World Cup 2023: Rizwan, Shafique propel Pakistan to record-breaking victory over Sri Lanka in Hyderabad

Pakistan pulled off the highest chase in ICC World Cup history on Tuesday with their six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Hyderabad.

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Mohammad Rizwan (134 not out) and Abdullah Shafique (113) led the way with scintillating centuries as Pakistan chased down the 345-run target set by Sri Lanka at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium with 10 deliveries to spare.

The Men in Green thus broke the record that was previously held by Ireland for their successful chase of 329 against England in Bengaluru in the 2011 World Cup.

Sri Lanka had never beaten Pakistan in the 48-year history of the ODI World Cup, and came close to snapping that winless run after centuries from Kusal Mendis (122) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (108) helped them post a challenging 344/9 on the board after opting to bat.

Seamer Dilshan Madushanka then struck early in the Pakistani chase, sending Imam-ul-Haq (12) and skipper Babar Azam (10) back to the dugout earlier and leaving Pakistan facing a big defeat. While a pull shot became Imam-ul-Haq’s undoing, skipper Babar failed again after trying to play one down the legside.

Rizwan and Shafique, who replaced the struggling opener Fakhar Zaman, however had other plans. Rizwan paced his innings superbly as he shared a match-winning stand with the 23-year-old Shafique to first resurrect their chase and then added another 95 runs with Saud Shakeel (31) as Pakistan romped home in 48.2 overs

For Shafique, his knock of 113 off 103 deliveries was even more memorable as it had come on World Cup debut.

Shafique, playing only his fifth ODI, showed great maturity as he and Rizwan steadied the ship, bringing up the team’s 100 in the 19th over. The pair looked for damage control initially but slowly picked up pace with the former scoring his fifty off 58 balls.

Soon, the 100-run stand between the two was up as Pakistan reached 138 for 2 at the halfway mark with Sri Lanka desperately looking for a breakthrough.

While Shafique deposited two sixes over midwicket and one straight down the ground, Rizwan too produced an inside-out drive off Wellalage for four and another cut shot behind point to score his fifty off 58 balls.

Once Shafique picked up his maiden ODI ton in the 32nd over, Rizwan smashed two sixes in two balls off Madhushanka to help Pakistan cross the 200-mark and put it in a position of strength.

A sensational diving catch by substitute Dushan Hemantha ended Shafique’s stay but Sri Lanka couldn’t make use of the opening.

Needing 132 runs off 102 balls, Rizwan hit two fours and a six before he fell down writhing in pain due to cramps. Despite the discomfort, the 31-year-old kept going and reached his third hundred in the 42nd over.

Rizwan and Saud Shakeel (31) brought the equation down to 62 off 48 balls with Sri Lanka too missing a few catches as 300 was up in the 44th over.

Rizwan clobbered a six over deep midwicket to take Pakistan closer but Maheesh Theekshana dismissed Shakeel but it was too late by then.

Needing 20 off 18 balls, Iftikhar Ahmed then smashed three fours off Matheesha Pathirana to dash the Islanders’ hopes.

Earlier, Mendis’ 77-ball 122 was the fastest hundred by a Sri Lankan in World Cup history, while Samarawickrama picked up his maiden ODI ton with an 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. He cracked 11 boundaries and two sixes in his 89-ball knock.

However, Pakistan pulled things back a bit at the back-end as Hasan Ali removed Charith Asalanka (3), Mohammad Nawaz removed Dhananjaya de Silva (25) and Afridi got rid of Dasun Shanaka (12) as Pakistan conceded just 18 runs between 30 to 35 overs.

Samarawickrama held the innings together to keep Sri Lanka on track. But with the pitch slowing down, Pakistan picked up two more wickets to limit them inside 350 in the end.

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).

With inputs from PTI