ICC Champions Trophy, Sloppy fielding let Sri Lanka down vs Pakistan: Angelo Mathews

Cardiff: Sri Lanka were in with a chance to tame Pakistan and make it to the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy. But two dropped catches of Sarfraz Ahmed off Lasith Malinga's bowling, while defending a low total, cost the Angelo Mathews-led unit a chance to seal a place in the final four as Pakistan went on to win the match by three wickets on Monday to set up a semifinal clash against the hosts England.

Sri Lanka, despite scoring 236 runs on what Mathews called a “funny wicket”, made sure Pakistan did not have it easy. However, Sarfraz and Mohammad Amir stayed put after the middle-order collapse and denied Sri Lanka a chance to seal a win.

While Sarfraz, leading from front, scored unbeaten 61, Amir chipped in with crucial as the duo put up –run stand for the eighth wicket to take Pakistan home.

Mathews rued sloppy fielding from his side for the three-wicket loss.

"It was a bit of a funny wicket. We hadn't got the runs on the board but we knew we could defend this. And the bowlers did their job, but we didn't hold on to our catches," he said.

Mathews, however, credited Pakistan for the win. "A see-saw kind of a game. Credit should go to Pakistan. They held their nerves and are deserved winners."

The Sri Lankan captain, however, backed his inexperienced team for trying to defend the modest total.

"Proud of the boys. Even though we only had 236 to defend, they gave it their all. Unfortunately, we missed a few chances. In a big tournament like this, they fought hard an inexperienced team. I'm proud of them," he said.

Sarfraz heaped praise on Amir for hanging on till the end as they shared a 75-run partnership for the eighth wicket.

"First of all, thanks to the Almighty. I can't believe it. Thanks to Amir, he played really well. I just told him to play his game and not to worry about the score. That if we took it to the 40th over we would win," Sarfraz said.

Sarfraz, who was adjudged Man of the Match, was dropped twice in the 39th and 41st over off Malinga.

"Drop catches are part of the game. Allah helped us and that's why Pakistan won today," he said.