Pakistan crush Ireland to reach World Cup quarter-finals (AFP)

Sarfraz Ahmed scored Pakistan’s first World Cup century since 2007 to lead his team into the quarter-finals with a seven-wicket romp past Ireland at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. Left-armer Wahab Riaz took three wickets and fellow-seamers Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali snared two apiece as Ireland, electing to bat, were shot out for 237 despite skipper William Porterfield’s 107. The modest target was overhauled in 46.1 overs as Sarfraz returned unbeaten on 101 to emulate Imran Nazir’s 160 against Zimbabwe in Jamaica in 2007, the last hundred hit by a Pakistani batsman in a World Cup. The match ended in a farce as Umar Akmal played out five dot balls when five more runs were needed so that Sarfraz, then on 97, could reach his century.