ISLAMABAD: England defeated Pakistan by an impressive 93 runs in their last group match being played at Kolkata’s Edens Gardens on Saturday (today), with Green Shirts crashing out of the tournament.
Batting second and chasing England’s 338-run target, Pakistani batters kept losing their wickets as the English side restricted the Green Shirts to 244 runs as the national side was bowled in the 44th over.
During the chase, Pakistan lost early wickets with openers Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman being sent back to the pavilion by David Willey in the first three overs, leaving their side 10-2 in 2.4 overs.
The Men in Green got a bit of a breakthrough as skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan provided some stability to the team but both were after 22.3 overs as Pakistan were four down for 100 runs.
Salman Ali Agha top-scored for the struggling Pakistani side by scoring 51 runs. Shaheen Shah Afridi contributed to 26 runs down the batting line.
Haris Rauf and Wasim smashed sixes at the end as the two combined for 53 runs but their heroics were not enough in front of the massive target set up by the English batters.
Earlier in the day, England — while batting first — managed to post 337 runs on the scoreboard courtesy of a solid batting display by their top order.
Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow provided their side with a dominant start as they scored 80 runs within 13 overs without a loss. The former was the first batter to depart for the pavilion after becoming the victim of Iftikhar Ahmed for 31 runs.
Malan was soon followed by Bairstow as the right-handed aggressive batter ended up losing his wicket for 59 runs.
However, after losing two wickets, Joe Root and Ben Stokes built a crucial 132-run partnership that helped Jos Buttler’s men get in a comfortable position.
Stokes top-scored for his side with 84 runs courtesy of 11 fours and two sixes. The left-handed batter was on his way to score his consecutive World Cup century but was bowled by Shaheen Afridi.
Root scored 60 runs before becoming the victim of Afridi.
However, Buttler (27 off 18) and Harry Brook (30 off 17) provided their side with important runs late in the game that helped them set a 338-run target.
For Pakistan, Haris — who became the bowler to concede the most runs in a single World Cup edition — took three wickets, while Afridi and Wasim Jr bagged two and Iftikhar could only pick one.
Pakistan ended their World Cup campaign with four wins out of nine matches and finished at the fifth position in the points table with eight points.
