Sarfraz Ahmed credits Pakistani bowlers for the semi-final win
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Sarfraz Ahmed has attributed Pakistan's 8-wicket win against England in the first semi-final to his bowlers who restricted the hosts to a paltry 211. Sarfraz reserved special praise for Hasan Ali's breathtaking performance in the game where the left-arm pacer claimed three important wickets.
"Credit goes to the bowlers. We really bowled well. Mohammad Amir did not play but Rumman Raees came and bowled really well," said Sarfraz after their semi-final clash against Pakistan.
The 30-year old then showered his praises particularly on Hasan Ali who spearheaded the Pakistani bowling attack with his figures of 3/35 which also marked his third consecutive three wicket haul in the tournament.
"He's very impressive, hopefully, he will do that in the final;. Whenever he comes on he's getting wickets."
Pakistan outclassed hosts England yesterday when they registered a landslide victory against the Three Lions to pull of a stunner and enter the finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy. Pakistan chased down the target of 212 with 13.1 overs to spare thanks to some impeccable batting by Fakhar Zaman (57) and Azhar Ali (76) who got their side off to a flyer.
Sarfraz then revealed that the support staff kept motivating and encouraging the team after their 124-run loss against India which helped keep the side in good spirits.
English captain Eoin Morgan threw light on the reasons his side slumped to an embarrassing defeat in the semi-finals which was in stark contrast to their hundred percent win record in the group stages.
"We did not adapt to conditions. Pakistan outplayed us. It was a used pitch but you should be able to play on all kinds of
"Pakistan did that well and played better. We did prepare, Pakistan bowled well but we didn't adjust and 200 isn't competitive, 250-270 would be a good score," said Morgan.
However, the English captain hinted that Pakistan's success was because they were already accustomed to the Cardiff pitch having played Sri Lanka on the same wicket in their previous game.
"It's a test... There wasn't too much wrong. We bowled okay but 200 was well under par.
"We continue to learn, everything we did was calculated, but Pakistan had played on the wicket previously and that helped. You have to adapt in knockout cricket, so it's an important lesson," he concluded.
