Farhan’s solid hundred puts Pakistan in Super Eights
The aggressive opener scores his maiden century of his T20I career, demonstrating strong authority ahead of a crucial stage of the tournament
By Alam Zeb Safi
COLOMBO: A commanding unbeaten century from Sahibzada Farhan propelled Pakistan to a crushing 102-run victory over Namibia in their Group A outing at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Wednesday, helping them to blast their way into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eight stage.
After electing to bat, Pakistan piled-up 199 for three in their allotted 20 overs, riding on Farhan’s sparkling 100 not out from 58 deliveries. This is the maiden T20I ton from Farhan who basically belongs to Tangi, a town in the Carsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The right-hander struck 11 fours and four sixes in a masterclass of controlled aggression, earning the player of the match award.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha’s decision to bat first paid dividends despite an early setback. Saim Ayub fell in the sixth over for 14 but Farhan steadied the innings through the powerplay, bringing up his half-century off 37 balls.
Salman Agha contributed a brisk 38 off 23 deliveries in a 67-run stand for the second wicket, lifting the scoring rate. Jack Brassell (2-48) struck twice to remove Agha and Khawaja Nafay (5) in quick succession, briefly slowing Pakistan’s charge.
Farhan, however, found an able partner in Shadab Khan, who finished with unbeaten 36 off 22 balls. Shadab hit three sixes and one four. The pair added 81 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket association, accelerating sharply at the death as Pakistan collected 49 runs from the final four overs. Farhan reached his century off 57 balls, raising his bat to a loud ovation in Colombo.
Namibia’s chase of 200 never gained traction. Openers Louren Steenkamp and Jan Frylinck fell inside the first five overs and the African side struggled to cope with Pakistan’s varied attack.
Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz removed Steenkamp for 23, while leg-spinner Shadab ripped through the middle order, claiming three wickets for 19 runs. Usman Tariq delivered the decisive blows, finishing with four for 16 in 3.3 overs as Namibia were bowled out for 97 in 17.3 overs.
Only Alexander Busing-Volschenk (20) offered brief resistance in the middle but wickets fell at regular intervals, including two successful reviews that upheld umpiring decisions in Pakistan’s favour.
The emphatic win helped Pakistan finish the group stage with six points by virtue of three wins.
Pakistan tasted one loss and that was against India when they were whipped by their arch-rivals at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 15.
This was the fourth successive loss for Namibia and they finished their journey without opening their account.
Summarised Scores:
Pakistan 199/3 (20 overs) – Sahibzada Farhan 100* (58), Salman Agha 38 (23); Jack Brassell 2-48
Namibia 97 all out (17.3 overs) – Louren Steenkamp 23 (22); Usman Tariq 4-16, Shadab Khan 3-19
Result: Pakistan won by 102 runs
