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The history has been made by Pakistan. They have completed a record-run chase in the history of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup to beat Sri Lanka today. They have won their consecutive second match in the ODI World Cup 2023 by chasing a record 344 runs against Sri Lanka.
As a result, Pakistan stand at 2nd with 4 points, the same as the topper New Zealand. On the flip, Sri Lanka have lost their second defeat in a row despite their best effort.
Match Report
Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka opted to bat first after winning the toss against Pakistan. But they lost an early wicket as opener Kusal Perera had gone duck in the 2nd over. However, the scenario started to change after his departure. Opener Pathum Nissanka made a brilliant partnership with Kusal Mendis, who added 102 runs together on the scoreboard.
Pathum Nissanka lost his wicket after scoring a half-century, but Kusal Mendis continued picking runs. He made another fantastic partnership of 111 runs with the following batter, Sandeera Samarawikrama. The two batters were very aggressive between the wickets and kept hitting boundaries. In addition, they both got a century for each. Kusal Mendis scored a devastating 122 runs only from 77 balls before losing the wicket, while Samarawickrama added a quick 108 runs from 89 balls. Relying on these two big scores, Sri Lanka ended their innings with a massive 344 runs.
Pakistan had to chase this massive target to win the game. The previous highest run chase was made by Ireland, who chased down 329 runs to beat England in 2011. Initially, it seemed impossible for Pakistan to chase this massive score today following their two early wickets. Pakistan lost two wickets, Imamul Haque and Babar Azam, in just 37 runs.
However, what happened afterward was unbelievable. Opener Abdullah Shafique strongly handled the disaster with the newcomer, Mohammad Rizwan. The two batters were ruling the Lankan bowlers, hitting boundaries. From 37 to 213, they made an unbelievable partnership of 176 runs, which was a basement for Pakistan.
Matheesha Pathirana broke their partnership as he picked up Abdullah Shafique in the 33.1 over. This opener scored a much-needed 113 runs from 103 balls.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan kept fighting for the badge. He made another fantastic partnership of 95 runs with Saud Shakeel. Although Shakeel lost his wicket after scoring 31 runs, Mohammad Rizwan didn’t stop. He smashed a brilliant century and remained not out against Sri Lanka. Relying on his unbeaten 131 off 121, Pakistan successfully chased down the target and made history in the ODI World Cup. Mohammad Rizwan won the Player of the Match award for his outstanding batting performance.
Every Player Had the Belief – Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan, the match winner of Pakistan, shared his feelings after the match. He said, “It’s always a proud moment for you when you perform for your country, and performances like that, when you win the match, is speechless for you.”
He added, “It was difficult because when you have a chase like that it’s always special for you. The thing for us is that when we went to the dressing room every player had the belief that we can chase that.”
