CARDIFF: Skipper Sarfraz Ahmad and his charges rewrote history books when they thrashed favourites England by eight wickets in the semifinal to qualify for the final of the ICC Champions Trophy for the very first time here on Wednesday. Chasing a modest target of 212, unpredictable Pakistan’s batting clicked when their openers laid the foundation for victory. Azhar Ali (76) and Fakhar Zaman (57), with their dazzling knocks, ended unbeaten tournament hosts England’s slim hopes of victory with an opening stand of 118. Pakistan finished at 215 for the loss of two scalps. Pakistan will now face defending champions India in Sunday’s final at the Oval if their archrivals defeat Bangladesh in Thursday’s second semi-final at Edgbaston. Left-hander Fakhar hit a six – something England didn’t manage in their entire innings – when a top-edge off fast bowler Mark Wood flew safe. Fakhar completed a 49-ball fifty to follow his 50 against Sri Lanka. Azhar, who pulled all-rounder Ben Stokes for six, followed him to the landmark in 68 balls. On a Cardiff ground where Pakistan chased more than 300 to beat England in an one-day international last year, Pakistan completed Wednesday’s pursuit with a mammoth 77 balls to spare when Mohammad Hafeez pulled Stokes for four.
“Credit goes to the bowlers and the batters who finished it very well,” Sarfraz said in his post match comments. “We adapted to the conditions, we knew if we restricted them we could easily chase it down. Every game is a knockout game and I told my boys to play their game and not worry about the result,” he added. India thrashed Pakistan by 124 runs in the teams’ Champions Trophy tournament opener at Edgbaston on June 4. But three days later Pakistan returned to the Birmingham ground to make a mockery of the rankings by beating South Africa in a bottom versus top clash. Pakistan then held their nerve in a three-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Cardiff on Monday – a virtual quarter-final for both sides.
Earlier, Pakistan bowled and fielded tightly to restrict the hosts to a paltry total of 211 all out and the lowest-ranked team in the tournament knocked off the runs in style with a massive 12.5 overs to spare. Paceman Hasan Ali returned excellent figures of three for 35 in 10 overs. It was a major disappointment for England, who won all three group matches in their bid to claim a first global 50-over title and had beaten Pakistan in 12 of their last 14 one-day internationals. They collapsed, however, on a sluggish pitch from 128 for two in sunny conditions which normally favour batsmen and the bowlers failed to repair the damage. “One thing we didn’t do was adapt to conditions, which I thought Pakistan did extremely well,” England captain Eoin Morgan said. “Full credit to them, they outplayed us on this wicket. 211 wasn’t a good score. 250/270 would have been.” England didn’t manage a single individual fifty in their innings. Joe Root top-scored with 46 and Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow managed 43. Rumman Raees took two for 44 on his ODI debut. England lost their last eight wickets for just 83 runs. Jos Buttler (4), Moeen Ali (11) and Adil Rashid (7) fell quickly and Stokes, one of the most destructive batsmen in the world, failed to hit a boundary in a scratchy 34 as the Pakistan bowlers dominated. Morgan, who made 87 in a win against Australia last time out, fell for 19 when he charged down the pitch to a wide ball from Hasan and edged behind.
Amir sidelined due to back spasm: Mohammad Amir was ruled out of their semi-final against England. Amir was sidelined with a back spasm, having been a key figure in Pakistan’s win against Sri Lanka in Cardiff on Monday. The left-arm quick took two for 53 and also starred with the bat, making an unbeaten 28 in a match-clinching unbroken stand of 75 with captain Sarfraz (61 not out) that clinched a three-wicket win. Amir was replaced by fellow left-arm seamer Rumman Raes, making his ODI debut. The 25-year-old Rumman, originally summoned as an injury replacement for Wahab Riaz after the fast bowler suffered a tournament-ending ankle injury against India, has represented Pakistan in two Twenty20 Internationals to date. The 25-year-old has also taken 123 wickets in 42 first-class matches. Pakistan made another change bringing in leg-spinning all-rounder Shadab Khan in place of Fahim Ashraf, a pace-bowling all-rounder. Meanwhile England dropped struggling opener Jason Roy, whose four in the 40-run group win over Australia meant he’d averaged just 6.37 from eight one-day international innings this season, with a mere two double-figure scores. Roy was replaced by Test wicket-keeper Bairstow, who has scored three fifties in his last four ODI innings.