ICC World Cup 2023: It’s a Punchy Pak show!

Pakistanrsquos dominance over Sri Lanka continues in the World Cup The brilliant thirdwicket duo of Abdullah Shafique 113 103 balls 10x4 3x6 and a limping gladiator Mohammad Rizwan 131 not out 121 balls 8x4 3x6 set up a thrilling sixwicket win over luckless Sri Lanka at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here in Uppal Rizwan stayed till the end to blow away the LankansWith Tuesdayrsquos victory it is eight out of eight now for Pakistan against the islanders in the World CupAlso ReadICC World Cup 2023 ENG vs BAN England defeats Bangladesh by 137 runsLankan guns fireThe victory overshadowed the sterling show of Kusal Mendis 122 77 balls 14x4 6x6 and Sadeera Samarawickrama 108 89 balls 11x4 2x6 the two wicket keeperbatters Lanka posted 344 for 9 and that was not good enough as Pakistan coasted home in 482 overs As many as 689 runs were scored in the matchThe Babar Azamled team also continued the winning streak with backtoback wins at this venue Yet again the Lankan bowlers faltered on a flat wicket to give away the match to Pakistan who thus avenged their Asia Cup defeat in emphatic fashion Their next destination is Ahmedabad where they run into their archrivals India Sri Lanka slipped into a second successive loss The game had several twists before Shafique and Rizwan swung the match in favour of PakistanLeftarm seamer Dilshan Madhushanka gave a perfect start for Lanka by removing ImamulHaq and the dangerous Babar Azam who was caught on the leg side by the eighth overAbdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan rallied Pakistanrsquos chase They provided a masterclass display with the willow in the run chase Drives and pulls galoreThey marvelled with their drives and pull shots to push the Lankans to a corner Rizwan gave another stupendous display The two added 176 runs in 156 balls A brilliant diving catch by substitute fielder Dushan Hemantha at point ended Shafiquersquos innings The 23yearold became the first Pakistani to score a century in this World Cup But there was a cause of concern for Pakistan when Rizwan suffered cramps The battling batter slammed a six before collapsing on the ground but went on to complete a stunning century For the third time there were four centurions in an ODIEarlier Mendis offered nothing less than a batting exhibition of the highest class in front of a 23000plus crowd Mendis who was fearless and adventurous tamed the famous Pakistani pace trio of Shaheen Afridi Hasan Ali and Haris RaufThe 28yearold who slammed a 42ball 76 in the losing cause against South Africa was lucky though when Imam grassed a sitter at point off Afridi The batter was on 18 But after that Mendis was at his ebullient bestMendis and opener Pathun Nissanka 51 built the Lanka innings with a 102run stand Pakistan bowlers wilted under pressure as Kusal made merry along with Samarawickrama The duo realised 111 runs in 69 balls Samarawickrama controlled the innings beautifully after Mendisrsquos departure to become the second centurion of the day He was decisive in his strokeplay during his cool and calculated innings Samarawickrama ensured a 300plus total for LankaHasan took four wickets but leaked 71 runs Afridi went for 66 while Rauf was hit for 64 runs as the Pakistan attack looked ordinaryBrief scoresSri Lanka 3449 in 50 overs K Mendis 122 S Samarawickrama 108 P Nissanka 51 H Ali 471 H Rauf 264 lost to Pakistan 3454 in 482 overs A Shafique 113 M Rizwan 131 S Shakeel 31 D Madushanka 260 by 6 wickets