Pakistan failed to close big in the World Cup after falling 93 runs short of the target in their last game of the World Cup against England on Saturday.

The Green Shorts were all out on 244 in the 44th over as England clinched the victory by 39 runs.

Agha Salman was the only Pakistani batter to score fifty as skipper Babar Azam also got out without scoring big runs in a match that was crucial for Pakistan to win a big margin to qualify for the semifinal.

For England, David Willey took three wickets, while Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson, and Moeen Ali took two wickets each.

Earlier, England set a 338-run target for Pakistan in their final match of the World Cup campaign in India on Saturday as the defending champions dash the Green Shirts’s hopes of playing the semifinal.

But Babar Azam did not get the start they wanted in the run chase as Abdullah Shafique was out for a naught in the first over of the game.

England captain Joss Butler won the toss and chose to bat first in their last group-stage match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Pakistan.

The match between Pakistan and defending champion England was played at Eden Garden Stadium in Kolkata.

The pitch is a black-soil surface, with plenty of cracks, and a covering of live grass which points to a good batting surface. But it should aid the spinners more than the quicks, according to Dinesh Karthik.

England won the toss and bat. Pakistan is effectively out already or will be by the end of the Powerplay.

England confirm an unchanged XI. “Looks a good wicket, little dry, we want first use of it,” says Jos Buttler. “Nice to break a losing streak, want to leave India with our heads held high. An emotional day for David Willey, so we talked about trying to enjoy it and take it all in.”

Babar confirms he would have batted first. One change, Shadab in for Hasan Ali. “We are looking forward to Fakhar’s innings, we are enjoying his batting. We will try our best, and let’s see.”

England: 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Dawid Malan, 3 Joe Root, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jos Buttler (capt/wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Gus Atkinson, 11 Adil Rashid

Pakistan: 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Agha Salman, 9 Mohammad Wasim Jnr, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Haris Rauf