Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 12th Match Group B at Cardiff, Jun 12 2017, ICC Champions Trophy

RESULT
12th Match Group B, Cardiff, June 12, 2017, ICC Champions Trophy
(44.5/50 ov, T:237) 237/7

Pakistan won by 3 wickets (with 31 balls remaining)

Player Of The Match
61* (79) & 2 catches
sarfaraz-ahmed
Match centre 
Scores: Sanjay Murari | Comms: Varun Shetty
Scorecard summary
Sri Lanka 236/10(49.2 overs)
3/43 (10)
Pakistan 237/7(44.5 overs)
3/60 (10)
50 (36)
1/48 (10)

6.45pm That's it from us today. What. A. Match. Sporadic displays of awesome skill, tucked in between long periods of ordinary cricket - that's the formula for an exciting cricket game. Two groups of players got it right today. And we hope you enjoyed how we called it. On behalf of Shashank and Sanjay - good night, folks. See you for the semi-final.

Semi-final line-up:
1: England v Pakistan at Cardiff, June 14
2: Bangladesh v India at Edgbaston, June 15

Sunny: "This predictably unpredictable Pakistan team has once again unpredictably gone on to win the match after a predictable collapse with some unpredictable batting from Amir. Great to see the lower order perform.

ABAE: "These situations are probably why Sarfaraz bats so low... Thank God they pulled through today. "

Sabbir Chowdhury: "This Champions Trophy has seen some of the memorable partnerships in ODI cricket. Today, we've seen a wonderful partnership which saw them home. Formidable!"

MIKE RAM: "Have to spare a thought for Malinga a Champion for SL. He had 3 dropped catches off his bowling and a few misfields. Had SL taken their catches they could have gone thru to the Semis. "

Sharmalie Wickr: "In all honesty, it was a game of who played less worse! My team just did not show up. #disappointed"

saamai: "2 flawed teams played a super flawed match. In the end the experience (being flawed for longer time) prevailed."

Ali Raza: "Thank God it's over. Lots of finger nails must be hurting. Ew!"

Mathews: A see-saw kind of a game. Credit should go to Pakistan. They held their nerves and are deserved winners. it was a bit of a funny wicket. We hadn't got the runs on the board but we knew we could defend this. And the bowlers did their job, but we didn't hold on to our catches. Proud of the boys. Even though we only had 236 to defend, they gave it their all. Unfortunately, we missed a few chances. In a big tournament like this, they fought hard an inexperienced team. I'm proud of them.

Sarfraz: First of all, thanks to the Almighty. I can't believe it. Thanks to Amir, he played really well. I jus told him to play his game and not to worry about the score. That if we took it to the 40th over we would win. Drop catches are part of the game. Allah helped us and that's why Pakistan won today.

Sarfraz is the Man of the Match.

6.30pm A yelling, screaming Sarfraz sprints towards Mohammad Amir and embraces him. Mickey Arthur, who was summoning all his spirituality for the last hour, leaps off his seat in the pavilion. We don't even know what Malinga's face looks like right now, but that won't be a hard guess, will it? Thisara Perera will be a haunted man. How do you live down something like this? A remarkable comeback from Pakistan where there never should have been one. But you can argue that Sri Lanka should never have been in the game after their own collapse. It was their tail that stretched the score and it was Pakistan's that snatched the victory.

44.5
4
Malinga to Sarfaraz, FOUR runs

he's done it! Sarfraz Ahmed has huffed and puffed and pushed and fought - and he hasn't done it perfectly - but he has dragged his team into the semi-final. The slower ball is dropped short and wide outside off stump and he waits for it to come on before ramping it to the third man boundary

44.4
2
Malinga to Sarfaraz, 2 runs

slower ball, low full toss at knee height, calmly tucked to bisect deep square and fine leg

44.3
2
Malinga to Sarfaraz, 2 runs

slower yorker, met on the full, flicked to deep square's right and back for the second

44.2
1
Malinga to Amir, 1 run

back of a length at off stump, gets on top of the bounce, opens the face to drop this to point's right

Forlorn, stretching his hamstring, is Malinga. Those eyes have seen happier days

44.2
1w
Malinga to Amir, 1 wide

bouncer...oh and it's too short, this is a wide

Farhad Aslam: "On 60th birthday of the greatest street fighter in cricket, another street fighter from Karachi is showing the glimpses of Miandad."

44.1
1
Malinga to Sarfaraz, 1 run

overpitched inswinger at the toes, clipped to deep square

Malinga. Back for one last heartbreak? Silly mid-on in place.

end of over 446 runs
PAK: 226/7CRR: 5.13 RRR: 1.83
Mohammad Amir27 (42b 1x4)
Sarfaraz Ahmed52 (75b 4x4)
Asela Gunaratne 5-0-19-0
Dhananjaya de Silva 1-0-3-0

Shahrukh: "Following updates during breaks in Taraveh and while I do this, everyone has their phone out for updates. Unpredictables they said, well said"

43.6
4
Gunaratne to Amir, FOUR runs

finds the cover boundary! This is thrown up full and wide outside off stump. He gets to the pitch and slams this through covers

43.5
Gunaratne to Amir, no run

this one skids past the inside edge and hits him on the pad, but he's outside the line

43.4
1
Gunaratne to Sarfaraz, 1 run

good length, middle stump, tapped to long-on with the full face

43.3
1
Gunaratne to Amir, 1 run

b>why would you run there?! Sarfraz is the luckiest man on earth right now, that's why. Amir just gets an inside edge on this good length ball. Would've been plumb. Midwicket runs in and can't hit the stumps

43.2
Gunaratne to Amir, no run

legcutter, good length outside off stump, poked to point with an open face

43.1
Gunaratne to Amir, no run

good length, floated in at off stump, forward block

Asela

end of over 433 runs
PAK: 220/7CRR: 5.11 RRR: 2.42
Mohammad Amir22 (37b)
Sarfaraz Ahmed51 (74b 4x4)
Dhananjaya de Silva 1-0-3-0
Suranga Lakmal 10-0-48-1

pavan: "Amir is playing gem of an innings rotating strike.. people too busy to notice amidst dropped catches."

42.6
1
Dhananjaya to Amir, 1 run

waits for this full one to land, goes inside-out, gets a single to long-off

42.5
1
Dhananjaya to Sarfaraz, 1 run

back of a length at off stump, makes room, opens the face and runs this to short third

42.4
Dhananjaya to Sarfaraz, no run

good length at middle stump, tapped on the bounce to short midwicket

42.3
1
Dhananjaya to Amir, 1 run

good length at off stump, forward push to extra cover's right, single

42.2
Dhananjaya to Amir, no run

good length at leg stump, pushed to midwicket

42.1
Dhananjaya to Amir, no run

good length, middle stump from around the wicket, defended down the pitch

Dhananjaya, slip in place...

end of over 4211 runs
PAK: 217/7CRR: 5.16 RRR: 2.50
Sarfaraz Ahmed50 (72b 4x4)
Mohammad Amir20 (33b)
Suranga Lakmal 10-0-48-1
Lasith Malinga 9-2-41-1
41.6
Lakmal to Sarfaraz, no run

offcutter, full at middle stump, driven straight to mid-on

41.5
4
Lakmal to Sarfaraz, FOUR runs

lovely! He wouldn't be out there on another day, but today he's played his best shot to bring up fifty at a crucial stage. Picks the offcutter, leans into this, drives firmly past mid-off

Best performances - batters
Spike Graph
Wagon Zone
N Dickwella
73 runs (86)
4 fours0 six
Productive shot
flick
15 runs
0 four0 six
Control
78%
Sarfaraz Ahmed
61 runs (79)
5 fours0 six
Productive shot
flick
16 runs
1 four0 six
Control
92%
Best performances - bowlers
Junaid Khan
O
10
M
3
R
40
W
3
ECO
4
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
1W
LEGOFF
LHB
1W
1W
Hasan Ali
O
10
M
0
R
43
W
3
ECO
4.3
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
3W
LEGOFF
LHB
Match details
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
TossPakistan, elected to field first
Series
Season2017
Player Of The Match
Match numberODI no. 3888
Hours of play (local time)10:30 start, First Session 10:30-14:00 Interval 14:00-14:45, Second Session 14:45-18:15
Match days12 June 2017 - day (50-over match)
ODI debut
Umpires
TV Umpire
Reserve Umpire
Match Referee
PointsPakistan 2, Sri Lanka 0
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Pakistan Innings
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ICC Champions Trophy
Group A
TEAMMWLPTNRR
ENG33061.045
BAN31130.000
AUS3012-0.992
NZ3021-1.058
Group B
TEAMMWLPTNRR
IND32141.370
PAK3214-0.680
SA31220.167
SL3122-0.798