Kolkata (Web Desk): England defeated Pakistan by 93 runs in their last group stage match of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India on Saturday.
England set a target of 338 runs for Pakistan which the Green Shirts could not chase and were bowled out for 244 runs in 43.3 overs.
Agha Salman (51), Babar Azam (38) and Mohammad Rizwan (36) showed some resilience. The remaining batters disappointed in the run-chase.
Moeen Ali (2 wickets) and Adil Rashid (2 wickets) bowled beautifully and didn’t allow the willow holders to go for big shots.
David Willey rocked the Pakistan innings early with two quick wickets. Abdullah Shafique (0) and Fakhar Zaman (1) were back in the pavilion in three overs.
He added one more to his tally to complete 100 wickets in one-day internationals.
Earlier, England won the toss, opted to bat first against Pakistan and scored 337 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in stipulated 50 overs.
England got a flying start with their opening pair between Dawid Malan (39) and Jonny Bairstow (59), with adding 82 runs in 13.3 overs.
Joe Root (60) and Ben Stokes (84) then came in the middle and took the momentum toward them making a 132-run stand between them.
In the late overs, skipper Jos Buttler (27) Harry Brook (30) played cameos to put the team on a high to set the huge target.
Haris Rauf took the highest three wickets for Pakistan while each of Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Jr got two.
The Green Shirts needed to bowl out the defending champions and chase the target in 3.4 overs. However, the moment Jos Buttler-led side surpassed the 150-run mark, Pakistan practically got eliminated from the mega-event as they needed to surpass New Zealand in net run rate.
Pakistan made one change bringing in Shadab Khan to replace Hasan Ali while England kept the same team that beat the Netherlands by 160 runs in Pune three days ago.
India, South Africa, and Australia have already entered the semi-finals, while New Zealand are likely to join them in the last four.
Teams
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (capt/wkt), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Agha Salman, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
