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Farhan’s maiden ton fires Pakistan into T20 World Cup Super Eight
(Reuters) – Pakistan became the final team to qualify for the Super Eight of the Twenty20 World Cup after Sahibzada Farhan’s maiden international century powered them to a thumping 102-run victory over Namibia in Colombo on Wednesday.
Farhan remained unbeaten on exactly 100 off 58 balls, reaching his landmark in the final over as Pakistan posted 199 in their must-win Group A encounter at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
Despite a slow start, the opener’s explosive knock featured 11 boundaries and four sixes, with skipper Salman Agha contributing a useful 38 and Shadab Khan adding an unbeaten 36 that included two sixes in the final over of the innings.
“Early on the wicket wasn’t that easy to bat on, I told (opener) Saim (Ayub) we’ll take some time (to settle in) and I was confident that with time we could set a target,” said Farhan, who was named the player of the match.
“The partnership with Shadab was important. The idea was to build a partnership and once the partnership gets going, I would take charge and Shadab can hit as well.”
Sahibzada Farhan led the charge in the powerplay. (ICC/Getty Images)
WINLESS NAMIBIA FINISH BOTTOM OF GROUP
Namibia’s chase never gained momentum despite a promising start from opener Louren Steenkamp, who raced to 23 before the African side began losing wickets at regular intervals.
Shadab (3-19) proved instrumental with the ball as well, dismissing skipper Gerhard Erasmus before having Alexander Busing-Volschenk stumped for 20 when the middle-order batter charged down the pitch as the required run rate mounted.
Spinner Usman Tariq cleaned up the tail and finished with career-best figures of 4-16 as Namibia were dismissed for 97, ending their World Cup campaign without a win to finish bottom of the group.
Pakistan skipper Salman Agha was beaming when he described the win as a “complete performance”.
“We started really well and in the middle, we put partnerships on and then finished well,” he said.
“Sahibzada has been outstanding, the way he’s been batting for us for the last six months. He scored a hundred today and I’m very happy for him.
“When it comes to bowling, we were lethal and we were ruthless. We bowled in the right areas.”
All teams in the Super Eight have also secured automatic qualification for the next edition of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand in 2028.
T20 WORLD CUP SUPER EIGHT TEAMS
Group A: India, Pakistan
Group B: Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe
Group C: West Indies, England
Group D: South Africa, New Zealand
Scores: Pakistan 199 for 3 (Farhan 100*, Agha 38, Brassell 2-38) beat Namibia 97 (Steenkamp 23, Tariq 4-16, Shadab 3-19) by 102 runs.
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