Sri Lanka's Pallekele:Thanks to a brilliant century from captain Harry Brook, who led from the front, England defeated Pakistan today to guarantee their place in the T20 World Cup semifinals. Despite taking four wickets for just 58 runs in less than eight overs at one point, Pakistan lost control of the game, and they were to blame. However, Brook skillfully orchestrated the challenging 165-run chase to get England over the finish line in the game's last over. With this victory, England defeated Pakistan for the fourth time in the World Cup, extending their winning streak. Additionally, England has defeated Pakistan in the last six Twenty20 Internationals.
Earlier, when Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first, Sahibzada Farhan performed admirably. Before being dismissed on 63 off 45 balls, he made sure to stay in the game until the sixteenth over. However, Pakistan lost wickets quickly after he was removed, causing a mini-collapse. Farhan had a brilliant innings plan, but if he had stayed in the game until the very end, it might have gone well for Pakistan.
Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha were among the other batters who failed, and the middle order still struggled. He got off to a strong start, hitting two fours during the powerplay, but he became stuck in the middle overs and was eventually dismissed for 25 runs off 24 deliveries. Many were confused by the decision to play at five, but he batted well, scoring 25 runs off of 16 balls. The left-hander could have had a much greater impact if he had batted earlier.
It took a cameo for Pakistan to even reach 164 runs after they appeared to be in a good position to surpass the 170-run milestone at one point but lost wickets in the final overs. Before being run out on the final delivery of the innings, he amassed 23 runs off of 11 balls. The best bowler for England was Liam Dawson, who took three wickets for just 24 runs. Jamie Overton and Jofra Archer also took a couple each.
England falters, but Brook pushes them to the limit.Only Brook and a little bit of Jacks were involved in the run-chase. For the first time in his career, Brook batted at number three. After taking on the Pakistani bowlers in the powerplay, he expertly planned the chase and used Usman Tariq in the middle overs. In the powerplay, England amassed 53 runs at a cost of three wickets, with 41 of those runs coming from Brook, who continued to bat in the same manner for the remainder of the innings.
Before Will Jacks came out to bat and the two of them made sure to keep England in the hunt, he didn't have much support. In the last over of Tariq's spell, he was hit for 14 runs with a six and a four. After Tariq finished his spell, Brook attacked Shaheen Afridi, who smashed a spectacular century off just 50 balls.
The England captain was dismissed on the very next ball, needing 10 runs off 18 deliveries, but things became intriguing as they lost two more wickets. To Pakistan's dismay, England ultimately crossed the boundary in the last over to guarantee their place in the semifinals.
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