Colombo: Sahibzada Farhan’s power-filled fifty and spinner’s accuracy lifted Pakistan to a smooth 32-run win over the United States of America in a Group A match of the T20 World Cup here Tuesday.
Farhan’s 41-ball 73 led Pakistan to a healthy 190 for nine, and then their highly-efficient spin quartet of Abrar Ahmed (1/30), Mohammad Nawaz (1/21), Shadab Khan (2/26) and Usman Tariq (3/27) did not allow the US batters any breathing space, limiting them to 158 for eight.
It was Pakistan’s second successive victory in this tournament, and now they are leading the group with four points.
Shubham Ranjane made an aggressive fifty (51, 30b), but it was useful only to reduce the margin of defeat.
However, openers Shayan Jahangir (49 off 34) and Andries Gous (13 off 13) gave a reasonable start to the USA’s chase, taking them to 42 in the fifth over, but the introduction of spin changed the complexion of the match.
Gous was hold out to Salman Agha in the deep off Nawaz. The USA, which had defeated Pakistan in the last edition of the T20 World Cup, ended the power play at 50 for 1.
But it was all a struggle for them thereafter. The dismissal was a precursor to the ensuing happenings as Pakistan spinners grabbed seven of the eight USA wickets that had fallen on the night.
The next four overs saw the US batters struggling massively against Pakistan spinners, adding just 18 runs for the loss of skipper Monank Patel, who gave a return catch to leg-spinner Shadab Khan.
Jahangir too departed soon. His attempted heave off Shadab ended in the hands of Shaheen Shah Afridi at mid-wicket.
Ranjane and Milind Kumar (23) added 66 runs for the fourth wicket, but the required run-rate was far too steep to cover up even with some lusty hits down.
Earlier, Farhan and Babar (46, 32b) added 81 runs for the third wicket as Pakistan recovered well from a slightly worrying 56 for two after the Power Play.
After being asked to bat first, Pakistan were initially cruising at 56 for no loss in five overs.
But pacer Shadley van Schalkwyk (4/25) got rid of both Saim Ayub and skipper Agha in the space of five deliveries in the sixth over to put brakes on Pakistan.
Farhan was as usual, all muscles, smoking bowlers for sixes at will. His maximums of spinner Milind were a testimony to his brute power.
Farhan’s bull run also allowed Babar to settle in and then play his shots in the first match under lights at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
In fact, the right-hander, whose strike-rate of 110 is the lowest for any batter in the history of the T20 World Cup, took 20 balls to smash his first six.
But once he got some kind of rhythm, Babar looked all class, using cross-batted shots to find some boundaries.
He took a toll on left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, carving him for a six and two fours in the 12th over as Pakistan run-rate gradually touched 10 an over.
In between, Farhan completed his ninth T20 fifty, his first in the ICC showpiece, off 27 balls.
But Babar’s inherent lack of power in his batting snapped his stay, as Milind took an excellent diving catch at deep off spinner Mohammad Mohsin, who placed the ball away from the hitting arc of the former Pakistan captain.
Farhan too did not last long as he perished to Harmeet as Sanjay Krishnamurthi took a well-judged running catch near the long-off fence.
But all-rounder Shadab (30, 12b) played some heavy shots in the death overs as Pakistan inched towards a good total despite losing one too many wickets at that stage.
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