Pakistan’s exit from ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is confirmed as England defeated Pakistan by 93 runs at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. After a disaster at last England managed their third win. The Babar Azam-led side was officially eliminated from the tournament after it failed to chase down the target of 338 runs in 6.4 overs which was an impossible task. Defeating Pakistan, England qualified for Champions Trophy tournament.
England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat first in the game. Ben Stokes (84), Jonny Bairstow (59) and Joe Root (60) scored half centuries to power England to 337/9 runs after 50 overs. Malan (31) and Bairstow gave the English side a good start. Then Ben Stokes and Joe Root played in a 132-run partnership. At last Buttler (27 off 18 balls), Harry Brook (30 off 17 balls) and Willy (15 off 5 balls) took England to 337. Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf clinched 3 wickets to restrict some runs from the English batters. Though Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Jr. got 2 wickets each, they gave too many runs.
Batting second Pakistan lost Abdullah Shafique (0), Fakhar Zaman (1) early. Babar Azam (38) was also too far from his touch. Mohammad Rizwan (36), Saud Shakeel (29), Agha Salman (51) tried but were unable to built a solid partnership to concur the victory. Agha Salman is the highest scorer from tha Pak side. The whole Pakistan batting collapse at 244 in 43.3 overs. David Willey picked 3 wickets while playing his last ODI match. He also awarded as player of the match. Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson, Moeen Ali got 2 wickets each of them.
England qualified for Champions Trophy 2025, while Pakistan are officially out of the semi-finals race. It’s going to be India vs New Zealand at Wankhede, while South Africa will take on Australia at Eden Gardens in the semifinals. England have had a shocker of a tournament. But at least they get to finish it with back to back wins, giving a glimpse of what they are actually capable of. England skipper Buttler said, “Nice to put in a good performance and finish that way. Ultimately it’s been a disappointing tournament.” Pakistan Captain Babar Azam said, “Very disappointed with the performance. If we had won SA match, could’ve been a different story.”