Pakistan finished their five-match Super 12s journey with a cent per cent win record. They finished with a 72-run win against Scotland, who were hardly in the game during the chase. Scotland showed some fight with ball, but the 40-year-old Shoaib Malik ensured Pakistan scored 77 in last 5 overs to post a total completely out of reach of Scotland.
Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat. They went with an unchanged XI, while Scotland brought in middle-order batter Dylan Budge and spinner Hamza Tahir.
Tahir and Safyaan Sharif bowled well in the Powerplay. Pakistan reached only 35 in the Powerplay, and Tahir got Mohammad Rizwan for 15 in the 7th over. Fakhar Zaman failed again, falling to Chris Greaves for 8. However, Babar Azam completed his fourth fifty of the tournament off 40 balls. Mohammad Hafeez scored 31 in 19 balls, adding with Babar.
Babar and Shoaib Malik then added 30 in 2.3 overs before Babar finally fell to Greaves for 66. Malik took charge, slamming the joint-fastest fifty of the tournament, off 18 balls. Despite conceding 26 in the 20th over, Greaves finished with 2-43.
The Scottish batters failed to provide early acceleration against a superb Pakistan attack attack. They hit just three boundaries in the Powerplay, scoring only 24 and losing the wicket of the Kyle Coetzer. Richie Berrington top-scored for them with an unbeaten 37-ball 54. However, other than George Munsey (17) and Michael Leask (14), no other Scotland batter could reach double digits, and they finished on 117/6.
With 2-14, Shadab Khan was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf got a wicket apiece. Shoaib Malik was named Player of the Match.
With this win, Pakistan secured the top spot in the group and now will play the second semi-final on Thursday against Australia. England will meet New Zealand in the first semi-final a day before that.
Brief scores: Pakistan 189/4 (Babar Azam 66, Shoaib Malik 54*; Chris Greaves 2-43) beat Scotland 117/6 (Richie Berrington 54*, Shadab Khan 2-14) by 72 runs. Player of the Match: Shoaib Malik.