Bangladesh and Pakistan deserve the semi-final spot says Kumar Sangakkara

Former Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman, Kumar Sangakkara, in his column acknowledged the fact that Bangladesh and Pakistan deserve a place in the semi-finals even though no one expected them to reach the knockout stages of the ICC event.

After losing to India in the first match comprehensively, Pakistan displayed a lot of character to win against the South Africans. The bowling lineup of Pakistan was responsible for the upset against the Proteas and the same pace battery was responsible for restricting the Sri Lankans to a moderate score

The dodgy batting line up of Pakistan somehow managed to chase down the total set by the Sri Lankans to confirm their berth in the semi-finals. On the other side, Bangladesh was in no position to qualify for the semis until the interval of their match against Australia.

After persistent rains forced them to share points with the Australians, Bangladesh was precariously placed at 33-4 before Shakib and Mahmudullah stitched a historical partnership to eliminate New Zealand from the tournament. After the might of English batting eliminated the Australians, Bangladesh progressed to the semi-finals.

Sanga critical of Sri Lankan performance

“A Sri Lanka versus Pakistan virtual quarter-final was always likely to be an intriguing encounter with an unpredictable outcome – in the end, Pakistan scraped through, thanks to some woeful lapses in the field from Sri Lanka and a really gutsy 61 not out from Sarfraz Ahmed,” wrote Kumar Sangakkara in his column for the ICC.

“With better fielding, a problem for a while now, Sri Lanka might well have conjured up a surprise victory for that weak position. Instead, it is left ruing very costly mistakes in very critical moments. I certainly did not expect Bangladesh and Pakistan to qualify, but credit to them for doing so. They deserve their places,” concluded the Sri Lankan great. England faces Pakistan today at Cardiff to determine the first finalist of the tournament.