket away on 4 an over later to see the men in green reel on 137/6. Fahim Ashraf gave glimpses of hope of a repeat show of what he had done in the warm-up game against Bangladesh. He hit a six and a four first up but could not continue on the same note. He perished on run-a-ball 15. Mohammad Amir joined skipper Sarfraz at the crease. The Sri Lankans sensed the win buy a gutsy fifty run stand between Amir and Sarfraz started taking the game away from them.

They added the record partnership for 8th wicket in the history of Champions Trophy. An unbeaten 75 run partnership saw Pakistan stun Sri Lanka to march into the semis. Sarfraz remained unbeaten on 61 off 79 balls with 5 fours and Amir remained unbeaten on 28 that came off 43 balls.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 236/10 in 49.2 overs (Dickwella 73, Mathews 39, Junaid 3/40, Hasan 3/43)

Pakistan 237/7 in 44.5 overs (Sarfraz 61*, Fakhar 50, Pradeep 3/60, Thisara 1/43)