Match number 8 was played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These two Asian teams have played some magnificent cricket in the past few months and the fans were hoping for the same. Sri Lanka won the toss at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and asked Pakistan to field first. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera took the guard and Shaheen Shah Afridi was given the first over by the skipper. Sri Lanka scored 5 runs in the first and Hassan Ali came to bowl the second over and send Kusal Perera back to the pavilion for a duck. Fans would’ve thought that it would be a low-scoring game considering the conditions and a great start by Pakistan but what was about to happen was simply unbelievable.
Kusal Mendis joined Pathum Nissanka in the middle and the duo started building a partnership. Over after overs, these two looked in complete control as Pakistani bowlers were getting frustrated because the runs were flowing at a good pace. Pathum Nissanka was soon sent back to the pavilion by Shadab Khan. He scored 51 runs with the help of 7 boundaries and a six at a strike rate of 83.61. Sadeera Samarawickrama joined the in-form Kusal Mendis in the middle and then began the carnage.
It seemed like both Mendis and Sadeera were on a mission to break the backbone of Pakistan. What a great hitting display it was from both batters. They made a crucial partnership of 111 runs before Hassan Ali sent Kusal Mendis back to the pavilion for a very well-made 122 runs in just 77 balls with the help of 14 fours and 6 huge sixes. On the other hand, Sadeera Samarawickrama was playing the inning of his life. Before getting out on 108 runs in just 89 balls with the help of 11 fours and 2 sixes, he made sure that Sri Lanka was in a commanding position. These magnificent knocks from Sri Lanka’s top order helped them to set a target of 345 runs. Hassan Ali took 4 wickets whereas Haris Rauf bagged 2 crucial wickets.
Considering the reputation of Pakistan while chasing, the fans, spectators, and even the experts were assuming that it would be next to impossible for Pakistan to pull this off. Even Sri Lanka felt the same as they sent Imam-Ul-Haq and Babar Azam back to the pavilion on 12 and 10 runs, respectively. Mohammad Rizwan, who has saved Pakistan multiple times, came to rescue his team, mates, and the nation.
He along with Abdullah Shafique made a huge match-saving partnership of 176 runs. Abdullah Shafique got out on 113 runs with the help of 10 fours and 3 sixes. Mohammad Rizwan on the other hand, was standing as a metal door. He along with Saud Shakeel 31(30) and Iftikhar Ahmed 22*(10), helped Pakistan to win the game by 6 wickets with 10 balls spare. Mohammad Rizwan remained unbeaten till the end with 131 runs as he smashed just 8 boundaries and 3 sixes in his entire inning. This shows the sheer resilience and improvement of Mohammad Rizwan to get success in the longer format of the game.
For his scintillating knock, Mohammad Rizwan was awarded the Player of the Match. There’s no surprise that several records were broken in this game, some of the major ones are:
- Four Players Smashed Century in an ODI World Cup Match for the First Time Ever. Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama – 122 and 108 Runs (Sri Lanka) and Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan – 113 and 131* Runs (Pakistan).
- Pakistan Give Away Most Runs in a Match in their ODI World Cup History.
- Kusal Mendis Smashed the Fastest Hundred by a Sri Lankan in ODI World Cup History.
- Abdullah Shafique becomes the First Pakistani Player to Smash a Century on Indian Soil after 10 Years.
- Pakistan went on to Record the Highest-Ever Successful Run Chase in ODI World Cup history to beat Sri Lanka.
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