Concluding their World Cup 2023 campaign with consecutive victories, England secured a win over Pakistan in their final group stage encounter in Kolkata on Saturday.
Chasing a target of 338 runs, Pakistan were bowled out for 244 in 43.3 overs. David Willey removed Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman early as Pakistan were reduced to 10/2 in the 338-run chase at Eden Garden. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan did some rebuilding, before Gus Atkinson removed Babar for 38(45). Soon, Moeen Ali struck in the 23rd over to remove Rizwan (36). David Willey ended up taking a three-wicket haul also his 100th ODI wicket. Other than Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman, he removed Salam Ali Agha (51). Mohammad Wasim Jr. (16*) set up a final wicket partnership with Haris Rauf (35), but Chris Woakes struck in the 44th over to remove the latter as England won the match.
In the first inning of the match, England displayed a commendable performance by choosing to bat against Pakistan. Ben Stokes, coming off a century in the previous game continued his excellent form and contributing a impactful 84 runs off 76 balls before being dismissed by Shaheen Afridi. Despite Afridi dropping Stokes when he was at 10, the pair went on to form a 100-plus partnership with Joe Root for the third wicket. Root, completing a half-century, was eventually out for 60(72) against Shaheen, who claimed two wickets in his full quota of overs.
Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan provided a strong start for England, adding 82 runs for the first wicket before Iftikhar Ahmed broke the partnership in the 14th over. Malan, scoring 31(39), departed, and Bairstow completed his half-century but was later removed by Haris Rauf for 59(61).
Towards the end, Harry Brook and Jos Buttler made noteworthy contributions, with Brook adding 30 runs off 17 balls and Buttler scoring 27 off 18.
With this defeat Pakistan ended their World Cup 2023 journey with disappointing loss. Pakistan ranked 5th with 8 points in the points tables with 4 wins and 5 defeats.
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