Twitter Reactions: Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed leads Pakistan to the semis of CT17

Sarfaraz and Amir snatched the victory from the jaws of Sri Lanka.

By Sameer Allana

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Sarfraz Ahmed of Pakistan
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Sarfraz Ahmed of Pakistan. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

The Sri Lanka-Pakistan clash made for an amazing virtual quarterfinal with Pakistan emerging victorious in the end. Winning a nail-biting game by just 3 wickets, Pakistan sent Sri Lanka bags packing as they booked themselves a semi-finals berth against England.

Earlier in the day, it was captain Sarfaraz Khan who won the toss as Pakistan elected to field first. Fahim Ashraf was brought into the playing XI in place of Shadab Khan as Pakistan decided to go in with four seamers. For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya De Silva came in place of the injured Kusal Perera.

Batting first, Danushka Gunathilaka was dismissed early as he failed to recreate his magic with the bat from the last game. It was Niroshan Dickwella who took the honors this time as he played a brilliant inning of 73 as the likes of Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal got out in quick succession.

At 161/3 by the end of 31 overs, with a set Dickwella on crease along with skipper Angelo Mathews, a total of 300 was always there for the taking. However what followed was a collapse in the Sri Lankan batting lineup. They lost 4 wickets inside 6 runs as Sri Lanka were reduced to 167/7 in no time.

Some crucial contributions from Asela Gunaratne and Suranga Lakmal ensured Sri Lanka scored 236 runs even though they failed to last 50 overs. Hasan Ali continued to flourish with figures of 3/43. However, the star of the day for Pakistan was Junaid Khan who took 3/40 alongside bowling 3 maiden overs. Mohammed Amir and Fahim Ashraf also joined the party with a couple of wickets each.

Pakistan openers were off to a flier. While Azhar Ali rotated the strike, it was Fakhar Zaman who took the job of taking the bowlers to the cleaners. He registered a quickfire half-century from just 36 balls. However, once the opening stand was broken, it triggered a collapse.

The other Pakistani batsmen failed to prolong their stay at the crease as Pakistan were reduced to 162/7. The likes of Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik and Mohammed Hafeez failed on an important day as Sri Lanka made pathways through the Pakistani batting line up.

Here’s when an unbeaten match-winning 75 run partnership between skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammed Amir swung the momentum for Pakistan. A wonderful captain’s knock along with some good batting by Amir ensured Pakistan sealed it by 3 wickets. With this victory, Pakistan now face England in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy.

Here are some of the amazing Twitter reactions that took place during the course of the game:

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