Who Said What? – 8th ODI of the ODI World Cup 2023 against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

They ultimately achieved a renowned victory, with Pakistan recording the highest chase in ODI World Cup history!

At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, spectacular performances by Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan enabled Pakistan defeat Sri Lanka by six wickets. First to bat, the Lankan Lions completely destroy Pakistan’s bowling attack, with Kusal Mendis in charge. Mendis scored a brilliant century while batting at position three as Pakistan’s bowlers were completely lost. Sadeera Samarawickrama followed suit and also scored a hundred runs. Dasun Shanaka’s team scored 344 runs in the first innings thanks to several outstanding efforts.

Sri Lanka played the ball brilliantly right away. They were on their way to winning until Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan intervened and turned the tide of the match. They despatched Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam relatively early. The Lankan bowlers in the middle seemed completely lost as the pair each scored a century.

Discussion points for the match:

Batters from Sri Lanka making the rounds

Pakistan’s bowling unit was regarded as one of the best before the ODI World Cup. Nevertheless, Kusal Mendis managed to score 122 runs, and Sadeera Samarawickrama scored 108 runs, both of which contributed to the team’s enormous total. The Lankan batsmen displayed a great deal of character in opposition to a potent bowling attack, which is really encouraging for the squad moving forward.

Pakistan‘s X-Factors

Although Mohammad Rizwan has lately been the team’s X-factor, Babar Azam is still frequently referred to be the King. He has been outstanding and has scored 131* runs to help his team win. Abdullah Shafique, who also scored a century, has been a force to be reckoned with.

Variations in planning

The middle order hitters for Sri Lanka failed to capitalize despite a strong start. They casually threw away wickets, which is really concerning moving forward. That’s one area where Pakistan was successful in completing the task. Despite two early dismissals, Pakistan was able to maintain composure and was rotating the strike well, whereas Sri Lanka lagged behind.

Dasun Shanaka, the outgoing captain, said:

Mendis is in another zone right now; he got a great hundred here after playing an incredible knock in the practice game and scoring over 70 runs in the first match. Upcoming is more. Sadeera is performing excellently. We ought to have come in a little bit stronger than this. We needed more runs on this wicket by 20–25. They did a great job at bowling slower balls, so props to them. I shouldn’t put too much pressure on the bowlers. They have been given straightforward plans. We must also be concerned with the extras. We provided excessive frills. We also had our opportunities on the field, but we struggled today.

Babar Azam, the winning captain, said:

All praise goes to the boys for the way they increased the pressure on Sri Lanka and applied it, especially Abdullah and Rizwan. In the first 20 to 30 overs, we weren’t up to the task. Mendis deserves all the credit for his great play. To the bowlers’ credit, we had a strong finish. Very pleased with the way Shafique is playing. This World Cup is his first. He was in the nets and I noticed his desire to play, so I chose to play him. Rizwan and Abdullah aided us in the formation of the partnership.

Mohammad Rizwan, POTM, said:

Every time you perform for your country, it makes me happy. I’m currently at a loss for words. It was challenging. The problem was that when we returned after the bowling innings, everyone exuded confidence. Unfortunately, Babar Azam is gone. It’s a good song that helped us out. I instructed Shafique to proceed gradually. I occasionally had cramps, but other times I was fine (laughs).