Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, prediction, ICC Champions Trophy 2017
Kusal Mendis will want to carry his good form with the bat into this game against PakistanIan Kington/AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan and Sri Lanka battle it out in a do-or-die Group B encounter in the Champions Trophy, with a place in the semifinals the prize for the winner.

Having done incredibly well to bounce back from opening defeats, both teams will look to take their new-found form into this all-important game.

The winner of this game will join India in the semifinals from Group B, so there is plenty at stake for both sides.

Here is a prediction of the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Group B game.

If Pakistan bat first:

Fakhar Zaman gets Pakistan off to a quick start, taking the attack to Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep. Malinga, though, has the final say in that contest by dismissing the Pakistan opener, with Pradeep also picking up the wicket of Azhar Ali.

Mohammad Hafeez then is sent back by Thisara Perera, leaving Pakistan with plenty to do if they are to get to a defendable score.

Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik put on a big partnership to bring Pakistan back into the game. Captain Sarfraz Ahmed then comes in and whacks a few, which allows his team to get to 282.

Niroshan Dickwella begins the innings as if Sri Lanka are chasing 350, instead of 280, with fours raining in aplenty off the left-hander's bat.

Mohammad Amir, though, puts a stop to the knock in the fifth over, with Danushka Gunathilaka also dismissed by the left-armer.

Needing a solid partnership, Angelo Mathews decides to come in at No.4, and the skipper and Kusal Mendis set Sri Lanka on their way to the target.

Thanks to their century alliance, the Lankans are on course for victory, with Asela Gunaratne making sure there are no hiccups in the end by scoring a quickfire 42 to take his team to the semifinals.

Babar Azam, Pakistan, ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Sri Lanka, Group B
Babar Azam is due a big knockMichael Steele/Getty Images

If Sri Lanka bat first:

Dickwella and Gunathilaka get Sri Lanka off to a great start, with the openers scoring 71 runs in the first Powerplay. The partnership continues until the 18th over, when Shadab Khan, the leg-spinner, ends Dickwella's entertaining stay at the crease.

Gunathilaka and Mendis, though, ally for another solid partnership, with Mathews, Chandimal and Gunaratne then contributing lower down the order to take the final score to 307.

Pakistan are not great chasers, particularly when there is a big target to haul down. But this time, it's different.

Zaman and Ali give Pakistan a solid base to work on, by adding 56 runs together, and from there it is the Babar Azam show.

The youngster hasn't quite been able to show his talent in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 so far, but he picks the best possible time to strike form. Azam makes the 308-run chase look ridiculously easy, and while he is helped by solid knocks from Hafeez and Malik, it is the 22-year-old who stays right till the end to take Pakistan home and into a semifinal against England.