HYDERABAD: Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique hit centuries as Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in a record Cricket World Cup run chase here on Tuesday.
Pakistan chased down a target of 345 in 48.2 overs, with Rizwan scoring an undefeated 131 and Shafique making 113 to better the previous successful chase of 328 set by Ireland when they stunned England at the 2011 World Cup.
Pakistan had a sluggish start to the chase when Dilshan Madushanka got the key wickets in the powerplay as Imam pulled to fine leg and captain Babar Azam (10) edged a leg side flick to the wicketkeeper.
Shafique and Rizwan then began Pakistan’s second highest ever run-chase in an ODI as Sri Lankan bowlers like Matheesha Pathirana sprayed plenty of wayward deliveries with his slingy action to end up with 1-90.
Earlier, Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama slammed magnificent centuries as Sri Lanka dished out a dominating batting performance to post a challenging 344 for nine.
Mendis's 77-ball 122-run knock was the fastest hundred by a Sri Lankan in World Cup history, while Samarawickrama picked up his maiden ODI ton with a 89-ball 108 as the islanders posted their highest World Cup total against a Full Member.
The 28-year-old Mendis batted with absolute authority, clobbering six maximums and 14 fours. He starred in two 100-plus partnerships with Pathum Nissanka (51) and Samarawickrama to take Sri Lanka across the 200-mark in the 28th over.
Once Mendis was dismissed, Samarawickrama took the onus and paced his innings superbly, using his cuts and drives as Sri Lanka kept accumulating runs with ease at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
He cracked 11 boundaries and two sixes in his 89-ball knock.
For Pakistan, Hasan Ali (4/71) claimed four wickets and Haris Rauf (2/64) snapped two but overall it was a poor outing for the bowling unit, especially Shaheen Afridi (1/66 in 9 overs) and Shadab Khan (1/55 in 8 overs).
“It’s always a proud memory when you perform for your country,” Rizwan said as he spoke to the media after claiming his player of the match trophy.
“It was difficult because when you chase like that its always special. When we went to the dressing room every player believed we were going to chase that. This is a team game and we decided to go with a deep partnership.” Agencies
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