Sri Lankan hearts were broken by a valiant 75 run stand for the 8th wicket between Sarfaraz Ahamed and Mohammed Amir in the last Group stage game of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Here’s the game in pictures captured by ThePapare.com’s Sameera Peiris in Cardiff..
1 Determined Dickwella
After getting starts in the two previous games, Niroshan Dickwella put his head down to play a mature innings in this make or break game. He made 73 off 86 deliveries.
2 Pressure tells
A splendid spell of bowling by Mohammed Amir and Junaid Khan saw Sri Lanka go from 160/3 to 167/7 in a matter of minutes.
3 A maiden international scalp
Fahim Ashraff picked up his 1st wicket in international cricket when he had Dinesh Chandimal bowled for a duck.
4 Soldering on
With Sri Lanka in trouble, Asela Gunaratne was left to resurrect the innings. He made 27 vital runs, batting with the tail.
5 Lakmal’s batting prowess grows
Suranga Lakmal made a career best 26 off 34 deliveries to bolster Sri Lanka’s total.
6 New Kid does it again
Playing just his second game, Fakhar Zaman made a 36 ball half century to give Pakistan just the start they needed in their chase of 238.
7 Fight back
Sri Lanka staged a fight back to leave the game in the balance with Pakistan on 162/7
8 Mali starts the charge
Malinga picked up the prized scalp of Shoaib Malik and put Sri Lanka firmly in the driving seat.
9 Captain,Oh, Captain
Sarfaraz Ahamed seized the day, making the most of the opportunities handed to him as he guided Pakistan to a unforgettable win.
10 End of the road
With the loss, Sri Lanka were left to lick their wounds and board the plane back to Colombo.
