Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Highlights, ICC World Cup 2023: Rizwan, Shafique slam tons in Pakistan's record World Cup chase

Dilshan Madushanka to Babar Azam, Full again and going across, outside off, Babar Azam shoulders arms and lets the ball go.

Dilshan Madushanka to Babar Azam, FOUR! Babar Azam is up and running! Full and swinging into the pads, Babar Azam allows the ball to come to swing and brings his wrists into play. Clips it wide of mid-wicket for his first boundary. 

The Pakistani skipper, Babar Azam walks out to bat at number 3.

Dilshan Madushanka to Imam-ul-Haq, OUT! IN THE AIR AND GONE! Dilshan Madushanka draws first blood and this is a very good catch by Kusal Perera! Dilshan Madushanka bends his back and bangs it into the wicket, Imam-ul-Haq hangs on the back foot and swivels to fetch it from outside off. Gets hurried into the shot and fails to get on top of the bounce as well. Gets a top edge that goes high in the Hyderabad night sky towards fine leg where Kusal Perera settles under the skier and completes the catch by getting low in front. 

Dilshan Madushanka to Abdullah Shafique, A bit too straight, back of a length, at the hips, Abdullah Shafique helps it down to fine leg for a run. 

Dilshan Madushanka to Imam-ul-Haq, Shaping away, on a good length, on off, Imam-ul-Haq runs it down to third man for a single.

Maheesh Theekshana to Imam-ul-Haq, Short and straying down leg, Imam-ul-Haq allows the ball to come to him and nudges it behind square on the leg side. Charith Asalanka in the deep, puts in a dive to his left and saves a run for his team. Imam-ul-Haq brings up 3000 ODI runs, 2nd fastest Pakistani batter to reach the landmark. 

Maheesh Theekshana to Imam-ul-Haq, This is bowled short, turning away, on off, Imam-ul-Haq whips it from the crease but straight to mid-wicket. 

Maheesh Theekshana to Abdullah Shafique, Angling into the pads, short in length, Abdullah Shafique tucks it in front of mid-wicket for a single.

Maheesh Theekshana to Abdullah Shafique, Fuller and quicker, on middle, Abdullah Shafique lunges forward and works it towards mid-wicket.

Maheesh Theekshana to Abdullah Shafique, Beaten! Short and just outside off, Abdullah Shafique hangs back to defend. The ball keeps straight and beats him on the outside edge. 

Maheesh Theekshana to Abdullah Shafique, Bowls the carrom ball, full and on off, Abdullah Shafique plays for the turn and pushes it off the outer half of the bat to mid off.

Dilshan Madushanka to Imam-ul-Haq, Goes wide of the crease this time and hurls it in the channel on off, on a good length, Imam-ul-Haq is happy to leave the ball alone once again.

Dilshan Madushanka to Imam-ul-Haq, Pulls his length back a bit and bowls it outside off, a bit of away movement, Imam-ul-Haq lifts his bat and lets the ball pass.

Dilshan Madushanka to Imam-ul-Haq, FOUR! First boundary for Imam-ul-Haq and Pakistan! Serves it full again, angling in, on off, Imam-ul-Haq presents the full face of the bat and drives it to the right of mid on for a boundary. 

Dilshan Madushanka to Imam-ul-Haq, Fuller this time, around off, Imam-ul-Haq presses forward and pats it back to Dilshan Madushanka. 

Dilshan Madushanka to Imam-ul-Haq, Back of a length now, on off, Imam-ul-Haq camps back and defends it towards point.

Dilshan Madushanka to Imam-ul-Haq, Starts off on a shortish length, shaping away, outside off, Imam-ul-Haq has a feel for the delivery and withdraws his bat at the last moment.

Pace into the attack as Dilshan Madushanka is brought into the attack from the opposite end.

Maheesh Theekshana to Imam-ul-Haq, Short and sliding on the pads, Imam-ul-Haq nudges it through square leg and takes a single.

Maheesh Theekshana to Abdullah Shafique, Full again and curving in, on middle, Abdullah Shafique drives it down to long on for a run.

Maheesh Theekshana to Abdullah Shafique, Slanting in, full and on off, Abdullah Shafique blocks it out off the front foot.

Maheesh Theekshana to Abdullah Shafique, Full delivery, at the stumps, Abdullah Shafique knocks it back to the bowler.

Maheesh Theekshana to Imam-ul-Haq, Imam-ul-Haq is away as well! Tossed up, on middle, Imam-ul-Haq lunges forward and clips it wide of mid-wicket. Gets it to the left of mid on. A bit of mixup between the two batters for the third run. The throw from the deep is not the best towards the keeper. He flicks the ball towards the keeper but does not hit. Abdullah Shafique would have been in trouble had the ball hit the stumps. 

Maheesh Theekshana to Abdullah Shafique, Abdullah Shafique and Pakistan are underway! Starts with a loosener, low full toss, swinging in, on middle, Abdullah Shafique drives with a straight bat to long for a single. 

We are back for the chase. The umpires are on the field. Dasun Shanaka is giving some last-minute instructions to his team as they are seen in a huddle along the boundary rope. Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique stride out to open the batting innings for Pakistan as they begin the journey to the target. Sri Lanka introduces spin early on in the innings as Maheesh Theekshana will have the new ball in hand and is raring to go. Let's go...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Right then, that was an amazing first innings and we saw both teams dominating each other during different phases of the game. The Lankans have managed to put 344 on the board courtesy of centuries from Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama. Hasan Ali's 4-wicket haul helped Pakistan to put the pressure on the batters. Will Pakistan manage to chase down its mammoth total or will the Lankan bowlers prevail? We will find out soon. Grab a cup of coffee and join us back for the chase.

One of the two centurions for Sri Lanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama is in for a chat. He says that he is really happy since it was his maiden ODI hundred. Credits Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis for the way they batted. Shares that his plan was to bat positively and give the strike to Mendis. Adds that it was a great partnership between them. Mentions that the wicket was good in the first few overs. Adds that the ball started gripping in the last few overs. Feels that once the ball gets old, taking the pace off will be a good option.

Pakistan had a very strong start to the innings by taking Kusal Perera's wicket off Hasan Ali's bowling. However, the bowlers couldn't maintain the pressure after that and allowed a few partnerships to be made by the Lankan batters. Shadab Khan stepped up and took a very crucial wicket of Pathum Nissanka. The bowlers were again dominated by the Lankans in the middle phases. Hasan Ali was the main attraction as he clinched the wickets of both centurions and gave crucial breakthroughs. After the dismissal of Dhananjaya de Silva, it was all about the bowling. Hasan Ali came to the rescue with a crucial 4-wicket haul along with Haris Rauf providing a strong end with his 2 wickets. A strong display at the end of the innings helped restrict the Lankans to 344 runs.

It's a very good score put on the board by Sri Lanka, it might be just enough to give a challenge to Pakistan to chase it down. At the start of the innings, Kusal Perera couldn't hold up to Hasan Ali's bowling, but after that, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis put pressure back on the bowlers which favored Sri Lanka and allowed the batters to be aggressive. Pathum Nissanka was sent back to the pavilion just as he was setting the tone of the game, but Kusal Mendis carried on and played an exceptional innings. Sadeera Samarawickrama supported him throughout the innings and kept the scoreboard going. Both, Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama reached their centuries and made sure that their team reached a total of 344. 

What an entertaining first innings it was, thanks to the amazing batting display by the Lankan batters who took apart the bowlers. This game saw two centurions the first one being Kusal Mendis followed by a maiden ODI ton by Sadeera Samarawickrama. A special knock by both of them along with a fifty by Pathum Nissanka helped Sri Lanka reach a very respectable total of 344.

Haris Rauf to Dunith Wellalage, OUT! IN THE AIR AND GONE! A wicket to end the innings then! Haris Rauf tries to go full but ends up bowling a low full toss, on off, Dunith Wellalage tries to slice it away on the off side. Does not get the distance nor he is able to find the gap. Hits it straight down the throat of Abdullah Shafique at deep point who makes no mistake. Haris Rauf has his second wicket and Sri Lanka end up with 344 on the board! 

Haris Rauf to Matheesha Pathirana, Takes pace off and serves it fuller, on off, Matheesha Pathirana dabs it towards backward point for a single.

Haris Rauf to Matheesha Pathirana, Low full toss, outside off, Matheesha Pathirana tries to get bat to ball but misses out.

Haris Rauf to Matheesha Pathirana, Another well-executed yorker, on off, Matheesha Pathirana keeps it out on the off side.

Matheesha Pathirana is the new batter in.

Haris Rauf to Maheesh Theekshana, OUT! BOWLED'EM! Haris Rauf gets into the act now! Nails the yorker to perfection, on the off stump line, Maheesh Theekshana backs away to go through the off side. Fails to get his bat down in time and sees his off stump uprooted. Sri Lanka lose their eight wicket now. 

Haris Rauf to Maheesh Theekshana, Swing and a miss! Back of a length, slower as well, outside off, Maheesh Theekshana goes for a swipe across the line but connects with thin air. 

Pakistan will have one fielder less outside the 30-yard circle due to a penalty for maintaining a slow over rate.

Shaheen Afridi to Dunith Wellalage, FOUR! That is a shot and a half! A bit full and at the stumps. Dunith Wellalage gives himself room and thumps it towards wide long off for a boundary. 

Shaheen Afridi to Maheesh Theekshana, Leg bye! Into the wicket, at the batter, Maheesh Theekshana tries to duck underneath the delivery. Fails to do so and wears the ball on his elbow guard as the ball rolls on the leg side for a single. 

Shaheen Afridi to Maheesh Theekshana, An optimistic shout for LBW but turned down! Full and honing in at the pads, Maheesh Theekshana gets beaten for pace and fails to clip it away. Gets pinged on the front pad but the ball was going down leg. 

Shaheen Afridi to Dunith Wellalage, Just outside off, on a length, Dunith Wellalage walks across to the off side and scoops it over the keeper. The batters settle for a single. 

Shaheen Afridi to Dunith Wellalage, On a length, outside off, Dunith Wellalage opens the face of his bat and steers it wide of third man for a couple of runs.

Shaheen Afridi to Dunith Wellalage, Searing yorker, on middle, Dunith Wellalage keeps it out on the off side.

Maheesh Theekshana is the new batter in.

Hasan Ali to Sadeera Samarawickrama, OUT! EDGED AND GONE! Hasan Ali continues to deliver for Pakistan! Pace on now and on a shortish length, on middle, Sadeera Samarawickrama shapes to use the pace of the delivery and tries to reverse paddle it fine on the off side. The ball skids on and catches the gloves and Mohammad Rizwan behind the wickets, does the rest. Hasan Ali pats Sadeera Samarawickrama on the back to applaud him for his knock. 

Hasan Ali to Dunith Wellalage, Angling into the pads, on a good length, Dunith Wellalage tucks it through square leg for a run.

Hasan Ali to Sadeera Samarawickrama, Rolls his fingers over the ball and bowls it on a length, on off, Sadeera Samarawickrama gets deceived by the lack of pace and chips it wide of the bower. Hits it towards long off for a single.