Kolkata: England, who were already knocked out of the ODI World Cup 2023, registered a consolation win at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. Putting up an all-round show, they defeated Pakistan by 93 runs in a lop-sided contest.
Pakistan was never in the chase as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Agha Salman top scored with 51 while no other batter showed spine as the team was bundled out for 244 inside 45 overs. For England, pacer David Willey (3/56) was the pick of the bowlers and was ably supported by Adil Rashid (2/55), Moeen Ali (2/60), Gus Atkinson (2/45) and Chris Woakes (1/27).
The win has helped England, who are the defending champions, to jump to the seventh spot and are in contention to qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to be played in Pakistan.
Earlier, the moment England won the toss and decided to bat, Pakistan's thin hopes of making the last four stages of the ICC World Cup 2023 were crushed. England, in their attempt to seal the Champions Trophy berth, put on enough runs — 337 for nine — on the board in their last group league match. Openers Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow gave a solid foundation to the English side putting on 82 runs for the first wicket before Malan was shown the door by Iftikhar Ahmed at his individual score of 31.
Then, Bairstow and Joe Root started consolidating the innings and added 132 runs for the third wicket, but Bairstow returned to the pavilion after making 59 off 61 deliveries laced with seven fours and a six. Joe Root made a 72-ball 60 with only four boundaries and relied on running between the wickets to collect as many runs as possible.
But flamboyant all-rounder Ben Stokes did the star turn and smashed 11 fours and two sixes for his 84. Stokes took 76 balls before he was bowled by left-arm seamer Shaheen Afridi. Captain Jos Buttler played a cameo of 18-ball 27 which included three hits to the fences and once he sent the ball over the fences. Aggressive batter Harry Brook also played a blitzkrieg of a 17-ball 30 peppered with two fours and an equal number of sixes.
Among the Pakistan bowlers, Harris Rauf was the most successful with three wickets for 64 runs while Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Junior bagged two wickets apiece.
Brief scores: England 337/9 in 50 overs (Ben Stokes 84, Joe Root 60, Jonny Bairstow 59; Harris Rauf 3/64, Shaheen Afridi 2/72, Md Wasim Junior 2/74) beat Pakistan 244 all out in 43.3 overs (Agha Salman 51, Babar Azam 28; David Willey (3/56)) by 93 runs.
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