Despite their finals berth, Pakistan have been unconvincing with the bat and don't have any batsman in the top 20 run-scorers from the group stage of the tournament.
But just three days later Pakistan, the lowest-ranked side in a tournament featuring the world's top eight one-day worldwide teams bounced back to defeat number one South Africa.
India plays Bangladesh on Thursday at Edgbaston in the other semi-final match with India the clear favourite - but so was England.
Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth will be the third and fourth umpire respectively while Chris Broad will be the match referee.
"It is a cause of great pride and happiness for myself and for the entire Pakistan nation", said Sarfraz after the semi-final triumph.
"We played really positive smart cricket, so there are some big positives to take". There wasn't too much wrong.
But in Cardiff, facing their first knockout game since the start of the Trevor Bayliss revolution, when it really mattered they found their powder damp, spluttering to a modest total of 211 with only the odd grumble about used wickets and the enthusiastic cheers of Pakistan's supporters for company.
As far as the result of the match is concerned, Pakistan thrashed England by eight wickets in Cardiff to book their place in the Champions Trophy final.
It seemed Pakistani batsmen were batting on a different pitch during the chase as they cruised to complete the target in 37.1 overs, after openers Azhar Ali (76 off 100) and Fakhar Zaman (57 off 58) provided a flawless start.
Pakistan pounds Rajouri LoC with mortar bombs, violates ceasefire twice
The killing of soldier in Pakistani fire took place two days after army claimed to have killed two Pakistani soldiers at LoC. Year 2016 also saw a surge in skirmishes on International Border (IB) and LoC between the two countries.
Asked how that came about, Morgan said: "I think the explanation is they played two days ago on it". Then Hasan came in, and he took wicket.
Jos Buttler (4), Moeen Ali (11) and Adil Rashid (7) fell quickly and Stokes, one of the most destructive batsmen in the world, failed to hit a boundary in a scratchy 34 as the Pakistan bowlers dominated.
Faced with the sort of pitch they aren't used to and a fired-up Pakistan bowling attack led by the indomitable Hasan Ali and featuring an ice-cool debut from Rumman Raees, England looked tentative and hopelessly unable to react to the situation playing out before them - and now deservedly find themselves out of their own tournament. Ali's match-winning fifty was his second of the tournament and helped Pakistan seal a convincing victory against England. "The team management also kept motivating us", he said.
"Obviously, we won't announce the team until the toss", he added.
Pakistan, of course, started this tournament with a woeful display against India at Edgbaston.
He confirmed that, despite their setback, England's long-term ambition to win the 2019 World Cup remains on track.
Pakistan turned the run chase into a formality.
"I think the pitch was very good for both teams", he said.
Sarfraz Ahmed tries to break the partnership by bringing Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan back, and while that worked against Sri Lanka, it doesn't quite do the trick against this England batting lineup.
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