Magnificent Harry — Brook’s masterclass takes England to T20 World Cup semifinals
On one of the grass embankments at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, British tourists outnumbered the locals. The midday sun here is sweltering enough to cause hyperpigmentation. Evenings, though, are pleasant. A few St. George’s Cross flags hung over the railing. The Barmy Army is not here, so ‘Jerusalem’ was conspicuous by its absence.
Out there in the middle, Pakistan had to bite the bullet and send Babar Azam at No. 4. The power play was on, but they had to eschew the attacking intent for a while. Pakistan bat deep, but the batting isn’t trustworthy, always two-three quick wickets away from an implosion. Babar’s role in the T20Is these days has been restricted to an anchor if the team loses early wickets.
The pitch was described as a “good one” by both captains, Salman Agha and Harry Brook, at the toss. Jofra Archer was still beating the Pakistan batters for pace. Saim Ayub tried to pull a delivery that got big on him to bite the dust, and Jamie Overton took a superb diving catch at long-off to dismiss Agha off Liam Dawson. England’s fielding oscillated between sublime and messy. Three excellent catches were taken, but as many soft boundaries, too, were conceded through misfields. Brook dropped a sitter at cover to give Shadab Khan a reprieve, and Dawson, the bowler, wasn’t impressed.
Babar struggled against Archer’s pace to start with. He attempted to pull but chose the wrong length. The ball hurried on him and he almost hit it straight back to the bowler. Another short delivery squared him up. The ‘king’ of yore was batting like a pauper. Babar eventually connected a pull and got a four. Another boundary followed through third. It felt like the former captain would grow into the game. He flattered to deceive.
At 46/2 after six overs, England had won the power play. The pitch gradually started to become a tad two-paced as the game wore on. Babar’s strike-rate continued to slide. First, it came down below 130 and then sub-120. When he got out for 25, attempting a hoick against Jamie Overton, his strike-rate was 104.16. He continues to be the elephant in the room.
Pakistan still reached 164/9 after 20 overs because Sahibzada Farhan scored 63 off 45 balls – his second half-century in six innings at the ongoing T20 World Cup – and Fakhar Zaman (25, 16 balls) and Shadab Khan (23, 11 balls) played lovely little cameos.
Two days ago, England had successfully defended 146 at this venue. But this game was played on a fresh pitch, and from that perspective Pakistan’s total felt like about 15 runs below-par. It actually became a power play game. England needed to score big in the first six overs of their innings, Pakistan’s hopes rested on making early inroads. Cometh the hour, cometh Shaheen Shah Afridi.
An extra fast bowler at Pallekelle was always going to be Pakistan’s choice. RevSportz reported that on the match eve itself, although the report mentioned Naseem Shah instead of Shaheen. The former was bowling well at the nets and the team management bringing back a bowler who was discarded just five days ago appeared unlikely. Then again, Pakistan cricket doesn’t easily do away with big-name players and it worked in Shaheen’s favour. The selection turned out to be a masterstroke.
With his ego hurt, Shaheen was determined to prove a point. He rolled back the years. The in-form Phil Salt was accounted for in the very first ball of England’s innings, Shaheen making the delivery nibble away off the deck. Jos Buttler played a poor shot to a shortish delivery to perish for another single-digit score – four on the spin now for the former England captain and his form is becoming a serious concern. Jacob Bethell had a charmed life when Usman Tariq dropped a sitter. But Shaheen dismissed him with a lifter. His first-spell figures read: 3-0-13-3, but England still reached 53 at the end of the powerplay. It was even-stevens at that point, the two teams locked in a fascinating dogfight.
Not exactly. From England’s point of view, it was Brook-or-bust, notwithstanding a batting line-up that boasts heavy artillery up to Overton at No. 8. Pressure was mounting and it no longer remained a game for the bits-and-pieces. At the end of the 14th over, England were 117/5 and the equation read, 48 off 36 balls. Brook & Co needed to see off Usman, who was making the ball grip and already had a couple of wickets in his kitty.
England, in fact, took 14 off the off-spinner’s final over. That was the game-breaker. Brook reached a masterful hundred off 50 balls. His team won by two wickets with five balls to spare to reach the semifinals.
Brief scores: Pakistan 164/9 (Sahibzada Farhan 63; Liam Dawson 3/24) lost to England 166/8 (Harry Brook 100, Shaheen Shah Afridi 4/30) by 2 wickets
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