Farhan fires Pakistan to World Cup win over the US

Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan hit a swift half-century as the 2009 champions comfortably beat the US by 32 runs on Tuesday, clinching their second straight Group A win in the Twenty20 World Cup.

Farhan’s knock of 73 off 41 balls helped Pakistan post 190-9, before spinners Usman Tariq and Shadab Khan took five wickets between them to ensure that the US could not replicate their shock 2024 win over the South Asian side, despite Shubham Ranjane’s defiant fifty.

Put in to bat first in Colombo, Farhan scored three boundaries against Ehsan Adil, the former Pakistan international debuting for the US, before hitting Milind Kumar for two sixes to get Pakistan to 54-0 after five overs.

But after Shadley van Schalkwyk dismissed Saim Ayub (19) and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha (1) in the sixth over, Babar Azam and Farhan cautiously consolidated their innings, adding only 35 runs in the next five overs.

Babar picked up the pace in the 13th over, hitting his first two boundaries and a six as Harmeet Singh conceded 21 runs. But the former Pakistan captain fell to Mohammad Mohsin soon after for 46 as Kumar caught him at long on.

Player of the match Farhan’s fighting knock, which included six boundaries and five sixes, came to an end in the 16th over as he got caught trying to hit Singh for a six, leaving Pakistan at 143-4.

But Shadab Khan kept the pace going, hitting a hat-trick of fours against Adil to add 28 runs in the next two overs, and scored a quick 30 off 12 balls before falling to Van Schalkwyk.

Van Schalkwyk, 37, ended his spell with four wickets for 25 runs, the same figures he had against India in Saturday’s campaign-opening game.

Chasing 191, Shayan Jahangir got the US off to a bright start, with two fours against Shaheen Shah Afridi in the first over and a six over the long-on boundary against Ayub in the next.

But Pakistan introduced spinners from the third over to control the flow of runs. After Nawaz dismissed Shayan’s fellow opener Andries Gous (13) in the fifth over, the US could only add 26 runs in the next five overs.

A frustrated Shayan was one run short of a half-century when he got caught trying to hit Shadab (2-26) down long on, leaving the US struggling at 69-3 in the 11th over.

Kumar (29) tried to help Ranjane revive the chase with a 54-run partnership for the fourth wicket, and Ranjane (51 off 30 balls) hit Afridi for back-to-back sixes, but it was too little too late.

Tariq (3-27) allowed only three runs as he took two wickets in back-to-back deliveries in the 19th over, leaving the US 39 runs short of victory in the last over.

The US could only reach 158-8 as they suffered their second straight loss in the tournament.

Pakistan, who beat the Netherlands in their opening game, face defending champions India on Sunday, the same day that the US play Namibia.

Also on Tuesday, New Zealand’s openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen rewrote the T20 World Cup record books, pummelling the UAE’s bowling attack in a stunning 10-wicket victory in Chennai.

The duo chased down UAE’s competitive target of 174 with more than four overs to spare, their unbeaten partnership of 175 eclipsing the record for the highest stand for any wicket at the men’s T20 World Cup.

Seifert finished unbeaten on 89 and Allen 84 as New Zealand romped home in just 15.2 overs to top Group D with a display of power-hitting that left UAE’s bowlers shell-shocked.

Earlier, UAE captain Muhammad Waseem had given his team hope with an unbeaten 66 after winning the toss.

Bas de Leede smashed an unbeaten 72 to power the Netherlands to a seven-wicket victory against Namibia in their Group A match.

De Leede struck four sixes and five fours in a 48-ball gem as the Dutch reeled in a 157-run target with two overs to spare for their first win of the tournament.

They had pushed former champions Pakistan to the brink before losing in the final over in Colombo on Saturday.