Pallekele, Feb 24 (IANS) Sahibzada Farhan’s 63 and a late flourish from Shadab Khan (23 off 11) helped Pakistan post 164/9 in 20 overs against England in a Group 2 clash in the Super 8s stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Tuesday.

Choosing to bat first, Pakistan had a terrible start in the Power-play as they lost two early wickets. Saim Ayub, who has been out of form in the tournament, yet again failed to impress with the bat. After being tested with multiple bouncers early, Jofra Archer got rid of him for a run-a-ball seven.

Skipper Salman Ali Agha (5) got out in the third over as Liam Dawson struck in his first over. Despite the setbacks, Pakistan remained in the contest at 46/2, thanks to a fluent start from Sahibzada Farhan, who found the fence four times, while Babar Azam signalled positive intent with two crisp boundaries before the break.

The pressure had increased on Pakistan as their scoring rate dropped significantly. They managed just 19 runs in the last four overs as they reached the halfway mark of their innings. The introduction of spin was key in slowing things down. Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson worked together, getting grip and variation from the pitch. Their disciplined lines and slight changes in pace forced the batters to play cautiously. Pakistan found themselves stalled and needed to accelerate in the second half of the innings.

Pressure finally got to Babar Azam as he tried to break free after a slow middle phase. Realising the need to speed things up, he aimed to hit Jamie Overton’s hard-length delivery across the line. However, the ball stayed low, slipped past the inside edge, and hit the top of off stump. This ended a frustrating 46-run partnership that took 44 balls, with Babar scoring only 25 runs off 24 balls.

Fakhar Zaman shifted gears dramatically, using his feet to Will Jacks and launching him straight back over his head for a towering six. Farhan piled on the pressure in the same over, smashing a massive 100-metre hit over midwicket as the 14th over yielded 16 runs. Farhan backed his century in the last match with a gritty and hard-fought fifty in 37 deliveries, but was undone by Overton for a 45-ball 63.

Dawson made an impressive play to dismiss Fakhar Zaman at a key moment. Fakhar misjudged consecutive googlies from Rashid and sent the second one high towards the leg side off a thick top edge. Dawson dashed to his right from short fine-leg and executed a fantastic tumbling catch on his back.

Usman Khan took advantage of another England misfield to get off the mark with two runs before confidently slog-sweeping over midwicket for six. Dawson, returning for his second spell, got rid of Usman after being hit for a four off a misfield and then followed it with the wicket of Mohammad Nawaz on the next delivery, ending his spell at 3 for 24.

All-rounder Shadab Khan showed resistance with the bat, scoring 23 off 11, but Pakistan’s innings tumbled like a pile of cards as they lost the last four wickets for 32 runs.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 164/9 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 63, Fakhar Zaman 25; Liam Dawson 3-24, Jamie Overton 2-26) against England

–IANS

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