Opening batsman Sahibzada Farhan hammered an incredible unbeaten century while Usman Tariq grabbed four crucial wickets, helping Pakistan crush Namibia by 102 runs in their vital Group A clash to secure their spot in the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup in Colombo on Wednesday. Farhan powered his way to an outstanding unbeaten 100 from just 58 deliveries, striking 11 boundaries and four massive sixes as Pakistan posted 199 for three. Salman Agha contributed a quick-fire 38 from 23 balls, with Shadab Khan adding a valuable 36 from 22 deliveries. Chasing the target, Namibia crumbled to 97 all out in 17.3 overs, with only Louren Steenkamp (23) and Alexander Volschenk (20) reaching double figures. Pakistan’s Solid Performance Sealed The Spot For Super 8 .
TOSS
Pakistan won the coin flip and chose to bat first.
PLAYING XI
Namibia (Playing XI):
Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus(c), Alexander Volschenk, JJ Smit, Zane Green(w), Ruben Trumpelmann, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz, Jack Brassell
Pakistan (Playing XI):
Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan(w), Khawaja Nafay, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq
PAKISTAN
Pakistan certainly had fortune on their side after choosing to bat, with Saim Ayub getting away with several mishits and edges that somehow avoided both backward point and keeper Zane Green. The wicket-keeper watched another chance slip by as Sahibzada Farhan also struggled early on, though Pakistan still managed 40 runs from the opening five overs.
Jack Brassell eventually trapped Ayub with an edge to Green, but Pakistan had built a solid foundation during the PowerPlay. Following a couple of tight overs from the spin bowlers, Salman Agha stepped down the pitch and launched Willem Myburgh straight down the ground before the leg-spinner was dispatched for back-to-back sixes by Farhan. The opener tried for a third maximum but missed, taking a tumble and injuring his right leg, requiring the team physio’s attention. Though he found running between the wickets difficult around his fifty milestone, it hardly mattered as he continued to punish the bowling with ease.
Salman maintained the momentum before departing in frustration after offering mid-off a simple catch. Khawaja Nafay got promoted up the batting order, but his World Cup debut ended quickly when Gerhard Erasmus outsmarted him with a flighted delivery after bowling a quicker one, resulting in a mistimed slog-sweep. Shadab Khan came to the crease and despite finding it tough initially, Farhan kept finding the boundaries regularly. He then hammered JJ Smit straight into the sightscreen before driving another one past him as the 200-run mark came into view.
The pace dropped slightly when Trumpelmann delivered an economical six-run 19th over, keeping his deliveries away from the batsmen’s hitting zones. Just after Farhan reached his century in the final over, Shadab launched two sixes off Erasmus’s slower deliveries as Pakistan finished on 199. The unbroken partnership between Shadab and Farhan was worth 81 runs, though the innings ended somewhat quietly with Farhan leaving a wide delivery alone, despite it being just inside the boundary line.
NAMIBIA-
Namibia responded well at the start, but Mohammad Nawaz dropped an easy catch at deep square leg which further gave Jan Frylinck another chance to continue batting itself. Louren Steenkamp surely displayed attacking approach, hitting Ayub for two boundaries in the fourth over. Moreover, this showed his positive mindset during the innings. Moreover, salman Mirza bowled Frylinck as per the batsman’s movement away from his stumps, and regarding Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, he got run out at the non-striker’s end while trying for a run that was not there.
Basically, Pakistan’s spinners took control after that, getting the same big turn to fool the batters as Namibia’s batting collapsed completely. Mohammad Nawaz actually made Steenkamp hit the ball badly, and he got out for 23 runs. Then Shadab Khan definitely bowled a ball that bounced high, and Gerhard Erasmus hit it to the wicket-keeper. Basically the spinners made it harder to score as the required run rate kept going up, even though Alexander Volschenk hit the same boundary and six to settle into his innings. As per the delivery from Shadab, he got stumped when the ball turned sharply regarding his attempt to come down the track. After that, Usman Tariq surely bowled a brilliant double-wicket maiden in the 14th over, first dismissing JJ Smit with a carrom ball that went high in the air. Moreover, he then bowled out Trumpelmann with an excellent googly delivery.
The innings actually moved very slowly with Pakistan’s place in the next round definitely almost confirmed. Shadab and Tariq completed the bowling task, with Shadab taking his third wicket when Ayub took an excellent catch in the deep field itself, further strengthening their team’s position. Tariq actually took two more wickets to finish with four wickets as Namibia definitely got out for just 97 runs. Their campaign ended badly as they lost all four games without winning once.
Brief Scores:
Also, as per the match results, Pakistan scored 199/3 in 20 overs with Sahibzada Farhan making 100 runs and defeated Namibia who scored only 97 runs in 17.3 overs. Regarding the bowling performance, Usman Tariq took 4 wickets and Shadab Khan took 3 wickets as Pakistan won by 102 runs.
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