England openers Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan put on 82 runs for the first wicket against Pakistan in their final ODI World Cup 2023 encounter.
New Delhi: Pakistan are knocked out of the ODI World Cup 2023 semifinal contention after England crossed the 100-run mark while batting first in their final league match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday. While England were already knocked out of the last four contention, Pakistan still had a mathematical chance to make it to the last four.
With Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan shinning after England opted to bat first, Pakistan’s semifinal hopes disappeared as they need to chase down England’s total with 284 balls to spare to take over New Zealand on Net Run Rate for a fourth-place finish, which is next to impossible.
That means, India finish at the top of the table and will take on New Zealand at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on November 15. South Africa face Australia in the other semifinal on November 16. Earlier, Pakistan brought in Shadab Khan in place of Hasan Ali while England remained unchanged.
Batting first, England made a strong start with Malan and Bairtsow (59) putting on 82 runs in 14 overs. Pakistan got back into the game with two quick wickets but century stand between Joe Root (60) and Ben Stokes (84) put then past 300-run mark. At the end, England posted 337/9 in 50 overs.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka became the only heavyweight team to miss out on a place in 2025 ICC Champions Trophy qualification as they finished ninth in the table. India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and England qualify for Champions Trophy.