Subhradeep
- Oct 11, 2023
- 4 min read

CWC 2023, PAK vs SL: Rizwan & Shafique hundreds; Hasan’s 4-wicket haul help Pak win

CWC 2023, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka: Mohammad Rizwan-Abdullah Shafique's 176-run stand, Kusal Mendis' 122 and Sadeera Samarawickrama's 108 are top performances. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets and move to second place in points table.

CWC 2023, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka_ Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique added 176-run for 4th wicket for Pakistan_ Walking Wicket (Photo_ ©therealpcb_Twitter) — Rizwan, Shafique added 176-run for 4th wicket for Pakistan (Photo_ ©therealpcb_Twitter)

Brief Scores: PAK 345/4 (Rizwan 131*, Shafique 113, Madushanka 2/63) beat SL 344/9 (Mendis 122, Samarawickrama 108, Hasan 4/71) by six wickets.

Player of the Match: Mohammad Rizwan (131* runs in 121 balls)

Inform Pakistan locked horns with Sri Lanka, who lost their opening encounter by a huge margin, for the eighth game of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Sri Lanka never beat Pakistan in the 50-over World Cup, losing seven of their eight games, with one match getting abandoned.

Talking point: Pakistan needs a better bowling show

For two consecutive games, Pakistan’s bowling has missed the fire and energy in it. Even in their last game against the Netherlands, the pacers looked rusty, as has been their speedster Shaheen Afridi, who, for back-to-back games, has been inconsistent. With big games coming up in the coming week, the bowling department needs to step up quickly.

Pakistan recorded the most successful ODI World Cup run chase

On winning the toss, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka opted to bat first, expecting the ball to turn in the evening. While Pakistan dropped Fakhar Zaman to include Abdullah Shafique, Sri Lanka got boosted with the return of Mahesh Theekshana.

Decided to bat first, Sri Lanka lost Kushal Parera early before the 102-run second wicket stand helped them march onto 181/2 at the halfway mark. The 111-run third wicket partnership fired them to 283/4 in 40 overs, but the Pakistan pacers came back well to pull the run rate back as Sri Lanka finished on 344/9 in their allotted 50 overs.

Pakistan found themselves under tremendous pressure, losing a couple of early wickets at 37/2 in the eighth over. The record 176-run third wicket stand between Mohammad Rizwana and Abdullah Shafique carried them to 228/3 in 35 overs. The 95-run fourth wicket stand took them to 308/4 before Rizwan’s 131* got them over the line with six wickets in hand.

The top three performances from the game between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in CWC 2023

CWC 2023, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka_Kusal Mendis smashes fastest World Cup hundred for Sri Lanka against Pakistan _ Walking Wicket (Photo_ ©ICC_Twitter) — Mendis smashes fastest World Cup hundred for Sri Lanka (Photo: ©ICC/Twitter)

Mendis showed full potential with a classic 77 ball 122 run knock

Kusal Mendis has been the backbone for Sri Lanka with the bat for a long time and has shown his expertise. Coming into the middle during the second over, Mendis crunched Shaheen Afridi over mid-wicket for a four before slashing him over third man for a six. With a boundary against Mohammad Nawaz over long-on, Mendis reached his fifty in 40 balls.

He smashed Afridi over three back-to-back boundaries before celebrating his third ODI hundred in just 65 balls. Mendis nailed Hasan Ali for two consecutive sixes over deep mid-wicket and long-off using his fluent stroke-playing skill.

He was finally dismissed on 122 in 77 balls with the help of 14 fours and six over boundaries to now have 3413 ODI runs in 111 innings.

Samarawickrama displayed the game held one end with 108 run knock

Coming in the 18th over, Sadeera Samarawickrama started with a boundary, cutting Shadab Khan through third man for a boundary before pulling Haris Rauf over deep square leg for a six. In Mendis’s presence, he was doing the second fiddle job.

He reached his fifty in 43 balls. With the dismissal of Mendis, he held one end and kept on managing the game situation. He swept Nawaz over backward square leg for a four before driving Ali over the cover for the same result.

With a single, he notched up his maiden ODI century in 82 balls before being dismissed on 108 in 89 balls, shouldering on 11 fours and two sixes. He now has 746 ODI runs in 22 innings.

CWC 2023, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka_ Abdullah Shafique scored hundred against Sri Lanka_ Walking Wicket (Photo_ ©therealpcb_Twitter) — Shafique scored his maiden ODI hundred (Photo: ©therealpcb/Twitter)

Composed Shafique-Rizwan weathered the storm with a record 176-run stand

Coming in place of Fakhar, Shafique showed great composure in the chase. After taking a few balls at the start, he glanced Shanaka over mid-wicket for two boundaries before Rizwan joined him at 37/2. Shafique used his feet to crack Matheesha Pathirana over a deep backward square leg for a six as Rizwan pulled Dunith Wellalage over mid-on for a boundary.

Rizwan lofted Wellalage over extra cover for a four, while Shafique, with a four, notched up his maiden ODI century in 97 balls. He managed to smash Dilshan Madushanka over extra cover for a boundary. With the dismissal of Shafique on 113 in 110 balls with 10 fours and three sixes, the 176-run third wicket stand came to an end.

Rizwan pulled Dhananjaya through mid-wicket and drove Pathirana over extra cover for two boundaries. He made his way to his third ODI century and remained on 131* to have 1892 ODI runs in 67 innings now.

Statistical highlights from Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, CWC 2023

The 102-run second wicket stand between Mendis and Pathum Nissanka is Sri Lanka’s highest 2nd wicket stand against Pakistan in ODI World Cups.
The 111-run third wicket stand between Mendis and Samarawickrama is Sri Lanka’s highest 3rd wicket stand against Pakistan in ODI World Cups.
Mendis (65 balls) now has scored Sri Lanka’s fastest ODI century in ODI World Cups, going past Kumar Sangakkara (70 balls) in 2015.
Samarawickrama’s 108 is the third-highest score for Sri Lana at number 4 in ODI WCs.
Imam Ul Haq becomes the joint second fastest (67 innings) to reach 3000 ODI runs.
344/9 is the third-highest total for SL in WC & and the highest against Pakistan at this biggest stage.
The 176-run third-wicket stand between Rizwan and Shafique is Pakistan's second-highest partnership (any wicket) in WCs.
Pakistan’s 345/4 is the highest-ever successful World Cup run chase by any team, going past Irelan’s 329/7 against England in 2011.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Standings

Points Table scenario & what’s to come

Pakistan moves to second position with four points at NRR of +0.927. India will take on Afghanistan on October 11 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.