Pakistan defeat USA by 32 runs to avenge prior T20 World Cup upset

Pakistan overpowered the United States by 32 runs in a T20 World Cup Group A match in Colombo, reversing the shock result from two years ago behind a forceful top-order stand and disciplined middle-overs spin. The win, Pakistan’s second in as many games, came at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Tuesday.

Put in position by opener Sahibzada Farhan’s 41-ball 73, Pakistan posted 190 for nine and then contained an inexperienced USA batting lineup to 158 for eight. Leg-spinner Usman Tariq led the squeeze with three wickets for 27, while Shadab Khan struck twice for 26 to shut down the chase after it had threatened to catch fire.

Pakistan’s innings began at a sprint. Farhan and Saim Ayub lashed 54 in the first five overs, with Ayub belting two sixes in a brisk 19 off 17. Momentum briefly shifted when medium pacer Shadley van Schalkwyk removed both Ayub and skipper Salman Agha in the sixth over, Agha falling for one to a catch on the deep square-leg boundary. Babar Azam then joined Farhan to steady and accelerate the innings in an 81-run stand for the third wicket.

Farhan, 29, cleared the ropes five times and struck six fours, passing 1,000 T20 international runs in his 41st match before he was held in the covers off left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh in the 16th over. Babar’s 32-ball 46, with four fours and a six, kept Pakistan on course for a commanding total. A late burst from Shadab—30 off just 12 deliveries—pushed the score toward 200, even as a clatter of wickets in the final two overs limited the finish; Pakistan lost five for 13 at the death. Van Schalkwyk finished with standout figures of four for 25, following his earlier four-wicket haul against India.

Chasing 191, the United States found a foothold through opener Shayan Jahangir’s fluent 49 off 34 balls, which featured two sixes and five fours. Milind Kumar added 29, and Shubham Ranjane counterpunched to top-score with a 30-ball 51 that included three sixes and three fours. At 123 for three, the contest remained alive.

Pakistan’s spinners then tightened the game decisively. Tariq’s variations and Shadab’s control choked the scoring and drew errors, and once wickets began to fall the chase lost shape. Ranjane’s resistance ended against pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, who marked his 100th T20 international with that key strike. The USA closed on 158 for eight, well short despite patches of assertive batting.

The result avenged Pakistan’s surprise defeat to the USA in the previous T20 World Cup and underlined a surer footing to start this campaign, coming on the heels of a narrow three-wicket win over the Netherlands. Beyond Farhan’s commanding return at the top, Pakistan’s balance—early aggression with the bat, skill through the middle overs, and closing power with the ball—proved the difference in Colombo. For the USA, van Schalkwyk’s incisive spell and the intent shown by Jahangir and Ranjane offered positives, but the middle-overs stall against spin and the late-innings leaks with the ball underscored the gap on the day.