By Staff Reporter
COLOMBO: Pakistan sealed their place in the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup with a commanding 102-run victory over Namibia in Colombo, Sahibzada Farhan’s unbeaten century ensuring they bounced back from defeat to India and avoided the threat of early elimination.
In a must-win Group A encounter at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Wednesday, Pakistan elected to bat first and posted 199 for three, built around Farhan’s maiden T20 international hundred. The 29-year-old right-hander finished exactly on 100 not out from 58 balls, striking 11 fours and four sixes in a display that mixed caution with controlled aggression. Namibia, already out of contention after three defeats, could only muster 97 in reply, succumbing to Pakistan’s spin attack in 17.3 overs.
The result confirmed Pakistan as the last team to qualify for the next stage, joining India from Group A and eliminating both the United States and the Netherlands. It was Pakistan’s biggest win in men’s T20 World Cup history, and came after they had left out star batter Babar Azam and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi following underwhelming performances in the opening matches, including a loss to India on Sunday where Afridi leaked 31 runs in two overs.
Under the skipper Salman Agha, Pakistan made a measured start, reaching 47 for one in the powerplay. Openers Farhan and his partner put on a solid foundation before the innings ignited in the ninth over against leg-spinner WP Myburgh, who conceded 22 runs: Agha danced down to launch a straight six, and Farhan followed with two successive maximums over cow corner. There was a brief stutter when Agha and Khawaja Nafay fell in quick succession, Erasmus claiming Nafay caught and bowled to apply some pressure. But Farhan steadied the ship, employing the sweep to good effect as he accelerated. His second fifty came off just 20 balls, and he dominated the back foot, plundering runs through the leg side. He was particularly severe on Myburgh, swiping two towering sixes, and on medium-pacer Jack Brassell, from whom he took 30 runs off 13 deliveries, including a six and a four to reach the 90s before a single off Erasmus completed his ton in the final over.
Promoted to number five, Shadab Khan provided the late flourish with an unbeaten 36 from 22 balls, including three sixes. Their unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 81 came in just 6.4 overs, lifting Pakistan to a formidable total on a pitch that had initially offered some assistance. Farhan, who has now scored five T20 centuries in domestic and international cricket since the start of 2025, reflected on his approach afterwards. “I have been playing domestic cricket for five years on a regular basis, and I don’t miss a match,” he said. “The hard work in domestic cricket back home in Pakistan has paid off. Early on, the wicket wasn’t easy. I told the captain and agreed to play normal cricket until the sixth over, then play my natural game from there. We lost a couple of wickets in succession, so the idea was to build the partnership and then take charge.”
His knock made him only the second Pakistani to score a T20 World Cup century, following Ahmed Shehzad’s effort against Bangladesh in 2014. It was also the third hundred of this tournament – after Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka against Australia on Monday and Canada’s Yuvraj Sama against New Zealand on Tuesday – placing Farhan in an elite group that includes Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Mahela Jayawardene and Alex Hales. Overall, he is the 13th batter to achieve the feat in the competition’s history. Babar holds Pakistan’s record with three T20I centuries, while Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Shehzad, Mohammad Haris and Farhan have one each. Farhan had shown promise earlier in the tournament with 47 against the Netherlands and 73 against the USA, though he managed a duck against India. Here, despite overcoming cramps, he returned to form in a pressure situation.
Namibia’s chase started brightly with a 32-run opening stand, Louren Steenkamp racing to 23. But left-arm pacer Salman Mirza broke through by rushing one through Jan Frylinck’s defences. Once the spinners entered the fray, Namibia unravelled. Left-armer Mohammad Nawaz took one for 22, while Shadab (three for 19) dismissed Erasmus and had Alexander Busing-Volschenk stumped for 20 after he charged down the track as the required rate climbed. Usman Tariq, with career-best figures of four for 16, cleaned up the tail, including a beautiful googly that bamboozled Ruben Trumpelmann. Steenkamp and Volschenk were the only Namibians to reach double figures, as the associate nation finished mired at the bottom of the group after four losses.
Shadab, who starred with bat and ball, said the team believed they could go on to lift the trophy. “We didn’t take this game lightly after so much talk about one match against India,” he said. “We are on the right track to achieve the goal of winning the World Cup and we are following a process.” He cautioned that the Super Eights – where Pakistan face New Zealand in Colombo on Saturday, followed by England and co-hosts Sri Lanka next week – would be tougher. “There are eight good teams so it will be a tough stage and all matches will be high-pressure games.”
Agha described it as a “complete performance”. “We started really well and in the middle, we put partnerships on and then finished well,” he said. “Sahibzada has been outstanding, the way he’s been batting for us for the last six months. He scored a hundred today and I’m very happy for him. When it comes to bowling, we were lethal and we were ruthless. We bowled in the right areas.”
For Namibia, captain Gerhard Erasmus acknowledged the need for improvement. “I think for us, it’s always about nailing those specialist positions,” he said. “It has been a great learning experience and will help us in future.” Looking ahead to co-hosting the ODI World Cup next year with South Africa and Zimbabwe, he added: “There is a lot of cricket around and lots of really exciting things happening in and around cricket in Namibia, which gives the boys a lot of pleasing things to play for.”
The tournament, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, now moves into its second phase with Pakistan aiming to build on this momentum.
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