Hyderabad falls in love with Rizwan, Shafique and Pakistan while Malan's century and Topley's four wickets help England demolish Bangladesh
Pakistan 345 for 4 (Rizwan 131*, Shafique 113, Madushanka 2-60) beat Sri Lanka 344 for 9 (Mendis 122, Samarawickrama 108, Hasan Ali 4-71) by six wickets
Sri Lanka were served a harsh lesson in the realities of modern ODI cricket, as Pakistan hunted down a target of 345 – the highest-ever chase in a World Cup – with six wickets to spare. Leading their charge were tons from Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan, which trumped a pair of centuries by Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, to make it two wins from two for Pakistan.
Rizwan, who suffered from at times seemingly debilitating cramps – the physio came and looked at him twice – for the last 15 overs or so of the chase, remained unbeaten in the end on a 121-ball 131. Together with Shafique – who himself recorded the highest score by a Pakistan debutant at a World Cup with his 113 off 103 – he had put together a third-wicket stand worth 176 off just 156 deliveries.
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Match analysis: When Hyderabad loved Rizwan (and Pakistan) back
Around the time Mohammad Rizwan was approaching his century, shortly after limping and cramping in excruciating pain, the DJ got the crowd going with the familiar 'Jeetega Bhai Jeetega' chants. They completed it with 'Pakistan jeetega'. The moment wasn't lost upon anyone. Even Babar Azam, seated on the steps of their pavilion fixated on the action, allowed himself a chuckle. It was unlike anything.
Hostility towards the Pakistan team in Hyderabad? Not a chance. Fans came in from far and wide, some drove 850km from Bhopal, to watch 'King Babar' play. On their part, the Pakistan team resonated the same love and warmth.
Defending champions England produced an emphatic response to defeat in their opening World Cup match, crushing Bangladesh by 137 runs in Dharamsala to get their tournament up and running. A total of 364 for 9 was underpinned by Dawid Malan's maiden World Cup hundred – and fourth this calendar year – before the returning Reece Topley ripped through the top order as Bangladesh faltered in the foothills of what would have been a record chase.
Asked to make the running at the picturesque HPCA Stadium, backdropped by the Himalayas, England showed an appetite for the climb. Malan and Jonny Bairstow set off at a steady canter in recording their first century stand as openers, before the former was joined by Joe Root in a clockwork-smooth partnership of 151 in 19.3 overs to give England a formidable platform going into the latter stages – at which point they stumbled against Bangladesh's death-bowling smarts, Shoriful Islam and Mahedi Hasan claiming regular wickets.