Amir, Junaid hurt Lanka; Pakistan need 237 to seal semis spot

Finally, it was Sarfraz Ahmed, who played a resolute captain’s knock to take Pakistan home.

Somehow, he survived two dropped catches and marshalled fast bowler Mohammad Amir as they knocked off the last 75 runs in 15 overs to propel Pakistan into the semifinals for the first time since 2009.

Earlier, a terrific bowling performance by Pakistan saw them bundle Sri Lanka out for 236 in 49.2 overs – Junaid Khan (3-40) and Amir (2-53) particularly impressive, at one stage sharing four wickets for six runs in a devastating 23-ball spell.

Chasing 237 to book a spot in the semi-finals, Pakistan were off to a solid start before quick wickets dented their progress.

But such promise rapidly evaporated as Pakistan lost wickets cheaply, not helping themselves through some poor shot choices.

Frustration grew among Pakistan players with Mathews and Dickwella raising a resolute 78-run stand for the fourth wicket in 16.1 overs.

But in terms of overall bilateral meetings, Pakistan won 84 ODIs out of 147 it played against Sri Lanka which in returned bagged 58 victories.

“We dropped three catches (Azhar Ali was put down in the first over), but there has been a genuine effort from the boys and from the support staff, and we’ve expressed a lot about our fielding and we’ve talked about it a lot”.

Pakistan need 227 to reach semi-final of ICC Champions Trophy.

Debutant Fahim Ashraf further shaved off the Lankans’ top order by bagging his first ODI scalp, sending Dinesh Chandimal back in the hut for a duck. With 300 now looking a reasonable target, Pakistan were desperate to find a breakthrough and it was premier bowler Mohammad Amir who came up with the goods, beating Mathews for pace as he dismissed the Sri Lankan captain for 39.

But then the innings began to crumple.

Opener Niroshan Dickwella hit a 86-ball 73 but Sri Lanka suffered a collapse, losing four wickets for six runs to slip from 161/3 to 167/7 in 35 overs.

A 46-run partnership for the eighth wicket between Asela Gunaratne (27 off 44 balls) and Suranga Lakmal (26 off 34 balls) took Sri Lanka past the 200-run mark but that wasn’t enough in the end. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, right now having a net run-rate of -0.879.

Kapugedera was then ruled out with a knee problem, and replaced for Sri Lanka’s shock victory over India by Danushka Gunathilaka, only for Perera to be forced off mid-innings at The Oval on Thursday with a hamstring injury.