Pallekele, Feb 24 – Harry Brook delivered a stunning performance, scoring 100 off 51 balls in his first innings as a No. 3 batsman, leading England to victory over Pakistan by two wickets in the Super 8s Group 2 match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Tuesday.
Brook stepped up, smashing 41 of England’s 53 Power-play runs and nearly single-handedly securing the win, becoming the only captain in T20 World Cup history to score a century.
The chase began with a dramatic over by Shaheen Shah Afridi. Afridi dismissed Phil Salt with an inswinging delivery, followed by Jos Buttler, who edged the ball to Usman Khan for a duck.
Shaheen continued his impressive spell, dismissing Buttler with an outswinging delivery, while Jacob Bethell briefly threatened but was dropped by Usman Tariq, before Shaheen completed a hat-trick. Despite limited swing, Shaheen's accuracy was crucial, and he took eight wickets in his first over, matching Angelo Mathews' record.
Brook then dominated against spin. He smashed four, four, and six off Mohammad Nawaz, and later hit Shadab Khan for a 96-meter six, followed by a boundary over long-on. He appeared to control the game from there.
Earlier, Pakistan had a poor start in the Powerplay, losing two early wickets. Saim Ayub was dismissed by Jofra Archer, while Salman Ali Agha was out in the third over. Despite setbacks, Pakistan remained in contention at 46/2, thanks to a strong start from Sahibzada Farhan, who hit four boundaries, and Babar Azam's two boundaries.
The introduction of spin slowed the game down. Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson bowled with control and variation, forcing the batters to play cautiously. Pakistan struggled to accelerate, needing to score quickly in the second half of the innings.
Fakhar Zaman shifted gears, using his feet to score off Will Jacks and hitting a towering six over midwicket. Farhan continued his form with a gritty 50 in 37 balls, but was dismissed by Overton for 63 off 45 balls.
Dawson then dismissed Fakhar Zaman with a clever delivery, and Usman Khan capitalized on an England misfield to score two runs before hitting a six over midwicket. Dawson then dismissed Usman after being hit for a four, and followed it up with the wicket of Mohammad Nawaz, ending his spell with 3 for 24.
Usman Tariq's double strike left England struggling at 58 for 4 and later at 103 for 5. However, Brook refused to give up. He smashed a remarkable century in 50 balls, taking England to victory. He hit Afridi for six over cover, and followed it up with a four through mid-off. Despite being bowled by a precise yorker, he left the field to a standing ovation with only 10 runs needed.
England almost threw away their advantage, losing two wickets to Mohammad Nawaz. Jofra Archer then hit Salman Mirza through midwicket to secure the win. This victory guaranteed England a spot in the semi-finals, making it their fifth consecutive men's T20 World Cup semi-final.
Pakistan, despite Sahibzada Farhan's impressive 63, needed to beat Sri Lanka and hope for favourable results elsewhere.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 164/9 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 63, Fakhar Zaman 25; Liam Dawson 3-24, Jamie Overton 2-26) lost to England 166/8 in 19.1 overs (Harry Brook 100, Will Jacks 28; Shaheen Afridi 4-30, Usman Tariq 2-31) by two wickets
