Mohammad Rizwan made a memorable hundred against Sri Lanka, rescuing Pakistan from the loss of two early wickets and battling repeated cramps to drive his side to a record World Cup chase.

With Sri Lanka having made 344, Pakistan were up against it from the off in their chase, and their task only increased in difficulty when Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam were dismissed early. That left Rizwan as their only senior batter left, and he joined the inexperienced Abdullah Shafique, opening in place of the out-of-form Fakhar Zaman.

The pair proceeded to put on 176 for the third wicket to put Pakistan in the driving seat, and while Shafique fell for 113, Rizwan carried on to finish unbeaten on 131, his side winning by six wickets with ten balls to spare.

However, while there was little the Sri Lankan bowlers could do to trouble him, the conditions presented their own challenge, with the heat and humidity causing many batters to struggle. Kusal Mendis, centurion in the first innings, was unable to keep wicket after being hospitalised with cramp, and Rizwan also struggled with the same.

The first blow came when he attempted to uppercut a high bouncer, eventually called wide, and collapsed holding his back. He received treatment but carried on, with more pain following two balls later. There was a double blow, Rizwan hitting a reverse sweepe into his helmet grille and being hit by cramp, and then an even more severe bout, when he hit six over extra cover before collapsing in his follow-through, with the physios coming out once more.

At this point, the umpires spoke to Rizwan, likely telling him that he would either have to retire hurt or continue batting without medical assistance. He continued to struggle, and could regularly be seen punching himself in the thigh to avert any recurrences, but managed to regather himself to make a brilliant century.

Pakistan’s chase was a record for a World Cup game, beating Ireland’s pursuit of 329 against England at Bangalore in 2011, and took them to two wins from two. Their next game comes against India on October 14.

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