New Delhi: Pakistan rode on a cracking 73-run knock from opener Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam’s crucial 46 to post a strong total of 190/9 on the board in their group-stage clash against USA in the T20 World Cup 2026 on Tuesday. Pakistan appeared set to breach the 200-run mark at one stage, but a late fightback from the USA bowlers restricted the Salman Ali Agha-led side to 190 in 20 overs.
After surviving a scare against Netherlands in their opening game, Pakistan were expected to produce a more dominant show with the bat against USA at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Tuesday. They did get off to a good start courtesy of opener Farhan, however, the middle order failed to capitalise on the platform laid by the opener
Farhan smashed a whirlwind 73 off 41 balls, which was laced with six sixes and five fours. He shared a 54-run opening stand with Saim Ayub (19) to get Pakistan off to a flyer, before adding a crucial 81-run stand for the third wicket with Babar, who bounced back among the runs with a 32-ball 46.
Farhan was the aggressor in his partnership with Babar as the star batter struggled in the middle at the start of his innings. After a sluggish start, Babar went after spinner Harmeet Singh, smashing two fours and a six off the 13th over to get into the groove. However, he failed to convert his knock into a big one and was dismissed after scoring 46.
After Farhan’s dismissal in the 16th over, all-rounder Shadab Khan provided impetus to Pakistan’s innings with a cameo of 12-ball 30. However, the likes of Mohammad Nawaz (5) and Faheem Ashraf (1) failed to join the party as USA bowlers picked up five wickets in the last two overs to stop Pakistan on 190/9.
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