Pakistan continued their winning run in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, as they chased down a mammoth target of 345 against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Opener Abdullah Shafique and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan scored brilliant centuries to guide Pakistan to a six-wicket victory with 10 balls to spare. This was Pakistan's second win in two matches, while Sri Lanka suffered their second consecutive defeat.
### Sri Lanka post 344/9 after Mendis-Samarawickrama show
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first on a flat pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. They got off to a shaky start, as Kusal Perera was dismissed for a duck by Shaheen Afridi in the first over. However, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis steadied the innings with a 97-run stand for the second wicket. Nissanka scored a fluent 51, while Mendis went on to smash a blistering 122 off just 77 balls, hitting 14 fours and six sixes. He reached his century in 64 balls, the fastest by a Sri Lankan in World Cup history.
Mendis was well supported by Sadeera Samarawickrama, who scored his maiden ODI hundred. The duo added 181 runs for the third wicket, the highest partnership for any wicket by Sri Lanka in World Cups. Samarawickrama played a classy knock of 108 off 89 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes. He was dismissed by Hasan Ali in the 40th over, triggering a collapse for Sri Lanka. They lost six wickets for 66 runs in the last 10 overs, as Pakistan's bowlers made a comeback. Hasan Ali was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets for 71 runs. Sri Lanka finished with 344/9 in their 50 overs, their highest total against Pakistan in ODIs.
### Shafique-Rizwan masterclass powers Pakistan chase
Pakistan faced a daunting task of chasing 345, the highest successful chase in World Cup history. They lost Imam-ul-Haq early, as he was caught behind off Maheesh Theekshana for 12. Babar Azam also fell cheaply, as he was trapped lbw by Dilshan Madushanka for 10. Pakistan were reduced to 39/2 in the ninth over, and needed a big partnership to revive their hopes.
That partnership came from Shafique and Rizwan, who put on a record-breaking stand of 224 runs for the third wicket. Shafique, playing only his fifth ODI, showed great composure and skill, as he scored his maiden ODI hundred. He hit 10 fours and three sixes in his 103-ball 113, becoming the second youngest Pakistani to score a World Cup century after Saleem Malik.
Rizwan was equally impressive, as he played another anchoring innings for Pakistan. He scored his fourth ODI hundred, and his second in World Cups. He remained unbeaten on 131 off 121 balls, with eight fours and three sixes. He was named the Player of the Match for his match-winning knock.
Shafique was dismissed by Maheesh Pathirana in the 38th over, but Pakistan were well on course for the chase by then. Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed played some quick cameos to finish off the game in style. Pakistan reached their target in 48.2 overs, with four wickets in hand. This was their highest successful chase in ODIs, and the second highest in World Cups.
### What they said
Babar Azam (Pakistan captain): "It was a great team effort. The way Abdullah and Rizwan batted was outstanding. They showed great character and temperament. We knew it was a good batting pitch, and we had to back ourselves to chase it down. I'm very happy with our performance."
Dasun Shanaka (Sri Lanka captain): "We had a good start with the bat, but we couldn't finish well. We lost too many wickets in the end overs. We also didn't bowl well in the powerplay, and gave away too many boundaries. We have to improve our bowling and fielding in the next matches."
Mohammad Rizwan (Player of the Match): "I'm very thankful to Allah for this opportunity. I'm enjoying my batting at the moment. Abdullah played very well today, and we had good communication between us. We knew we had to keep rotating the strike and hit the bad balls. It was a great chase by our team."
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