15 June,2017 04:16 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Kashmiri separatist leader and chairman of the Hurriyat Forum Mirwaiz Umar Farooq posted a tweet congratulating Pakistan after their victory England in the ICC Champions Trophy's first semi-final match at Cardiff
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Pic/AFP
Kashmiri separatist leader and chairman of the Hurriyat Forum Mirwaiz Umar Farooq posted a tweet congratulating Pakistan after their victory England in the ICC Champions Trophy's first semi-final match at Cardiff.
Mirwaiz tweeted, "As we were finishing taraweeh, could hear the fire crackers bursting, well played team #Paksitan (sic). Best of luck for the finals!"
Pakistan trounced England by eight wickets to qualify for the finals of the Champions Trophy. The team will now face the winner of the semi-final match between India and Bangladesh, which will take place in Birmingham on Thursday.
Pakistan chased a score of 212 with 12.5 overs to spare after losing two wickets. Azhar Ali (76 off 100) and Fakhar Zaman (57 off 58) shared an 118-runs stand off 127 balls ensuring Pakistan's comfortable win.
Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez (L) and Pakistan's Babar Azam celebrate after winning the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final cricket match between England and Pakistan in Cardiff. Pic/AFP
Number three Babar Azam played sensibly for his unbeaten 38 off 45 balls and so did Mohammad Hafeez (31 off 21), who hit the winning boundary to spark wild celebrations.
Pakistan surprised many by bouncing back brilliantly from their heavy loss against India in the tournament opener to beat South Africa and Sri Lanaka enroute to the last four.
They have always been an unpredictable side but England, the only undefeated in the league stage, were expected to get past the sub-continent squad with little difficulty.
Locals at Kupwara, Kashmir celebrated Pakistan's victory by bursting firecrackers.
