Sahibzada Farhan’s record-breaking hundred and Fakhar Zaman’s blazing 84 off 42 balls gave Pakistan a five-run win over Sri Lanka in Pallekele but it wasn’t enough to put them in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
It was New Zealand who became the second team from Group 2 to qualify for the knockouts.
After being sent in, Pakistan needed to win by about 65 runs to qualify, and for a large part of their innings, they were in business.
Having made three changes – Babar Azam, Saim Ayub and Salman Mirza made way for Khawaja Nafay, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed – they opened the innings with Fakhar and Farhan, and the two added 176 in 15.5 overs.
It was the highest partnership for any wicket in T20 World Cups, bettering Finn Allen and Tim Seifert’s unbroken 175 against UAE from a few days ago.
Farhan’s hundred was his second of the tournament. No one else has made more than one in a single edition of the T20 World Cup. En route, he also broke Virat Kohli’s record for the most runs in a T20 World Cup. Kohli had scored 319 in 2014; Farhan finished on 383.
After the massive opening stand, Pakistan looked set for 220-plus. But the last four overs brought only 35 runs at the loss of seven wickets. As a result, they could post only 212 for 8, and needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 or below.
Despite Abrar’s three-for, Sri Lanka breached that mark in the 16th over. But Dasun Shanaka wasn’t satisfied with just that. He wanted to win.
When Shaheen Shah Afridi came on to bowl the final over, Sri Lanka needed 28. Shanaka started with 4, 6, 6, 6 to make it six required from two.
Afridi went way outside off to beat a reverse scoop. Now it was six off one. Afridi tried to hide the ball again. Shanaka left it expecting a wide. It was extremely tight, but the umpire decided the delivery was legal and the game ended in total anti-climax. (ESPNcricinfo)
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