Pakistan made it 2 wins out of 2 games and were up for the contest tonight. Pakistan outplayed USA in all facets of the game to win the contest by 32 runs in the end. Their approach while batting was a great sight to see. Put into bat first, Pakistan rode on Sahibzada Farhan‘s excellent 73 runs off 41 balls alongside valuable contributions from others made sure that Pakistan ended with 190/9 in 20 overs.
In reply, USA made a promising start in powerplay with the bat but they faltered big time in the middle phase of the game. The spinners of Pakistan choked them totally with 3 wickets to Usman Tariq while Shadab Khan picked up 2 wickets as well. The rest of the spinners chipped in as well. For USA, Shayan Jahangir scored 49 while Shubham Ranjane scored 51 off 30 balls. Milind Kumar got 29 as well. Pakistan got the win and climbed to top of the standings.
Sahibzada Farhan’s explosive 73 powers Pakistan to 190/9
Put into bat first, Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan came out to open for Pakistan while Saurabh Netravalkar had ball in hand for USA. Saim Ayub was off the blocks quickly and hit some lusty blows. But it was the Sahibzada Farhan show as the dimunitive Pakistan right-handed opener meant business. Both the players targeted the USA bowlers and no one was spared in the powerplay.
They put on 54 for the first wicket inside 5 overs. Shadley van Schalkwyk came for his second over and the last over of powerplay as he removed Saim Ayub with a slower ball which the batter threw his hands at it and was caught at short third man for 19 off 17 balls with one four and two sixes to his name. Captain Salman Ali Agha came to the crease next and he fell for 1 off 3 balls to Shadley as he had two in the over. Just 2 runs were added by Salman and Farhan. Pakistan were 56/2 in 6 overs after powerplay when Babar Azam joined Farhan in the middle.
The duo rebuilt things for a bit with Babar taking his time initially while Farhan looked fluent out there. It was the Farhan show as he powered his way in the middle overs and drove the innings forward completing his 9th T20I fifty. Pakistan were 85/2 in 10 overs. Babar was still less than run a ball at this stage but once he got in he switched gears and played the big shots by hitti
ng fours and sixes for fun. The duo aced the middle phase with flying colours.
The duo of Babar and Farhan put on 81 runs for the third wicket before Babar fell for 46 off 32 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Mohsin as he was holed out in the deep. Mohammad Nawaz came out to bat next and was a struggle out there. Farhan and Nawaz added 6 runs to the tally before the well set Farhan departed for 73 off 41 balls with 6 fours and 5 sixes to his name to Harmeet Singh. Shadab Khan came to the crease next to join Nawaz in the middle.
Shadab came out all guns flying and put on a show. He went berserk while Nawaz was struggling out there at one end. The duo added 34 runs for the 5th wicket before Shadab went for a quickfire 30 off 12 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Shadley. Faheem Ashraf came out to bat next. Faheem added 2 runs with Nawaz before falling for 1 off 2 balls to Shadley. Usman Khan came out to bat next. Nawaz was the next one to go as he fell for 5 off 10 balls to Saurabh Netravalkar.
Shaheen Afridi came out to bat next. Just 3 runs were added to the score before Usman fell for a golden duck via a run out. Abrar Ahmed came out to bat next. Shaheen managed to hit a maximum to add vital runs to the tally. In the end, Abrar was run out without facing a ball as they attempted for the third run off the last ball of the innings. Shaheen remained unbeaten on 9 off 4 balls with one six to his name. 6 extras given by the fielding side as Pakistan finished with 190/9 in 20 overs.
USA bowlers had a tough outing with the ball. Shadley van Schalkwyk was the pick of the bowlers yet again with figures of 4/25 in 4 overs. Mohammad Mohsin supported him well for his 1/27 in 4 overs. Saurabh Netravalkar finished with 1/40 in 4 overs. Harmeet Singh finished with 1/41 in 4 overs. Ehsan Adil gave away 39 runs in 3 overs. Milind Kumar gave away 16 runs in 1 over. This meant that USA needed a mammoth 191 runs to win the contest and upset Pakistan.
All-Round Spinning Performance led by Usman Tariq restricted USA to 158/8
Chasing 191 for the win, keeper batter Andries Gous and Shayan Jahangir came out to bat for USA while Shaheen Afridi had ball in hand for Pakistan. USA got off to a solid start with Jahangir being the aggressor while Gous played second fiddle from one end. The duo looked comfortable against Shaheen Afridi but the spinners were tough to get away. The opening duo put on 42 in 5 overs before Gous fell for 13 off 13 balls with 2 fours to his name to Mohammad Nawaz.
Captain Monank Patel came out to bat next. He had a struggling stay in the middle. USA were 50/1 in 6 overs at the end of the powerplay. But things drastically slowed down in the middle phase of the game. The duo of Jahangir and Patel put on 16 runs for the second wicket before Patel fell for 3 off 10 balls to Shadab Khan. Milind Kumar came out to bat next. The duo of Milind and Jahangir added 11 runs for the 3rd wicket before Jahangir the form batter fell for 49 off 34 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name.
Shubham Ranjane came out to bat next. Ranjane and Kumar tried to forge a partnership to stabilise the innings as USA refused to go without a fight. The duo added 54 runs for the 4th wicket before Milind fell for 29 off 22 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Usman Tariq. Sanjay Krishnamurthi came out to bat next. Sanjay did not last long as only one run was added to the score before Sanjay fell for a silver duck to Abrar Ahmed. Harmeet Singh came out to bat next.
Shubham Ranjane on one leg tried to put on a show and it was a lone effort as Harmeet was a mere spectator at the other end. The duo put on 28 runs for the 6th wicket before Harmeet fell for 6 off 5 balls with one boundary to his name to Usman Tariq. Mohammad Mohsin came out to bat next. Tariq got two in two balls as Mohsin fell for a golden duck as he was cleaned up. Shadley van Schalkwyk came out to bat next and survived the hat-trick ball.
Ranjane completed his fifty as well to keep the fight going but Ranjane too fell in the final over for 51 off 30 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Shaheen Afridi. Ehsan Adil came out to bat and the duo added two more runs to the scoreboard. Shadley remained unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls same for his partner Ehsan Adil as USA ended with 158/8 in 20 overs. 5 extras given by the fielding side.
Usman Tariq was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan with figures of 3/27 in 4 overs. Shadab Khan was excellent with 2/26 in 4 overs. Mohammad Nawaz finished with 1/21 in 3 overs. Abrar Ahmed finished with 1/30 in 4 overs. Shaheen Afridi finished with 1/42 in 4 overs. Saim Ayub bowled an over for 11 runs. The Pakistan spinners strangulated the USA batters. So, Pakistan win by 32 runs to go top of Group A. Sahibzada Farhan was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, Pakistan goes top of the points table with 2 wins out of 2 games. They are ahead of India in Group A while USA have lost both their games so far. Pakistan will next play India on 15th February in Colombo at 7 PM IST on Super Sunday. USA will head off to Chennai and face Namibia very soon.
3 more matches coming your way on Wednesday, Day 5 of the tournament. First-up it’s South Africa vs Afghanistan live from Ahmedabad at 11 AM IST. This will be followed by Australia as they begin their campaign against Ireland at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo at 3 PM IST. Then, we will have the feature match as two-time winners England and West Indies faces each other at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai at 7 PM IST.
So, a lot to look forward to on Wednesday night. Let’s hope we get some close ones too.
Also Read: ICC T20 WC 2026: Sahibzada Farhan’s Explosive Half-Century Powers Pakistan To Imposing 190/9