T20 World Cup
\nHarry Brook anchors chase with century as England seal two-wicket victory
\n kendy
\nEngland booked their place in the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals after Harry Brook led his side to a dramatic two-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Super Eight fixture at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, on Tuesday.
\nThe victory, which marked England\u2019s second in as many matches in the Super Eights, helped them become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the ongoing 20-team tournament as they consolidated top spot in Group 2 with four points.
\nSet to chase a 165-run target, the two-time champions amassed the target for the loss of eight wickets and five balls to spare, courtesy of Brook\u2019s captain\u2019s knock.
\nThe Three Lions had a contrasting start to their innings as Shaheen Shah Afridi struck thrice, dismissing Phil Salt (zero), Jos Buttler (two) and Jacob Bethell (eight), inside five overs with just 35 runs on the board. But Brook stood his ground firm and kept the scoreboard ticking singlehandedly as he registered one-sided partnerships with Tom Banton (two) and Sam Curran (16), which yielded 23 and 45 runs, respectively.
\nThe England captain eventually found ample support from the other end when Will Jacks walked out to bat at No.7 as the duo pulled the game away out of Pakistan\u2019s grasp by putting together 52 runs for the sixth wicket until the set batter was eventually cleaned up by Shaheen on the final delivery of the 17th over. Brook walked back after top-scoring with a 51-ball 100, studded with 10 fours and four sixes. Jacks, on the other hand, followed suit an over latter as he was bowled by Mohammad Nawaz on 28 when England needed five runs off 12 deliveries. Nawaz struck again in the same over, getting Jamie Overton stumped to cause a stir in England\u2019s pursuit.
\nThe equation came down to three runs required off the final over with two wickets in hand, and Jofra Archer smashed Salman Mirza for a boundary on the first delivery to clinch a hard-earned victory for England.
\nShaheen was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan as he picked up four wickets for just 30 runs in his four overs, while Usman Tariq Nawaz bagged two each.
\nOpting to bat first, the 2009 champions accumulated 164\/9 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Farhan\u2019s anchoring knock.
\nPakistan got off to a shaky start to their innings as their left-handed opener Saim Ayub (seven) and captain Salman Ali Agha (five) perished inside the first four overs with just 27 runs on the board.
\nFollowing the early setback, star batter Babar Azam joined Farhan in the middle, and the duo batted cautiously to launch a recovery by putting together 46 runs off 44 deliveries.
\nJamie Overton eventually broke the budding partnership in the 11th over by cleaning up Babar, who walked back after scoring 25 off 24 deliveries with the help of two fours.
\nFarhan was then involved in another crucial partnership for Pakistan \u2013 a 49-run stand for the fourth wicket with Fakhar Zaman \u2013 until eventually falling victim to Overton in the 16th over.
\nThe right-handed opener remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a 45-ball 63, studded with seven fours and two sixes.
\nFakhar followed suit in the next over, falling prey to Adil Rashid after scoring a 16-ball 25, comprising two sixes and as many fours.
\nLiam Dawson added to Pakistan\u2019s woes in the next over as he dismissed wicketkeeper batter Usman Khan (eight) and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz (zero) in successive deliveries and brought the total down to 146\/7 in 17.5 overs.
\nShadab Khan then added valuable runs at the backend with a handy 23-run cameo, which came off 11 deliveries and featured four boundaries.
\nDawson was the standout bowler for England, taking three wickets for just 24 runs in his four overs, followed by Jofra Archer and Overton with two each, while Adil chipped in with one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
T20 World Cup Harry Brook anchors chase with century as England seal two-wicket victory kendy England booked their place in the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals after Harry Brook led his side to a dramatic two-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Super Eight fixture at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, on Tuesday. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-533302","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n