Sahibzada Farhan once again shone through with the bat as his solid 63 laid the cornerstone of Pakistan getting to 164/9 in 20 overs. It is a good competitive score on this testing pitch and England has to bat well to get these. The others played around him with a few 20s here and there with Shadab scoring a useful 23 off 11 balls as well. Liam Dawson bowled a great spell and picked up 3 wickets for England who have to bat well and win this one.
England Strikes Twice to Peg Pakistan inside the powerplay.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub came out to bat for Pakistan. Jofra Archer had ball in hand for England. Ayub got off the mark with a boundary as he sliced it over backward point for a boundary. Jamie Overton came into the attack from the other end. Farhan got on his toes and slapped it over point for a boundary to deep backward point region.
Archer continued and he got rid of Ayub for 7 off 7 balls with one boundary to his name as he was holed out at deep backward square leg region. Salman Ali Agha came out to bat next. Farhan tried to hoick it away and got an inside edge past the leg stump for a boundary to fine leg region. Farhan hit another boundary towards deep square leg and evaded Salt for a boundary.
Liam Dawson came into the attack next and was welcomed with a boundary as Salman stepped down the track and whipped it through midwicket for a boundary to beat Bethell in the deep. Dawson hit back and he got rid of Agha for 5 off 6 balls with a boundary to his name as he was holed out at long-off. Babar Azam came out to bat next and got off the mark as well.
Archer continued as Babar pulled it hard through midwicket for a boundary and then opened the face of the bat and guided it down to third man for a boundary. Liam Dawson came to bowl the last over of powerplay. Farhan took him on and bisected short fine leg and backward square leg for a boundary. At the end of 6 overs, Pakistan were 46/2 with Farhan unbeaten on 23 off 17 balls and Babar unbeaten on 10 off 6 balls. Drinks was taken as well.
Babar Azam falls but Sahibzada Farhan’s half-century leads Pakistan’s fightback in middle overs.Â
Sam Curran came into the attack post the break and powerplay. The 50 came up for Pakistan in 6.3 overs. Farhan slammed the ball straight past the bowler for a boundary. Adil Rashid came into the attack next and he bowled a decent first over. Dawson returned to the attack and he bowled a decent over. Rashid continued and kept things really tight out there as Pakistan reached 70/2 at the halfway stage of 10 overs.
Overton continued and he got the prized scalp of Babar Azam as he was cleaned up for 25 off 24 balls with 2 fours to his name. The off-stump was rattled. Fakhar Zaman came out to bat next. Will Jacks came out to bat next as Zaman got a ball on the pads which he tickled it to the fine leg fence for a boundary. Zaman hit another boundary by cutting it to deep backward point region as another fumble gave away a boundary.
Adil Rashid continued and there was a fielding position error from England which resulted in a no ball. But the free hit yielded a dot ball. Farhan then nicely played it away by sweeping it between deep square leg and deep midwicket for a boundary. Jacks continued as Fakhar slapped it away down the ground over long-on for the maximum. Farhan then slog swept Jacks over deep midwicket for the maximum as the 100 came up in 13.3 overs. Farhan got to yet another fifty off 37 balls.
Pakistan were 107/3 in 14 overs when the final Drinks Break was taken of the innings. Sam Curran came back into the attack. He bowled a decent over as Farhan survived a close run out chance as well. At the completion of 15 overs, Pakistan were 112/3 with Farhan unbeaten on 53 off 41 balls and Zaman unbeaten on 19 off 13 balls. Interesting 5 overs with wickets in hand lay ahead of us.
Flurry of wickets alongside late hitting meant Pakistan finish with 164/9 in 20 overs.Â
Jamie Overton came to bowl the 16th over as Farhan went downtown over long-on for the maximum. Farhan walked across and slapped it away between extra covers and mid-off for a boundary. Overton hit back and got rid of Farhan for 63 off 45 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes to his name as he was LBW and wasted a review as well. Shadab Khan came out to bat and smashed the first ball over backward point for a boundary.
Rashid came to bowl the final over. Fakhar launched the ball over long-on for the maximum. Rashid hit back and got rid of Zaman for 25 off 16 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as he was holed at deep backward square leg. Usman Khan came out to bat next and got off the mark with a brace. Usman then launched Rashid over deep midwicket with a sweep for the maximum.
Dawson continued as Shadab slapped it over extra covers through Harry Brook and away for a boundary. Dawson got another as he dismissed Usman Khan for 8 off 5 balls with one six to his name as the deep midwicket fielder took the catch. Mohammad Nawaz came out to bat next and was plumb in front LBW for a golden duck and the review was lost as well by Pakistan. Shaheen Afridi came out to bat next and got off the mark.
Archer came to bowl the 19th over and dismissed Afridi for 2 off 3 balls to the deep backward square leg region. Salman Mirza came out to bat next and got off the mark. Shadab crunched it with a slap over sweeper cover for a boundary. Sam Curran came to bowl the final over of the innings. Shadab whipped the ball away to deep midwicket and deep square leg for a boundary. Shadab off the last ball of the innings was run out while he completed a run as well.
Shadab fell for 23 off 11 balls with 4 fours to his name run out. Salman was unbeaten on 2 off 3 balls as Pakistan finished with a competitive 164/9 in 20 overs. 4 extras given by the fielding side. Liam Dawson was the pick of the bowlers for England with figures of 3/24 in 4 overs. Jofra Archer finished with 2/32 in 4 overs. Jamie Overton finished with 2/26 in 3 overs. Adil Rashid finished with 1/31 in 4 overs. Sam Curran finished with 0/24 in 3 overs. Will Jacks went for 27 in 2 overs. This meant that England needed 165 runs to win off 20 overs.
Who’s Winning, Pakistan or England?Â
Pakistan have done well to get runs on the board. A score of 164 may not be match winning but definitely it is competitive on this pitch. If Pakistan gets early wickets they can defend this score. England will believe they can chase it down but needs a good solid start. At this stage, the game can go either ways and the start will be important for both teams. Let’s see how the chase unfolds for us.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: England Strikes Twice To Keep Pakistan In Check.