PALLEKELE: Pakistan on Monday warned England&#39;s inconsistent batting line-up to expect a trial by spin when the teams clash in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/south-africa-thrash-india-to-end-12match-t20-world-cup-win-streak" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">T20 World Cup</a>&nbsp;Super Eights. Pakistan batsman Sahibzada Farhan told reporters that England struggled to 146-9 against Sri Lanka&#39;s spinners on Sunday. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/tonup-farhan-helps-pakistan-seal-super-eight-spot-with-namibia-rout" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Farhan</a>&nbsp;said that England can expect more of the same from Pakistan&#39;s spinners when they meet on the same Pallekele ground in Kandy on Tuesday night. Pakistan need a win after their first match against New Zealand was washed out. A defeat would put England, who skittled Sri Lanka for 95 to win by 51 runs, through to the semi-finals with a game to spare. Pakistan would then need to beat Sri Lanka in their final Super Eights match and hope other results go their way to reach the last four. &quot;What we saw in the Sri Lanka-England game was that the ball was gripping and England struggled against spin,&quot; said the in-form opener Farhan on Monday. &quot;Sri Lanka have one or two spinners but we have five in all so we will give England a tough time on a pitch that looks good and will grip,&quot; said Farhan. Pakistan&#39;s spinners have taken 26 wickets in the four matches so far. Their seamers have dismissed only seven batsmen. History will be against Pakistan as they have never beaten England in three previous Twenty20 World Cup clashes. &quot;We are confident and our morale is high,&quot; said Farhan, who scored an unbeaten 100 against&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-opt-to-bat-first-against-namibia-in-do-or-die-match" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Namibia</a>&nbsp;in Pakistan&#39;s final group match. &quot;We are focused on this match to win and progress.&quot; Farhan, who tops the T20 World Cup run-scoring chart with 220, said he was ready for the threat of England&#39;s express pace bowler Jofra Archer. &quot;Facing Archer will not be difficult because I have faced similar bowlers in Pakistan,&quot; said Farhan. &quot;So if he has plans against me, I also have plans against him.&quot; Pakistan are likely to bring in spinner Abrar Ahmed in place of seaming all-rounder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-opt-to-bat-first-against-namibia-in-do-or-die-match" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Faheem Ashraf</a>. England may name an unchanged side for the fifth match in succession with Liam Dawson, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid and Jacob Bethell providing their spin options. Sri Lanka and New Zealand are the two other teams in Pakistan and England&#39;s Super Eights group. They face each other in Colombo on Wednesday. The top two teams will qualify for the semi-finals.

England's Joe Root plays a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy one-day international (ODI) cricket match between England and Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on February 26, 2025. (AFP)

Cricket

Pakistan warned England to expect a spin-heavy challenge in Tuesday’s T20 World Cup Super Eights clash at Pallekele, with Sahibzada Farhan confident as Pakistan seeks a crucial win to advance.

Pakistan warn England's flaky batting to expect a trial by spin

COLOMBO: Sahibzada Farhan hit a magnificent unbeaten century to help Pakistan seal the final Super Eight berth at the T20 World Cup with a thumping 102-run win over Namibia in Colombo on Wednesday. Farhan scored 100 not out off 58 balls with four sixes and 10 fours as Pakistan posted 199-3 before they routed Namibia for 97 in 17.3 overs. Pakistan&#39;s victory took them to six points from four games in Group A and eliminated the United States, who finished with four points. India also has six points and plays the Netherlands in the group&#39;s final game later Wednesday. The defending champions India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the West Indies will play each other in the Super Eight Group 1, hosted in India. Pakistan joins New Zealand, England and co-hosts Sri Lanka in Group 2, hosted in Sri Lanka. After a morale-shattering 61-run defeat against India, Pakistan needed a victory to avoid an early exit, which was achieved with ease as spinners Usman Tariq (4-16) and Shadab Khan (3-19) tore through the Namibia batting. Louren Steenkamp scored 23, while Alexander Busing-Volschenk was the only other batsman to reach double figures with 20. &#39;Complete performance&#39;&nbsp;Skipper Salman Agha praised a clinical show. &quot;It is a complete performance,&quot; said a relieved Agha. &quot;We batted well and Farhan anchored the innings. He has been batting well for a while and I am happy that he got his hundred. &quot;With the ball we were lethal.&quot; Namibian skipper Gerhard Erasmus admitted Pakistan&#39;s spin bowlers were too hot to handle. &quot;It (spin) is a special skill to have, to turn the ball both ways like they do,&quot; said Erasmus. &quot;I think that&#39;s one of the things we&#39;ll definitely take home and look to improve on.&quot; Earlier, Farhan blasted a six and a four off pace bowler Jack Brassell to enter the 90s before taking a single off Gerhard Erasmus to complete his hundred in the final over. It was Farhan&#39;s maiden T20 ton, and he became only the second Pakistani to score a T20 World Cup century after Ahmed Shehzad in 2014 against Bangladesh. Shadab Khan, promoted to number five with Babar Azam left out, hit three sixes and a four in his 36 not out off 22 balls as Pakistan smashed 42 from the last three overs. Farhan put on 40 for the opening wicket with Saim Ayub (14) before consolidating the innings during a 67-run second wicket stand with captain Salman Agha (38). Pakistan also left out pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi after a poor show in the first three matches, including conceding 31 in two overs in the defeat against India on Sunday. Farhan&#39;s ton means this is the first T20 World Cup in which three centuries have been scored. He followed Sri Lanka&#39;s Pathum Nissanka, who scored a hundred against Australia on Monday, and Canada&#39;s Yuvraj Sama who reached three figures against New Zealand on Tuesday.&nbsp;

Sahibzada Farhan’s unbeaten century powered Pakistan to a 102-run victory over Namibia, securing Super Eight qualification, eliminating USA, and showcasing dominant spin bowling performance overall

Ton-up Farhan helps Pakistan seal Super Eight spot with Namibia rout

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Sahibzada Farhan&#39;s unbeaten century powered Pakistan to 199 for three against Namibia on Wednesday, setting a towering target of 200 in a must-win T20 World Cup group match at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Farhan, opening the batting, defied a knee scare midway through his innings to finish on 100 not out off 58 balls &mdash; the first century for Pakistan in this World Cup.&nbsp; His knock, featuring 11 fours and four sixes, spanned all 20 overs and anchored an innings that threatened to stall before exploding in the final stages. Slow start, explosive finish Pakistan was measured through the powerplay, reaching 47 for one at the six-over mark &mdash; cautious but not catastrophic. Saim Ayub fell for 14, caught behind off Jack Brassell&#39;s wide, angled delivery. Captain Salman Agha provided the spark with a 38 off 23, but was also dismissed by Brassell. Khawaja Nafay, promoted ahead of Babar Azam, lasted just five balls before holing out to Erasmus. Pakistan reached the midpoint at 85 for one and needed to shift gears. They did. The finishing blitz Shadab Khan joined Farhan at the crease and the pair put on 81 for the fourth wicket. Shadab scored 36 not out off 22, clubbing consecutive sixes off Gerhard Erasmus in the penultimate over as Pakistan plundered 37 runs from the final three overs. Farhan reached his century off the second-last ball of the innings with a nudge to long off, before misreading the final delivery and falling just short of 200. Jack Brassell was Namibia&#39;s best with two for 48, while Erasmus claimed one for 25. High stakes&nbsp; Pakistan needs this victory &mdash; or a washout &mdash; to reach the Super Eight stage, having lost the previous match. A Namibian win would send the United States through instead, eliminating Pakistan from a second consecutive T20 World Cup at the group stage. Meanwhile, Namibia started off the second innings steadily. The African nation reached 16 without loss after 2.2 overs, with Louren Steenkamp and Jan Frylinck unbeaten at the interval.

Pakistan vs Namibia toss at T20 World Cup

The match is crucial for Pakistan’s hopes of advancing to the Super Eights stage. A win — or even a washout due to rain — will be enough to see Pakistan through to the next round. However, a defeat would result in their elimination from the tournament.

T20 World Cup: Farhan’s century powers Pakistan to 199 against Namibia

COLOMBO: Opener Sahibzada Farhan hit a solid half-century while spinner Usman Tariq grabbed three wickets as Pakistan downed the United States by 32 runs in a T20 World Cup Group A game in Colombo on Tuesday. The 29-year-old hit five sixes and six fours in his 41-ball 73 and was aided by a brilliant 32-ball 46 by Babar Azam (four fours, one six) to guide Pakistan to 190-9 at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground. Their spinners then checked the inexperienced USA batting with Tariq taking 3-27 and Shadab Khan 2-26 to restrict their opponents to 158-8 in 20 overs. The win avenged Pakistan&#39;s shock defeat at the hands of USA in the T20 World Cup two years ago and handed them a second win in as many games following their close three-wicket win over the Netherlands on Saturday. For the USA, Shubham Ranjane top scored with a valiant 30-ball 51 including three sixes and as many fours before he fell to pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was playing his 100th T20 international. Opener Shayan Jahangir muscled his way to an attractive 34-ball 49 studded with two sixes and five fours while Milind Kumar scored 29 before United States were derailed from 123-3. &quot;It was a clinical performance as we batted really well to post 190, and we knew we could defend that,&quot; said Pakistan captain Salman Agha. &quot;There is always room for improvement; we&#39;d like to bowl better in the powerplay before the next game.&quot; Pakistan&#39;s next game is against arch-rivals India in Colombo on Sunday, a game only cleared by Pakistan government on Monday after initially announcing a boycott of it. &quot;We were in the game in the powerplay but again in the middle overs we couldn&#39;t show intent and lost wickets,&quot; said USA captain Monank Patel. Earlier, Farhan and fellow opener Saim Ayub, who scored a 17-ball 19 with two sixes, put on 54 in five overs. Pakistan then lost two wickets in the sixth over of their innings, bowled by Shadley van Schalkwyk. Ayub was caught off a slower one while Agha holed out on the deep square-leg boundary for one. Farhan and Azam took control with an 81-run third-wicket stand as Pakistan cut loose in the middle overs. Farhan passed 1,000 T20 international runs in his 41st match before he was caught in the covers off spinner Harmeet Singh in the 16th over. Shadab Khan launched an assault to score 30 off 12 balls before Pakistan lost five wickets for just 13 runs in the last two overs. Schalkwyk was the best USA bowler with 4-25, following his four-wicket haul against India in the 29-run defeat on Saturday.&nbsp;

Opener Sahibzada Farhan hit a solid half-century while spinner Usman Tariq grabbed three wickets as Pakistan downed the United States by 32 runs in a T20 World Cup Group A game in Colombo on Tuesday

Farhan, spinners lead Pakistan to easy USA win in T20 World Cup

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has finished the year as the world&rsquo;s leading six-hitting side in men&rsquo;s T20Is, marking a major shift in the team&rsquo;s white-ball strategy under head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha. Pakistan struck 235 sixes, the highest tally among all teams. West Indies followed with 214, Bangladesh with 206, New Zealand with 135 and Australia with 128. India hit 116 sixes in 17 matches and did not make it to the top five. However, with five T20Is still remaining in their 2025 schedule, they have a strong chance of breaking into the leading group.&nbsp;Cricket analysts say Pakistan&rsquo;s rise is even more impressive given the conditions in which many of their matches were played. A large portion of Pakistan&rsquo;s T20Is this year were low-scoring, spin-friendly contests in Bangladesh, the UAE and the West Indies, conditions that generally limit power-hitting. Even at home, Pakistan prepared spin-assisting pitches as part of their buildup for the T20 World Cup in February 2026, to be held in India and Sri Lanka. Despite the difficult surfaces, Pakistan&rsquo;s batters adapted to a more aggressive blueprint introduced by Hesson and backed strongly by Salman Ali Agha, who urged the team to play bold, attacking cricket. For Pakistan, Sahibzada Farhan led the six-hitting charts with 45 sixes in 26 matches. Rising star Hassan Nawaz followed with 34 sixes in 25 games, while Saim Ayub added 28 sixes in 29 innings. Farhan also finished as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/sahibzada-farhan-becomes-first-pakistani-batter-to-hit-100-t20-sixes-in-a-year" style="color:#0073e6;">leading six-hitter in all T20 cricket</a>&nbsp;this year. He became the first Pakistani to smash 100 T20 sixes in a single calendar year, a landmark achievement that places him among the world&rsquo;s most destructive hitters. Only Australia&rsquo;s Karanbir Singh (122) and West Indies&rsquo; Nicholas Pooran (103) hit more sixes globally, underlining Farhan&rsquo;s explosive rise.

Pakistan hit 235 sixes in T20Is in 2025, the highest tally among all teams. West Indies followed with 214, Bangladesh with 206, New Zealand with 135 and Australia with 128.

Pakistan top global six-hitting charts as new white-ball approach pays off

ISLAMABAD: Sahibzada Farhan has made history by becoming the first Pakistani batsman to smash 100 sixes in a calendar year in T20 cricket, marking a major breakthrough for the country&rsquo;s limited-overs game.&nbsp;Only Australia&rsquo;s Karanbir Singh (122) and West Indies&rsquo; Nicholas Pooran (103) sit above him on the international leaderboard, underlining Farhan&rsquo;s rise as one of the world&rsquo;s most explosive power-hitters.&nbsp;Farhan has also pulled level with both Karanbir and Pooran for the most T20 fifties in a calendar year, with all three recording 15 each. His tally includes 4 hundreds and 11 fifties, compared with Karanbir&rsquo;s 13 fifties and 2 hundreds, and Pooran&rsquo;s 14 fifties and 1 century.&nbsp;The milestone came on a dominant night for Pakistan, who cruised past Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the T20 tri-series in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Farhan smashed an unbeaten 80 off 45 balls to guide the hosts to a comfortable win.&nbsp;Sri Lanka, still shaken from a heavy opening defeat to Zimbabwe, managed only 128-7 after choosing to bat as Mohammad Nawaz&rsquo;s 3-16 and Abrar Ahmed&rsquo;s accuracy kept them under pressure.&nbsp;Farhan attacked from the outset, racing Pakistan to 47 in five overs before adding 69 alongside Babar Azam. Despite two late strikes from Dushmantha Chameera, Pakistan sealed the chase in 15.3 overs at 131-3.&nbsp;Captain Salman Ali Agha praised his side for delivering a &ldquo;complete game,&rdquo; while Sri Lanka&rsquo;s troubled tour continued with another disappointing outing.

Only Australia’s Karanbir Singh (122) and West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran (103) are above him on the international leaderboard.

Sahibzada Farhan becomes first Pakistani batter to hit 100 T20 sixes in a year

ISLAMABAD: India has filed an official complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) against Pakistan cricketers Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan for their on-field gestures during the Asia Cup Super Four game last Sunday, Indian media reported on Thursday.&nbsp;&ldquo;It is reliably learnt that the BCCI filed the complaint against the duo on Wednesday, and ICC is in receipt of the e-mail,&rdquo; Press Trust of India reported.&nbsp;In case Farhan and Rauf deny allegations, they might have to appear before the ICC Elite Panel Referee Richie Richardson, for an official hearing.&nbsp;Farhan&#39;s animated celebration after his half-century and Haris Rauf&#39;s gestures toward fans at the boundary, believed to be incidents cited in a BCCI complaint, have gone viral on social media.&nbsp;India&rsquo;s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate addressed the issue, saying: &quot;The pressure on players in this environment is immense. While I saw what Haris did, it&rsquo;s not our concern. We&rsquo;re proud of how our players conducted themselves; they responded with the bat, not gestures. Other teams may have taken issue with us, too, but we&rsquo;re satisfied with our conduct.&quot;&nbsp;PCB complains against YadavAccording to PTI, the PCB has also filed a complaint with the ICC over India captain Suryakumar Yadav, who dedicated the September 14 win over Pakistan to &quot;the families of the Pahalgam terror attack victims.&quot; The PCB has labeled the remarks as &quot;political.&quot;&nbsp;Suryakumar had said during the post-match presentation: &quot;This win is for our armed forces, who showed great bravery. We hope to keep inspiring them.&quot;&nbsp;That match also drew attention for the lack of customary gestures, no handshake at the toss or after the game, sparking what&#39;s now dubbed &quot;Handshakegate&quot;.&nbsp;Sunday&rsquo;s Super Fours clash saw further heated exchanges, with Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf involved in on-field spats with India&rsquo;s Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill.

PCB also reportedly complains about Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav's "political comments".

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