Pakistan thrashed Sri Lanka by 7 wickets with 55 balls to spare in the fourth One-Day International (ODI) at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. In the process they took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series with one match to go. The win was historic, for this was Pakistan s first bilateral win on Sri Lankan soil since 2006. Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka to 256 for 9 despite Lahiru Thirimanne s 90, Mohammad Irfan and Anwar Ali sharing 5 of the 9 wickets to fall. Ahmed Shehzad responded with 90 and Mohammad Hafeez with 70, thereby sealing the match for Pakistan. Shoaib Malik finished the match in a flurry of sixes. READ: Pakistan dominate with all-round show, clinch series with seven-wicket win
In the process Pakistan inched closer to a berth in Champions Trophy 2017. They moved up to 90.4 a complete 2 points clear of West Indies 88.4.
Teams |
Matches |
Points |
Rating |
Australia |
38 |
4,889 |
128.7 |
India |
51 |
5,875 |
115.2 |
New Zealand |
42 |
4,710 |
112.1 |
South Africa |
49 |
5,360 |
109.4 |
Sri Lanka |
59 |
6,025 |
102.1 |
England |
47 |
4,592 |
97.7 |
Bangladesh |
34 |
3,253 |
95.7 |
Pakistan |
48 |
4,340 |
90.4 |
West Indies |
35 |
3,094 |
88.4 |
Ireland |
11 |
594 |
54.0 |
Zimbabwe |
33 |
1,420 |
43.0 |
Afghanistan |
15 |
618 |
41.2 |
With Bangladesh having sealed a place, Pakistan and West Indies have to fight for the eighth spot in the tournament. Apart from Bangladesh, the other teams to have qualified are Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and England. Given their ratings, Ireland, Zimbabwe, or Afghanistan do not have a chance of making it to the final eight.