PAK vs NAM: Sahibzada Farhan’s stunning ton powers Pakistan into Super 8s; spinners seal 102-run rout vs Namibia

CHENNAI: It was a potential banana-skin encounter that could have completely derailed Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign. But opener Sahibzada Farhan ensured that nothing on those lines happened as Pakistan demolished Namibia at the SSC in Colombo by 102 runs to make the Super 8s.

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Farhan (100 not out off 58 balls) is a powerful player and didn’t repeat the mistake he made against India at the Premadasa last Sunday. The right-hander allowed himself to get used to the pace of the wicket after captain Salman Ali Agha did a bit of course correction and chose to bat first.




In the first six overs, Pakistan scored 52 and Farhan was going at a strike-rate of 110. But the good thing about the 2009 champions was that they were not panicking as they did against India or even the Netherlands.

After a decent start with Saim Ayub, which yielded 40 runs, Farhan and captain Agha kept the scoreboard moving, waiting for the right opportunities. That was presented in the ninth over by leggie Willem Myburgh. After Agha hit the first ball of the over for six, Farhan followed it up with a couple more as 22 runs came off the over, shifting the momentum. Pakistan no longer looked like a shaky unit dealing with the jitters of a must-win game.

Of course, the below-par Namibia bowling didn’t put up much resistance. The pacers, bowling at 125-130 kph, often erred in line and length and Farhan feasted on the offering. The big shots flowed from his bat as he raced away to his first T20I century. While Farhan’s collaboration with Agha yielded 67 runs off seven overs, the death knell for Namibia came during the course of the opener’s partnership with Shadab Khan for the fourth wicket.

Both looked in belligerent mood , swept ferociously against the spinners and Namibia, with nothing to play for, completely lost the plot. Farhan completed his century in the last over as his partnership with Shadab produced 81 runs off 40 balls.

On a pitch where there was enough help for spinners, a chase of 200 was always beyond Namibia. Leggie Shadab (3/19) brushed aside his India disappointment to get among the wickets, but the icing on the cake was provided by mystery spinner Usman Tariq.

With every passing game, he is looking a better bowler and the best part about his bowling is that he doesn’t lose control in his effort to dish out variety. Namibia had absolutely no answer to Tariq’s guile as he ran away with 4/16 to bring a quick end to Namibia innings.

SCORES: Pakistan 199/3 (Farhan 100*, Agha 38; Brassell 2-38) beat Namibia 97 in 17.3 overs (Steenkamp 23; Tariq 4-16, Shadab 3-19) by 102 runs.


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