Rizwan And Shafique Lead Pakistan To Victory Against Sri Lanka At The 2023 World Cup

(CTN News) – It was a brilliant six-wicket victory for Pakistan against Sri Lanka thanks to the outstanding performances of Mohammad Rizwan, who scored an unbeaten 131 off 121 balls, and Abdullah Shafique, who scored a 103 off 113 balls at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Tuesday.

THE INNINGS OF PAKISTAN

A number of key decisions were made during the match, including Fakhar Zaman’s omission from the team and the elevation of young talent like Abdullah Shafique to the top tier of the team.

Having endured a lean run of form in recent times, Fakhar Zaman was forced to withdraw from the playing XI earlier than expected due to his poor form.

As a result of his rapid exclusion, a debate lingered about why he was excluded from the team, with some questioning whether he deserved to be dropped at this time.

Many other people argued that young players should be given the chance to experience their first World Cup rather than thrusting them into a match in front of a massive crowd of 120,000 fans in the intense atmosphere of a match against India.

After making this decision, Abdullah Shafique was able to step into the spotlight for the first time in his career. After Pakistan’s top-order pillars Imamul Haq (12) and Babar Azam (10), both of whom fell early in the chase, Shafique had no choice but to absorb the pressure and maintain a steady run rate despite the pressure he was under in a challenging chase of 345 runs.

Shafique displayed remarkable composure while batting his half-century off 58 balls with classic cricket strokes. While his innings may have appeared unremarkable at times, they laid the foundation for a performance that he can be proud of.

In addition to his ability to adapt to the conditions and tackle Sri Lanka’s spinners, he demonstrated sensational acceleration in the middle and late overs, a strategy Pakistan used to secure victory.

Sri Lanka’s Dilshan Madushanka (2-60) took two wickets.

Among the scalps taken were Maheesh Theekshana (1-59) and Matheesha Pathirana (1-90).

The remaining wicketless batsmen were Dasun Shanaka (0-28), Dunith Wellalage (0-62), Dhananjaya de Silva (0-36) and Charith Asalanka (0-10).

THE INNINGS OF SRI LANKA

Earlier, Sri Lanka scored a mammoth 344-9 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium thanks to Kusal Mendis’ enterprising 77-ball 122 and Sadeera Samawickrama’s scintillating 89-ball 108.

Choosing to bat first, Sri Lanka’s top order bounced back after the early blow of Kusal Perera (0), who returned to the pavilion without making a mark on the scoreboard. Kusal Mendis, however, found two excellent partners, Nissanka (102 off 95) and Samarawickrama (111 off 69).

There was a lot of pressure on Pakistan’s bowlers during the match. While Hasan Ali conceded 71 runs, he managed to take four wickets.

Haris Rauf bowled well, picking up two wickets and allowing 64 runs in ten overs.

A scalp was taken by each of Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Shadab Khan.

Although Iftikhar Ahmed was wicketless, he conceded 22 runs.

The toss

This game is being played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, where Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first.

There has been one change to the Pakistan cricket team lineup, with Abdullah Shafique replacing Fakhar Zaman.

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