CHENNAI: It’s a potential banana peel encounter that could completely derail Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign. But opener Sahibzada Farhan ensured that none of that happened as Pakistan beat Namibia by 102 runs at the SSC in Colombo to reach the Super 8s.
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Farhan (100 off 58 balls) is a strong player and he did not repeat the mistakes he made against India at Premadasa last Sunday. The right-hander got himself into a wicket-taking rhythm after skipper Salman Ali Agha made some course corrections and elected to bat first.
In the first six games, Pakistan scored 52 runs while Farhan’s strike rate reached 110 runs. But the good thing about the 2009 champions is that they didn’t panic like they did against India or even the Netherlands.
After a good start with 40 runs from Saim Ayub, Farhan and captain Agha kept the scoreboard moving and waited for the right opportunity. This was brought up in round nine by leggie Willem Myburgh. After Aga hit the first ball of his six-ball spell, Farhan followed with a few more balls to score 22 runs and change the momentum. Pakistan no longer looked like a shaky team dealing with the nerves of a must-win game.
Of course, the below-par Namibia bowling didn’t create much resistance. The pacers, bowling at a pace of 125-130 kmph, often erred on the line and length and Farhan feasted. There was a powerful shot from his bat as he surged towards his maiden T20I century. While Farhan’s partnership with Aga added 67 runs in seven overs, Namibia’s death knell came during the opener’s fourth wicket partnership with Shadab Khan.
Both sides showed fighting spirit and carried out a fierce sweep against the spin team. The Namibia team had no merit and completely lost the chance of the game. Farhan completed his century in the final over as his partnership with Shadab put on 81 runs in 40 balls.
On a pitch that offered enough help to the spinners, Namibia were always unable to chase 200 balls. Leggie Shadab (3/19) put aside his disappointment against India to take wickets, but the icing on the cake was mystery spinner Usman Tariq.
He looks like a better bowler in every passing game and the best part about his bowling is that he doesn’t lose control in his efforts to provide variety. Namibia had no response to Tariq’s shenanigans and he ended the Namibia innings with figures of 4/16.
Fraction: Pakistan 199/3 (Farhan 100*, Agha 38; Brassell 2-38) defeated Namibia 97 (Steenkamp 23; Tariq 4-16, Shadab 3-19) by 102 runs in 17.3 overs.
