Published: Jun 23, 2019, 11:14 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 23, 2019, 11:14 PM (IST)
Haris Sohail and Babar Azam starred with the bat and Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir shared eight wickets amongst themselves as Pakistan returned to winnings ways, beating South Africa by 49 runs in the 30th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Electing to bat, Pakistan scored 308 after Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman put up a -run stand for the opening wicket. Sohail, who replaced Shoaib Malik in the playing XI, and Babar then made sure Pakistan go past 300-run mark, with the left-hander scoring 89 and Babar scoring 69.
Having played six games, Pakistan now have two wins against their name in addition to three losses and a washout and are now on the spot with five points against their name.
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The Faf du Plessis-led side, meanwhile, suffered their fifth defeat in seven matches – having won one and one being a washout – in the World Cup 2019 and are languishing at the ninth spot with three points against their name.
With this defeat, South Africa’s chances of making it to the top four are over while a win on Sunday has given Pakistan a ray of hope of still making it to the semifinals.
Cricket World Cup 2019, PAK vs SA: As it happened
Pakistan will now take on New Zealand (on June 26), Afghanistan (on June 29) and Bangladesh (on July 5).
The Proteas, meanwhile, will face Sri Lanka (on June 28) and Australia (on July 6) in their last two matches of the league stage.
