Pakistan down USA by 32 runs to avenge T20 World Cup shock
Farhan’s 73 and Tariq’s 3-27 set up 190-9 in Colombo as bowlers close out second straight Group A win.
Pakistan avenged their upset loss to the United States two years ago with a 32-run victory in a T20 World Cup Group A match in Colombo, riding a blistering half-century from Sahibzada Farhan and incisive spin bowling to defend a hefty total at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Tuesday.
Farhan top-scored with a 41-ball 73, striking five sixes and six fours, while Babar Azam added a brisk 46 off 32 deliveries to lift Pakistan to 190 for nine. Usman Tariq then led a disciplined bowling effort with 3-27, backed by Shadab Khan’s 2-26, to restrict the USA to 158 for eight.
Pakistan burst out with a 54-run opening stand inside five overs as Farhan and Saim Ayub set the tone. Momentum briefly shifted in the sixth over when Shadley van Schalkwyk removed Ayub, who made 19 off 17 balls with two sixes, and then dismissed captain Salman Agha for one. Farhan and Babar rebuilt decisively, adding 81 for the third wicket as Pakistan accelerated through the middle overs.
Farhan crossed 1,000 T20 international runs during the stand before falling in the 16th over, caught in the covers off Harmeet Singh. Shadab Khan’s late 30 off 12 balls provided a surge, but Pakistan stumbled at the death, losing five wickets for 13 runs across the final two overs. Van Schalkwyk finished with 4-25, following up the four-wicket haul he claimed in the USA’s 29-run defeat to India on Saturday.
The USA reply mixed composure and intent before Pakistan’s spinners tightened the chase. Opener Shayan Jahangir muscled 49 off 34 balls with two sixes and five fours, and Milind Kumar contributed 29. Shubham Ranjane kept the target within reach with a 30-ball 51, including three sixes and three fours, before falling to Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was playing his 100th T20 international. From 123 for three, the USA lost traction as Tariq and Shadab applied pressure and struck regularly, and the chase tailed off short of the target.
The result delivered Pakistan a second win in as many games, building on a tight three-wicket victory over the Netherlands on Saturday, and provided a measure of redress for the shock defeat suffered against the USA at the previous T20 World Cup. It also underscored the balance in Pakistan’s attack, with spin controlling the middle overs after a forceful batting display laid the platform.