Colombo, February 10 Sahibzada Farhan's powerful fifty and the accuracy of the spinners helped Pakistan achieve a smooth 32-run victory over the United States of America in a Group A match of the T20 World Cup here on 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.
This was Pakistan's second successive victory in the tournament, and they are now leading the group with four points.
Shubham Ranjane made an aggressive fifty (51, 30b), but it only reduced the margin of defeat.
However, openers Shayan Jahangir (49 off 34) and Andries Gous (13 off 13) gave the USA a reasonable start, taking them to 42 in the fifth over, but the introduction of spin changed the complexion of the match.
Gous was caught by Salman Agha in the deep off Nawaz. The USA, who had defeated Pakistan in the last edition of the T20 World Cup, ended the power play at 50 for 1.
But things went downhill from there. The Pakistan spinners took seven of the eight USA wickets that fell during the night.
The next four overs saw the US batters struggle against the Pakistan spinners, adding only 18 runs for the loss of captain Monank Patel, who gave a return catch to leg-spinner Shadab Khan.
Jahangir also soon departed. 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 too high even with some powerful shots.
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 captain Agha in the space of five deliveries in the sixth over, slowing down Pakistan.
Farhan was, as usual, in excellent form, smoking bowlers for sixes at will. His maximums off spinner Milind were a testament to his brute power.
Farhan's innings 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 into a rhythm, Babar looked in excellent form, using cross-batted shots to find some boundaries.
He troubled left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh, carving him for a six and two fours in the 12th over as Pakistan's 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 ended 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 was caught by Sanjay Krishnamurthi near the long-off fence.
But all-rounder Shadab (30, 12b) played some heavy shots in the death overs as Pakistan edged towards a good total despite losing too many wickets at that stage.
