CHENNAI: It was a potential banana skin encounter that could have completely derailed Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign. But opener Sahibzada Farhan made sure none of that happened as Pakistan demolished Namibia in the SSC in Colombo by 102 runs to reach the Super 8.
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Farhan (100 not out off 58 balls) is a powerful player and he did not repeat the mistake he made against India in Premadasa last Sunday. The right-hander allowed himself to get used to the pace of the wicket after captain Salman Ali Agha corrected course a little and decided to bat first.
In the first six overs, Pakistan scored 52 and Farhan had a strike rate of 110. But the good thing about the 2009 champions was that they did not panic like they did against India or even Holland.
After a decent start with Saim Ayub giving away 40 runs, Farhan and captain Agha kept the scoreboard moving, waiting for the right opportunities. That was introduced in the ninth over by leggie Willem Myburgh. After Agha hit the first ball of the over for six, Farhan followed up with a couple more as 22 runs emerged, changing the momentum. Pakistan no longer looked like an unstable unit dealing with the nerves of a must-win match.
Of course, Namibia’s mediocre bowling did not put up much resistance. The pacers, who played at 125-130 kilometers per hour, often got their lines and lengths wrong and Farhan reveled in the offering. Big shots came from his bat as he raced towards his maiden T20I century. While Farhan’s partnership with Agha produced 67 runs in seven overs, the death knell for Namibia came during the course of the first match’s partnership with Shadab Khan for the fourth wicket.
Both looked belligerent, they swept the spinners ferociously and Namibia, with nothing at stake, completely lost their minds. Farhan completed his century in the last over as his partnership with Shadab produced 81 runs off 40 balls.
In a field where there was enough help for the spinners, a chase of 200 was always beyond Namibia. Leggie Shadab (3/19) put aside his disappointment with India to be among the wickets, but the icing on the cake was provided by mystery spinner Usman Tariq.
With each passing game, he looks like a better bowler and the best part about his bowling is that he doesn’t lose control in his effort to provide variety. Namibia had absolutely no response to the guile of Tariq, who escaped with 4/16 to put a quick end to Namibia’s innings.
LOTS: Pakistan 199/3 (Farhan 100*, Agha 38; Brassell 2-38) beat Namibia 97 in 17.3 overs (Steenkamp 23; Tariq 4-16, Shadab 3-19) by 102 runs.