Sahibzada Farhan stood up with the bat and showed what he is made of. Farhan fired when the match was on the line as he showed his class. His unbeaten hundred alongside others contributing with cameos helped Pakistan post a massive 199/3 in 20 overs. This was a huge score to say the least.
In reply, Namibia were all over the place and sea as Usman Tariq picked up 4 wickets while Shadab Khan picked up 3 wickets while the others chipped in as Namibia’s batting fell flat as they were bowled out for 97 in 17.3 overs to lose the game by 102 runs. So, Namibia go out with 4 losses in 4 games.
Sahibzada Farhan’s majestic unbeaten ton powers Pakistan to 199/3.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first in a must-win game, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub came out to bat for Pakistan while JJ Smit started proceedings with ball in hand. It was the Farhan show from the get go. He had some nervy moments alongside his partner but then dominated proceedings once in as the right-hander looked fluent out there. Ayub looked scratchy out there but tried to hang in there as much as he can.
The duo put on 40 runs for the first wicket in 5 overs before Ayub fell for 14 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name to Jack Brassell. Captain Salman Ali Agha came out to bat next. Salman was the aggressor of the two while Farhan took his time settling in as well. The duo built a nice stand as well. Pakistan were 47/1 in 6 overs of powerplay. The duo then aced the middle phase of the game.
They played the middle overs and accelerated to the merit of the ball. Agha was fluent while Farhan was scratchy for a bit but improved as the game wore on. The duo put on 67 runs for the second wicket before Salman fell for 38 off 23 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Brassell. Khawaja Nafay came out to bat next. Nafay got off the mark with a boundary. But the duo of Nafay and Farhan could add just 11 runs to the tally before Nafay fell for 5 off 5 balls with one boundary as well to Gerhard Erasmus. Shadab Khan joined Farhan in the middle.
The duo then did not allow Namibia any breathing space. Shadab came out all guns blazing and kept the tempo going and accelerated for Pakistan. But he was just a secondary partner in the partnership as it was the Farhan show as he completed his half-century and then accelerated to put on a show for the ages. Pakistan were 131/3 in 15 overs and then aced the death phase.
Namibia had their moments here and there but it was not enough as Pakistan were too good with the bat. The duo of Farhan and Shadab put on an unbroken and crucial 81 run stand off 40 balls. Shadab stayed unbeaten on 36 off 22 balls with one four and three sixes to his name. But it was Farhan all the way as he stayed unbeaten on 100 off 58 balls with 11 fours and 4 sixes to his name. 6 extras given by the fielding side as Pakistan finished with a whopping 199/3 in 20 overs.
It was a tough day for the Namibian bowlers out there. Jack Brassell finished with 2/48 in 4 overs. Gerhard Erasmus finished with 1/25 in 3 overs. JJ Smit finished with 0/28 in 3 overs. Ruben Trumpelmann finished with 0/36 in 4 overs. Willem Myburgh finished with 0/27 in 2 overs. Bernard Scholtz finished with 0/33 in 4 overs. This meant Namibia needed 200 runs to win off 20 overs to pull off a monumental upset.
Usman Tariq & Shadab Khan bamboozle Namibia for 97 in 17.3 overs.Â
Chasing 200 for the win, Louren Steenkamp and Jan Frylinck came out to open for Namibia while Faheem Ashraf had ball in hand for Pakistan. Steenkamp looked very impressive and started well for Namibia. The openers gave the Namibian side a decent start as they put on 32 for the first wicket before Jan Frylinck fell for 9 off 11 balls with one boundary to his name. Nicol Loftie Eaton came out to bat next. Eaton tried to forge a partnership with Steenkamp but could only add 7 runs for the second wicket before Eaton was run out for 5 off 5 balls with one boundary to his name.
Gerhard Erasmus came out to bat next. Namibia were 40/2 in 6 overs and were firmly on the back foot. Just 6 runs were added to the score before Steenkamp fell for 23 off 22 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Mohammad Nawaz. Alexander Busing Volschenk came out to bat next. Just 6 runs were added to the tally before Erasmus fell for 7 off 6 balls with one boundary to his name to Shadab Khan. JJ Smit came out to bat next.
Volschenk and Smit tried to handle the situation for Namibia but the writing was on the wall for them by now. Still Alexander did bulk of the scoring while Smit played second fiddle. The duo added a handy 30 runs for the 5th wicket before Alexander who was the set batter fell for 20 off 20 balls with one four and one six to his name. Keeper batter Zane Green came out to bat next.
Wickets started to fall for Namibia now like nine pins from here. Just 2 runs were added to the score before Smit fell for 9 off 13 balls to Usman Tariq. Ruben Trumpelmann came out to bat next. Tariq had two in the over as Trumpelmann came and went for a silver duck as he was cleaned up. Willem Myburgh came out to bat next. Green and Myburgh added 14 runs for the 8th wicket before Green the keeper batter fell for 7 off 9 balls to Shadab Khan. Bernard Scholtz came out to bat next.
Just another run was added to the tally before Scholtz fell for 1 off 2 balls to Usman Tariq. Jack Brassell came out to bat next. He got off the mark as well. Myburgh was the last man to fall as he fell for 8 off 14 balls. Namibia were bowled out for 97 in 17.3 overs. Brassell was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 7 extras given by the fielding side.
Usman Tariq was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/16 in 3.3 overs. Shadab Khan finished with 3/19 in 4 overs. Mohammad Nawaz finished with 1/22 in 4 overs. Salman Mirza finished with 1/11 in 2 overs. Faheem Ashraf finished with 0/16 in 2 overs. Saim Ayub finished with 0/10 in 2 overs. So, Pakistan thrashed Namibia by 102 runs to qualify for Super 8s. Sahibzada Farhan was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, Pakistan are through to the Super 8s with this win and join India from Group A and we now know our 8 teams in the Super 8s. But we have other games to finish off. Coming up next is the defending champions and co-hosts India taking on Netherlands from Ahmedabad in the last league game for both teams. Let’s see how these two games pan out later tonight.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: Pakistan Begin Well In Defence Of Their Target.