Table of Contents

NEW DELHI: Pakistan rode on Sahibzada Farhan’s scintillating maiden century and a dominant spin display to thrash Namibia by 102 runs and storm into the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup on Wednesday.

Batting first, Pakistan piled up an imposing 199 for three in their must win encounter.

Farhan, who took just 20 balls to move from 50 to 100, remained unbeaten on 100 off 58 deliveries. He became only the second Pakistani to score a century in the tournament after Ahmed Shehzad’s ton against Bangladesh in 2014 at Mirpur.

The right hander smashed 11 boundaries and four sixes while stitching together a 67-run stand with skipper Salman Agha (38 off 23 balls) and an 81-run partnership with Shadab Khan (36 not out off 22 balls).

Spinners seal dominant win

In reply, Namibia were bundled out for 97 in 17.3 overs as mystery spinner Usman Tariq (4/16 in 3.3 overs) and leg spinner Shadab Khan (3/19 in 4 overs) ran through the line up with four and three wickets respectively.

Salman Mirza and Mohammad Nawaz chipped in with a wicket apiece as Namibia endured a miserable chase, finishing their campaign winless after four matches.

With this victory, Pakistan also sealed qualification for the next T20 World Cup in 2028, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

This was also Pakistan’s biggest margin of victory in the T20 showpiece.

Slow start before acceleration

Earlier, Pakistan collected 47 runs in the powerplay while losing Saim Ayub (14 off 12 balls).

Looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat to India, Pakistan bolstered their middle order by including Khawaja Nafay and leaving out out of form pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Despite a few boundaries, Pakistan’s approach remained cautious, which explained their modest 55 for one after several overs at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Middle overs blitz lifts total

Salman Agha broke the shackles at the start of the ninth over with a towering six off Willem Myburgh, stepping down the track to clear long on.

Inspired by his captain, Farhan attacked Myburgh with a massive six over deep mid-wicket and repeated the feat with a slog sweep off a tossed-up delivery. The three sixes in the over shifted momentum firmly in Pakistan’s favour, and Agha later hammered Bernard Scholtz straight down the ground for another maximum.

Agha was eventually caught by Gerhard Erasmus off Brassell in the following over. Nafay started brightly with a boundary but was soon caught and bowled by Erasmus.

Farhan continued to anchor the innings with elegant stroke play, while Shadab capped off the effort with two sixes off Erasmus in the final over.

The total ultimately proved far beyond Namibia’s reach.

(With PTI Inputs)