Champions Trophy 2017: Pakistan stun England to reach final

There's a reason why Pakistan were being termed as 'unpredictable' going into the Champions Trophy and they proved it today.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Pakistan stunned favourites England by registering a resounding eight-wicket win to enter the finals of the ongoing Champions Trophy here at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Wednesday.

Chasing a paltry score of 212, Pakistan crossed the line for the loss of two wickets and 12.5 overs to spare.

Their chase was spearheaded by Fakhar Zaman (57) and Azhar Ali (76), who laid a solid foundation by sharing a 118-run opening stand.

Earlier, England, who reached 300-plus scores in one-day internationals more than any other team in the past 12 months, struggled with the bat against a disciplined bowling performance of the Sarfraz Ahmed-led side and were bundled in the last over of their innings for just 211 runs.

Pakistan bowlers chipped away at the wickets at regular intervals and aided by some good fielding, curtailed England for what was their lowest total in the tournament.

Four of the English batsmen got starts with Joe Root (46), Jonny Bairstow (43), Ben Stokes (34) and Eoin Morgan (33), but all failed to convert their starts into big scores.

Hasan Ali, who was adjudged the Man of the Match, was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers as he picked up three wickets giving away just 35 runs in his quota of 10 overs.

He was well supported by left-arm pacer Junaid Khan and Rumman Raees who both scalped two-two wickets and kept the pressure on the English batsmen.

Pakistan will now play the winner of the second semi-final between India and Bangladesh to be played tomorrow in Birmingham.

If India wins tomorrow's match, one can expect a cracker of a final between the two arch-rivals on Sunday at The Oval.

-ANI