England have qualified for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup with a nervy two-wicket win in their Super Eight match against Pakistan, who have inched closer to exiting the tournament.
Captain Harry Brook scored a sublime century under pressure on Tuesday as his side successfully chased a 165-run target in 19.1 overs at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium near Kandy, Sri Lanka, and became the first team to enter the knockouts. Brook formed a 52-run partnership with in-form all-rounder Will Jacks, who scored 28 in the winning cause.
England’s win, however, began with a tumble and ended with a wobble as their top order and lower-middle order slumped against a par total of 164-9 set by Pakistan. The two-time champions went through to the last four by winning their second Super Eights game and taking four points, while Pakistan remain on one point after two matches.
England’s chase got off to a horrible start when Shaheen Shah Afridi removed opener Phil Salt with the first ball of the innings; Salt edged a length delivery to wicketkeeper Usman Khan, who took a diving catch. Afridi, who had been dropped for Pakistan’s washed-out match against New Zealand, continued his dream return with a wicket in his second over as former captain Jos Buttler was dismissed in a similar manner. Jacob Bethell, caught in the deep off Afridi, and Tom Banton, caught behind off Usman Khan, were the next two wickets to fall as Pakistan seemed to have the upper hand in the second innings.
Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan continued his imperious run-scoring form to score 63 runs off 45 balls, which became the cornerstone of Pakistan’s innings.
The opener was briefly supported by Babar Azam, who fell for 25 runs.
Fakhar Zaman’s 25 and Shadab Khan’s 23 runs helped Pakistan cross the 160-run mark in a must-win game.
Spin bowler Liam Dawson’s figures of 3-24 in four overs were supported by two wickets each from pacers Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton as England made it four wins in their last four games in the tournament.
They will face New Zealand in their last Super Eight fixture on Friday while Pakistan will play against hosts Sri Lanka the following day.
The next Group 2 match is between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on Wednesday.
Pakistan must now hope that Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by a big margin and England do the same two days later to dent the Kiwis’ net run rate.