{"id":34047,"date":"2017-06-13T08:08:44","date_gmt":"2017-06-13T08:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=34047"},"modified":"2017-06-13T08:08:44","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T08:08:44","slug":"sarfraz-steers-pakistan-into-champions-trophy-semis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=34047","title":{"rendered":"Sarfraz steers Pakistan into Champions Trophy semis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"640x640-12-640x450\"Captain Sarfraz Ahmed, who had already distinguished himself with two fine catches behind the stumps, steadied the innings, steering them home to 237-7 in the 45th over with a match-winning innings of 61 from 79 balls<\/h2>\n
Pakistan overcame a familiar attack of batting nerves to beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in a see-saw Group B game at Sophia Gardens to set up a Champions Trophy semi-final with hosts England back in Cardiff on Wednesday.<\/div>\n
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The other semi-final will pit Group B winners India against Group A runners-up Bangladesh at Edgbaston on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Pakistan looked to have thrown away their victory chance at several points on Monday as their batsmen\u2019s fallibility before the short-pitched ball prompted an astonishing collapse from 74-0 to 162-7.<\/p>\n

But captain Sarfraz Ahmed, who had already distinguished himself with two fine catches behind the stumps, steadied the innings, steering them home to 237-7 in the 45th over with a match-winning innings of 61 from 79 balls.<\/p>\n

At the other end, Mohammad Amir provided an equally valuable contribution, taking singles to rotate the strike as he reached an unbeaten 28. Their 75-run partnership was an eighth-wicket record for the Champions Trophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an unbelievable feeling. I just said to Amir play your normal game,\u201d said Sarfraz who kissed the ground after hitting the winning runs.<\/p>\n

Even the captain suffered the occasional rush of blood, however, and was twice dropped on 38 and 40 by Thisara Perera and substitute fielder Seekkuge Prasanna off a disconsolate Lasith Malinga. The same bowler had also seen opener Azhar Ali spilled by Asela Gunaratne in his first over.<\/p>\n

For a while it hardly seemed to matter as excellent bowling from Malinga (1-52) and Nuwan Pradeep (3-60) ensured a regular procession of batsmen from the wicket.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Sri Lanka had suffered a collapse of their own as superb left-arm pace bowling from Amir and Junaid Khan reduced Sri Lanka from 161-3 to 167-7 in four devastating overs.<\/p>\n

Charging in with great pace and guile, Amir removed danger man Angelo Mathews for 39 and opener Niroshan Dickwella, whose 73 had provided the base to Sri Lanka\u2019s innings.<\/p>\n

Junaid (3-40) added to the mid-order carnage as Sri Lanka, who had begun breezily to reach 82-1 from 14 overs, could do little more than see out their overs to post a disappointing 236 all out, with Hasan Ali also weighing in with 3-43.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s total always looked below par, particularly after Pakistan pinch-hitter Fakhar Zaman smashed a quickfire 50 in 11 overs. But his departure without adding another run set the nerves jangling and by the end Pakistan were limping home.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s semi-final will be their first meeting with England in a 50-over tournament since 2003 and their first knockout clash since they won the 1992 World Cup final.<\/p>\n

BRIEF SCORE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pakistan 237 for 7<\/strong> (Sarfraz 61*, Zaman 50, Pradeep 3-60) beat Sri Lanka 236<\/strong> (Dickwella 73, Junaid 3-40, Hasan 3-43, Amir 2-53) by three wickets<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Captain Sarfraz Ahmed, who had already distinguished himself with two fine catches behind the stumps, steadied the innings, steering them home to 237-7 in the 45th over with a match-winning innings of 61 from 79 balls Pakistan overcame a familiar attack of batting nerves to beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in a see-saw Group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":34048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n