Cardiff, United Kingdom — Sarfraz Ahmed produced a superb captain's innings following a top-order collapse to see Pakistan into the semifinals of the Champions Trophy with a three-wicket win over Sri Lanka at Cardiff on Monday.
Pakistan, chasing a seemingly modest 237 to win, collapsed to 162 for seven. But an unbroken stand of 75 between Sarfraz, dropped twice on his way to 61 not out, and Mohammad Amir (28 not out) saw Pakistan complete a thrilling win.
They will return to Sophia Gardens for a last-four clash with tournament hosts England in Cardiff on Wednesday.
Earlier, Pakistan induced a middle-order collapse as Sri Lanka slumped to 236 all out. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka had to win on Monday to join already qualified title-holders India from Group B in the knockout stages of a tournament featuring the world's top eight One-Day International sides.
Pakistan started their group campaign with a woeful 124-run defeat by arch-rivals India but bounced back to defeat top-ranked South Africa before this success against Sri Lanka. India will play Bangladesh in Thursday's second semi-final at Edgbaston, with the final at the Oval on Sunday.
Pakistan overcame a familiar attack of batting nerves to win. Pakistan looked to have thrown away their victory chance at several points on Monday as their batsmen's fallibility before the short-pitched ball prompted an astonishing collapse from 74-0 to 162-7.
But Sarfraz, 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.
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.
"It is an unbelievable feeling. I just said to Amir play your normal game," said Sarfraz who kissed the ground after hitting the winning runs.
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.
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.
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. 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's innings.
Only same late tail-order hitting, with the last three wickets adding 69 runs, got Sri Lanka past 200 in an innings. But with 300 now a par score in ODI cricket, Sri Lanka knew it would take something special in the field to deny Pakistan.
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.
Hasan, as he'd done while taking three wickets in Pakistan's surprise win over South Africa, went wide of the crease to bowl Kusal Mendis (27) with a brilliant delivery angled towards the legside that cut away and clipped the top of off stump.
Two balls later, medium-pacer Fahim Ashraf struck on his ODI debut when Dinesh Chandimal played on for a duck. Mathews helped staunch the flow of wickets while keeping the scoreboard ticking over as Dickwella dug in.
All-rounder Mathews, fresh from an unbeaten fifty in Sri Lanka's shock seven-wicket victory over India, drove off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez for six, while Dickwella ended a sequence of 54 balls without a boundary by cover-driving left-arm spinner Imad Wasim for four.
Mathews, however, fell when an inside edge off Mohammad Amir gave the elated left-arm paceman his first wicket of the tournament. Dhananjaya de Silva, only recently arrived as a replacement for the injured Kusal Perera, managed just one before, squared up by Junaid, he edged to Pakistan's wicket-keeper captain Sarfraz Ahmed. At 162 for five, much now rested on Dickwella.
But he fell without another run on the board when a low inside edge off Amir was brilliantly held one-handed by a diving Sarfraz to end an 86-ball vigil And when Junaid had Thisara Perera well taken at slip by Babar Azam, Sri Lanka were 167 for seven off 35 overs.
Asela Gunaratne, dropped on two when Sarfraz lost control of a diving chance off Amir, chipped in with 27 before Ashraf (two for 37) ended the innings with four balls to spare when he caught and bowled Nuwan Pradeep.
Sri Lanka's 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.
Pakistan's semifinal 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. — Agencies
