Pakistan have made a superb start to their final Super 8s fixture against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Saturday (February 28). Put into bat, Pakistan recorded their best PowerPlay of the tournament with the new opening pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman combining for a total of 64 runs in the first six overs of the innings.
Farhan, the in-form opening batter, continued to pile on the runs and notched up his fourth fifty-plus score of this T20 World Cup. With this milestone, he equals Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Matthew Hayden for the most fifty-plus scores in a single T20 World Cup edition. Kohli achieved it in 2014 and 2022 while Babar did it in 2021 and Hayden back in 2007.
However, a bigger record was waiting Farhan in the final over of the PowerPlay. He slammed the first ball of the over from Dasun Shanaka to the fence, thereby breaking Virat Kohli's tally for most runs in a T20 World Cup edition. Kohli had aggregated 319 runs in the 2014 T20 World Cup and Farhan was on 283 before the start of the Sri Lanka clash.
Therefore, Farhan needed 37 more to get to the world record and when on 36, Farhan smashed a boundary to get to the world record in style. Farhan's sublime consistency allowed the aggressive Zaman to go berserk at the other end. The left-hander showed Pakistan what they had been missing at the top of the order and once again showcased his brutal ball-striking.
At the time of publishing this article, Pakistan have raced to 125-0 at the 12-over mark of their innings, well on course for a total in excess of 200-210, maybe more, depending on how they utilise this sensational foundation. Remember, they need to win by an approximate margin of 65-70 runs to get their net run rate above that of New Zealand, to ensure semifinal qualification.
