Brook became the first captain to notch a T20 World Cup ton, ensuring his team was not left to rue the three wickets it lost in the PowerPlay. It got past the 165-run target with five balls to spare and sealed its place in the semifinals.
Walking in after Phil Salt was caught behind off Shaheen Afridi (four for 30) on the first ball of the innings, Brook added 41 of the 53 runs in the first six overs and was unfazed despite a flurry of wickets. Afridi accounted for Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell too but England stayed ahead of the asking rate after Brook plundered 17 runs off Mohammad Nawaz’s over.
He picked up another 17 off Shadab Khan in the 11th over, which included a heave into the sightscreen and two boundaries with a sweep and a slog sweep. Pakistan’s last attempt at clawing back was smothered by Will Jacks, who picked Usman Tariq’s half-tracker beyond square leg from deep in his crease.
By the time Brook lofted successive deliveries over covers off Afridi’s 16th over to bring up the 50-ball hundred, and perished one delivery later, the result was merely a formality.
Mohammad Nawaz’s two wickets in the 19th over were merely brief delays in England’s march to the finish line.
ALSO READ: Harry Brook becomes first captain to score century in men’s T20 World Cup
That Pakistan was in the game at the mid-innings interval was again down to Sahibzada Farhan (63, 45b, 7×4, 2×6), who cleaned up again after a tepid start.
The skiddy bounce of Jofra Archer that had accounted for Saim Ayub, inducing a leading edge to deep fine leg on a pull shot, was easily negotiated by Farhan. He made room to launch a slash over point before riding the bounce inside his crease to pummel Archer through midwicket.
Babar Azam switched between power and precision against Archer when he picked two consecutive boundaries, the first with a pull through midwicket and then a nudge through third man.
But his brisk start was reduced to run-a-ball after Adil Rashid put a leash on the scoring rate and forced a 23-ball boundary drought. Babar caved in to the pressure, went firing across the line against Jamie Overton and saw his castle rearranged.
Taking note of the crashing tempo, Farhan and Fakhar Zaman provided timely momentum by taking on Jacks.
Fakhar shimmied down and wafted him over long on, getting Pakistan its first maximum in the 14th over. Farhan emulated the result but with a slog sweep just two balls later.
Farhan’s impending change in gears was imminent from his loft over covers and a swat down the ground off Overton. But it was averted on the very next ball after Overton pinned him in front off a full delivery.
Pakistan lost the plot in mimicking Farhan’s intent. Usman Khan and Mohammad Nawaz perished to blind slogging against Liam Dawson (three for 24), a slump that brought Pakistan crashing from 146 for five to 149 for eight.
Shadab’s 11-ball 23 saw that Pakistan lasted the full 20 overs, but in the end even that was not enough.
Published on Feb 24, 2026
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