Brook's one-man show sends England to the semis

Harry Brook put on an extraordinary display in Pallekele by becoming the first captain in T20 World Cup history to smash a century. That one-man show saw England become the first team to book their place in the 2026 T20 World Cup semifinals, which in turn has now jeopardised Pakistan's chances. The returning Shaheen Afridi did his bit with a four-wicket haul for Pakistan whereas England appeared to shoot themselves on the foot right at the death before eventually crossing the line in a chase of 165 with five balls to spare.

On another spin-friendly surface in Pallekele, Pakistan opted to bat first and have runs on the board. Sahibzada Farhan, who has carried the Pakistan batting unit in this tournament, had to step up once again after Saim Ayub and Salman Agha endured poor outings. Ayub got a top edge while attempting to pull Jofra Archer and Agha was sent packing by Liam Dawson in the following over. That meant an opportunity was present for Babar Azam to walk in at No. 4 and make an impact. However, it was Farhan who did the bulk of the scoring in the Powerplay as he fetched boundaries off Jamie Overton, Archer and Liam Dawson. Babar for his part hit back-to-back boundaries off Archer to get off to a positive start.

However, post the Powerplay, Babar struggled to get going against England's spinners. Adil Rashid, who has had the better of him in the past, troubled him again as Pakistan's premier batter struggled to read the English veteran. That sustained pressure eventually resulted in Babar's departure for a 24-ball 25 as he got castled by Overton while attempting a wild slog to break free. But Fakhar Zaman walked out with intent and gave Pakistan the necessary push. Farhan and Zaman then hit a six each off Will Jacks before the opener brought up another fifty in the tournament.

Setting themselves up for a big finish at 112/3 by the end of the 15th over, Pakistan appeared to be putting the total beyond England's reach when Farhan smashed a six and four off successive deliveries. But Overton straged a strong comeback with a fuller delivery to trap the opener plumb in front. Even though Rashid was carted around for two sixes in the following over, England consistently chipped away with key wickets to squeeze Pakistan. Dawson was the pick of the bowlers finishing with figures of 3/24. Shadab Khan added some vital runs at the death to drag Pakistan past the 160-run mark which was still a good enough total on this surface if not for dew.

The target of 165 then appeared to be more than enough after England's innings got underway. The returning Afridi dominated the proceedings during the Powerplay. He struck first ball to send Phil Salt back for a golden duck and Jos Buttler's wretched run continued as the opener got a tame under edge through to the keeper. Jacob Bethell was the next to go as he found the fielder in the deep to fall for just 8. Amidst all this, Brook put on a terrific display at the other end, scoring 41 runs in the Powerplay after promoting himself to No.3. He started off with a four and a six off Salman Mirza and took full toll of the fielding restrictions by carting Mohammad Nawaz around in the final over of the Powerplay.

Pakistan's trump card Usman Tariq kept his side in the hunt by striking in his very first over that reduced England to 58/4. But with a deep batting lineup, England were never out of the contest, especially with a marauding Brook still out in the middle. The England skipper put on a show against the Pakistan spin attack, smashing boundaries at will while also playing it safe against Tariq. While Tariq did eventually strike again with the wicket of Sam Curran, Jacks made up for his poor outing with the ball by clearing the boundary very early in his innings.

Jacks and Brooks ensured there was no cause for concern with the former even pulling Tariq for a six to rubberstamp his authority. In a desperate move, Agha brought back Afridi for his final over in search of a breakthrough. But Brook came down the track to cart him over wide long on for another six and followed it up with a boundary to reach three figures for the very first time in T20Is. The left-arm pacer did manage to send the England skipper back to the pavilion off the very next ball with a perfect yorker but the damage had already been done as England needed just 10 more runs.

Even though the game was in the bag, England put on a reckless display right at the end losing wickets in careless fashion that caused a slight flutter heading into the final over where they needed 3 runs with 2 wickets in hand. Archer however put the game to bed by pulling the very first ball for a boundary.

Brief scores: Pakistan 164/9 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 63; Liam Dawson 3-24, Jamie Overton 2-26) lost to England 166/8 in 19.1 overs (Harry Brook 100; Shaheen Afridi 4-30) by 2 wickets