Pakistan beats Sri Lanka with Cricket World Cup record chase

Mohammad Rizwan and opening batter Abdullah Shafique have led Pakistan to a record run chase in a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka at the Cricket World Cup.

Chasing a target of 345, Rizwan played with a pulled right calf and scored an unbeaten 131 off 121 balls, while?Shafique, replacing out-of-form Fakhar Zaman, scored 113 to help Pakistan reach 345-4 with 10 balls to spare.

Their twin tons overshadowed the effort of Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis (122 off 77) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (108 off 89), who both notched their maiden ODI centuries to push Sri Lanka’s total to 344-9 on a day when bowlers got walloped from both sides on a perfect batting pitch.

Pakistan’s big chase surpassed Ireland’s previous Cricket World Cup record , in which it made 7-329?to beat England in 2011.

Pakistan stretched its World Cup record against Sri Lanka to 8-0 and has four points from two victories. Pakistan has?beaten both the qualifiers ? the Netherlands and Sri Lanka ? going into the marquee game against rival India in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

“Always proud when you perform like that,” Rizwan said after a knock that featured eight fours and three sixes.

“It was difficult and when you chase like that, it’s always special. Every player in the dressing room had the belief we can chase that.”

Sri Lanka has had plenty of bowling problems at the World Cup in the absence of injured star leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.

The team also lost its opening game against South Africa, which scored 428 runs against the Sri Lankans.

Mendis and Samarawickrama showed plenty of aggression in the middle overs with a 111-run third-wicket stand off 69 balls, hitting 25 fours and eight sixes in between them.

But captain Dasun Shanaka said the team “should have finished stronger”, which might have secured its first win of the World Cup.

“The way the wicket behaved, we were 20-25 runs short. ? I can’t ask too much from the bowlers,” he said.? (ABC)