ENG vs PAK | Twitter reacts as England bow out of World Cup with handsome 93-run win over Pakistan

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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England practically sealed their passage to the 2025 Champions Trophy with an NRR-boosting triumph that also officially eliminated Pakistan from semi-final contention. On a slow surface, England's batting juggernaut finally got going to post a target of 339 before their rivals crumbled for 244.

Opting to bat first in their last match of the campaign, England's openers finally delivered in tandem to race away to 72 for no loss in the first powerplay. Even after Dawid Malan eventually departed for 31, Jonny Bairstow motored on to register just his second half-century of the tournament before Haris Rauf made it 108/2 in the 19th over. Middle-order talismans Joe Root and Ben Stokes, for once spared the horrors of facing the new ball as has been the norm in the World Cup so far, made the most of their opportunity in the form of a run-a-ball partnership of 132 with Stokes playing the aggressor. The Test skipper struck 11 boundaries and two maximums in his 76-ball 84 while Root accumulated 60 and even though the two departed in quick succession, the stage was set at 257/4 with seven and a half overs to go. Rapid cameos from Jos Buttler and Harry Brook followed while retirement-bound David Willey provided the final flourish to ensure England ended on 338/9, despite Rauf's three-wicket haul and Mohammad Wasim's double blow in the final over.

The southpaw made his farewell game even more momentous by dismissing Abdullah Shafique on just the second ball of the innings and then having Fakhar Zaman caught at mid-off in his next over. The responsibility once again fell upon Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's shoulders to steady the ship, their attempt resulting in a 51-run stand. However, with the required run rate quickly getting out of hand, the duo had to force matters and consequently found themselves back in the pavilion for scores of 38 and 36 respectively, leaving Pakistan reeling at 100/4. With the pitch now worn, the Kookaburra began to rag great amounts, setting up the stage for Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid to further the demolition. Both scalped two wickets each even as Salman Agha Ali singlehandedly provided resistance with a brave 51, eventually ending up as Willey's 100th ODI wicket. Pakistan's pace trident provided some fireworks at the end, Haris Rauf being the pick of the lot with his 23-ball 35, but it was only enough to limit the margin of loss to 93 runs. The banter never stops!!

Rizwan x Babar

LOL

Enjoy your flight

Bye bye

World Champions

What an actor

DJ was the main culprit

Wow!!

Exact reason is here!

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