In the eighth match of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, Sri Lankan batsmen charged the Pakistani bowlers with a pile of runs and gave the green shirts a target of 345 runs to win.
This is the highest score by any team against Pakistan in a World Cup match, the previous highest score against Pakistan in a World Cup was 336 runs scored by India in 2019.
Sri Lanka scored 344 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted 50 overs, Kusal Mendis scored 122 runs and Sadeera Samarawickrama scored 108 runs. On behalf of Pakistan, Hassan Ali dismissed 4 players.
This match is being played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad where Lincoln captain Dasan Shanaka invited captain Babar Azam to the field.
A change has been made in the national team today, Abdullah Shafiq has been included in the team in place of opener Fakhar Zaman.
Sri Lanka’s Innings World Cup 2023
Sri Lanka, who won the toss and batted first against Pakistan, did not have a good start to the innings. Kushal Perera was caught out by Hasan Ali for a total score of just 5.
Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis shared a partnership of 102 runs for the second wicket, but then Nissanka returned to the pavilion after scoring 51 runs.
After the fall of 2 wickets, Kaushal Mendis and Samara Wickrama charged the batsmen against the Pakistani bowlers put on attractive shorts all around the ground, and batted aggressively.
Meanwhile, Mendes also scored Sri Lanka’s fastest World Cup century, reaching 100 off 65 balls.
Mendis and Samara Wickrama put on a 111-run partnership before Mendes was dismissed for 122 off 77 balls, while newcomer Charith Asalanka returned to the pavilion on one run.
Apart from that, De Silva scored 25 runs, while Samara Wickrama, on the other hand, also scored her first century of ODI career. He played an innings of 108 runs off 89 balls.
It should be noted that this is the second match of both the teams in this event, in the World Cup 2023 Pakistan defeated the Netherlands by 81 runs in their first match while Sri Lanka was defeated by South Africa by 102 runs.