Sparkling Sarfraz helps Pakistan set quarter-final against Aussies

ADELAIDE: A determined Sarfraz Ahmed sparkled with a century — Pakistan’s first at the World Cup since 2007 — as Misbah-ul-Haq’s men advanced to a quarter-final against co-hosts Australia after an emphatic seven-wicket victory against Ireland at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Sarfraz, whose return to the playing XI has coincided with Pakistan’s resurgence at the tournament, provided them with the ideal platform to build their run chase on after their pacers had shot out Ireland for 237 in a must-win Pool ‘B’ clash for both teams.

West Indies had put themselves in contention for a quarter-final berth from Pool ‘B’ following their victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Napier earlier on Sunday and Pakistan and Ireland went into the game knowing that defeat would end their World Cup journey.

Irish skipper William Porterfield hit a valiant 107 but left-armer Wahab Riaz, who picked three wickets, along with fellow seamers Rahat Ali and Sohail Khan who picked two apiece kept Ireland, who won the toss and elected to bat, in check with a disciplined display of fast bowling.

Sarfraz, who finished unbeaten on 101, led Pakistan from start to finish and set the tone for the chase as he added 120 runs with fellow opener Ahmed Shehzad (63) to give the team their best start in the tournament.

Drafter into the team for the crucial Pool ‘B’ game against South Africa last week following the team’s struggle to find a solid opening partnership in their first four games, Sarfraz made 49 in that match whilst snaring six catches behind the wicket to spark life into Pakistan’s seemingly-faltering campaign Down Under.

His century on Sunday was the first for Pakistan at the World Cup since Imran Nazir’s 160 against Zimbabwe in the 2007 tournament in the West Indies.

Pakistan reached the target with nearly four overs to spare but the match ended in a bit of farce with Sarfraz struggling to get to his century with Umar Akmal (20 not out) blocking at the other end to help him reach the milestone.

Umar played out five dot balls when five more runs were needed so that Sarfraz, then on 97, could reach his century. He reached his maiden One-day International ton with a four off Paul Stirling’s next over before allowing Umar to hit the winning runs in the subsequent over.

With the win, 1992 champions Pakistan finished third in Pool ‘B’ behind India and South Africa and will play Australia — the runners-up in Pool ‘A’ — here at the Adelaide Oval on March 20 for a place in the semi-finals.

The victory also helped Pakistan avenge their humiliating defeat to Ireland in Jamaica at the 2007 World Cup which saw them crash out of the tournament at the group stage.

It was a disappointing end to the tournament for Ireland, the last surviving non-Test nation in the fray who won three of their six matches — including victories over West Indies and Zimbabwe, but were made to pay dearly for a miserable batting display in which only Porterfield stood out.

They finished level on points with the West Indies but the Caribbean side advanced to the quarter-finals on a better net run rate.

Porterfield, who was dropped on 99, contributed nearly half of his team’s total with 11 boundaries and a six before he was dismissed in the 39th over by Sohail when his mistimed drive was latched onto by a rushing Shahid Afridi.

Wicket-keeper Gary Wilson’s 29 was the next highest score before the Ireland were bowled out off the last ball of the innings having been reduced to 134-4 by the 30th over.

Wahab led Pakistan bowlers with figures of 3-54 while Umar claimed four catches — the fourth time a Pakistan fielder had done so.

Sarfraz and Shehzad came into life after a slow start, targeting spinner George Dockrell as soon as he came into the attack, as Pakistan finally seemed to have found an answer to their opening woes.

Shehzad seemed set to match Sarfraz with a hundred but fell in the 23rd over trying a pull off Stuart Thompson and Ireland’s hopes were raised further when Haris Sohail was run out 11 balls later attempting to steal a cheeky single. But Misbah’s ever-so-calming influence worked as he made 39 in a third-wicket stand of 82 with Sarfraz who added gloss to Pakistan’s victory with a solid century.

Scoreboard

IRELAND:

W.T.S. Porterfield c Afridi b Sohail Khan 107

P.R. Stirling lbw b Ehsan 3

E.C. Joyce c Umar b Wahab 11

N.J. O’Brien c Umar b Rahat 12

A. Balbirnie c Afridi b Haris 18

G.C. Wilson c Wahab b Sohail Khan 29

K.J. O’Brien c Sohaib b Wahab 8

S.R. Thompson c Umar b Rahat 12

J.F. Mooney c Umar b Wahab 13

G.H. Dockrell run out 11

A.R. Cusack not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-10) 12

TOTAL (all out, 50 overs) 237

FALL OF WKTS: 1-11, 2-56, 3-86, 4-134, 5-182, 6-189, 7-204, 8-216, 9-230.

BOWLING: Sohail Khan 10-0-44-2 (2w); Ehsan Adil 7-0-31-1 (2w); Rahat Ali 10-0-48-2 (2w); Wahab Riaz 10-0-54-3 (3w); Shahid Afridi 10-0-38-0; Haris Sohail 3-0-20-1 (1w).

PAKISTAN:

Ahmed Shehzad c Joyce b Thompson 63

Sarfraz Ahmed not out 101

Haris Sohail run out 3

Misbah-ul-Haq hit wkt b Cusack 39

Umar Akmal not out 20

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-13) 15

TOTAL (for three wkts, 46.1 overs) 241

FALL OF WKTS: 1-120, 2-126, 3-208.

DID NOT BAT: Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Ehsan Adil, Rahat Ali.

BOWLING: Cusack 10-1-43-1 (3w); Mooney 9-1-40-0 (3w); Thompson 10-0-59-1 (3w); Dockrell 6-0-43-0; K.J. O’Brien 10-0-49-0 (4w); Stirling 1.1-0-5-0.

RESULT: Pakistan won by seven wickets.