T20 World Cup: Harry Brook leads England to semi-final with century win over Pakistan

Harry Brook guided England to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, delivering a captain’s inning of the highest order in a nail-biting two-wicket win over Pakistan at Pallekele.

Brook’s swashbuckling 100 off 51 balls with four sixes and 10 fours helped England negotiate a chase of 165 on a turning pitch.

The 27-year-old was dismissed after reaching a 50-ball hundred with nine runs still needed, and despite losing Will Jacks and Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer saw England home with five balls to spare.

While Jos Buttler’s struggles continued as England slumped to 58 for four, Brook was masterful, and his highest international T20 score secured a second victory in the Super 8s, guaranteeing their place in the knockout stages with a match to spare.

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Worst possible start

Liam Dawson had earlier taken three for 24, with Archer and Overton claiming a pair of wickets each, to restrict Pakistan to 164 for nine, while Sahibzada Farhan made 63, before Shaheen Shah Afridi shocked England with three powerplay wickets.

But Brook, who afterwards revealed he promoted himself two places at the insistence of head coach Brendon McCullum, broke the back of the chase, with Will Jacks (28) the only other batsman to reach 20 as England secured a fifth win at this venue last month.

England’s chase got off to the worst possible start as Phil Salt picked up the first ball from the dangerous Afridi, while the out-of-form Buttler followed in identical fashion in the paceman’s next over for his fourth successive single-figure score, taking his tournament average to 10.33.

Hammering

Losing Jacob Bethell when Afridi struck for the third time, Brook took full advantage of his height, hitting the speedy Salman Mirza with the left arm for four and then hammering him straight for six.

When left-arm spin, Brook’s kryptonite with three dismissals in the tournament, was introduced, the Yorkshireman was equal to that as he took 17 from Mohammad Nawaz and knocked him out of the attack.

At the end of the powerplay, Brook had 41 of England’s 53 runs.

Usman Tariq – who spilled a howler to give Bethell a reprieve, costing just two runs – hit the first ball as Tom Banton fell behind before Sam Curran miscued the mystery spinner to Nawaz in the deep after making 45 with Brook.

Century

At 103 for five, Brook consolidated alongside Jacks but bowled out in Afridi’s final over, hammering him for six-four to move to three figures, joining Buttler and Dawid Malan as the only English men’s cricketers to register a century in all three formats.

Afridi finished at four for 30 with a slower ball yoker, which breached Brook’s defense and ended a 52-run stand with Jacks, who was dismissed by Nawaz alongside Overton in the penultimate.

However, Archer smashed Mirza for four through midwicket to get England over the line.

Breakthrough

It was Archer’s pace that helped England make the breakthrough after they lost the toss, with Saim Ayub finishing on toe for Bethell, while Salman Agha dressed Dawson for Overton, who took a fine catch by diving forward on the boundary.

A solid stand of 46 runs in 44 balls followed, largely thanks to the vigilant Babar Azam, the former world number one T20 batsman whose steady strike rates were criticised.

When he missed a heave over the line and Overton hit the top of a stump, it actually benefited Pakistan.

Raised the bar

Farhan, the tournament’s top scorer who held Pakistan’s innings together, and Fakhar Zaman raised the bar by taking sixes each from Jacks, England’s match winner against Sri Lanka, who leaked 27 from two overs.

When Farhan got off Overton for six-four, it looked like Pakistan were in the lead but he shuffled too far across his crease and was lbw for a yorker from England’s fast bowler.

It was the start that saw Pakistan lose five wickets in 19 legitimate balls with Dawson taking two in two, although Shadab, dropped by Brook on four, ensured they reached a competitive total.

READ MORE: Will Jacks and Jofra Archer excel with ball as England secure T20 World Cup win over Sri Lanka