Harry Brook smashed a historic 50-ball century to propel England into the T20 World Cup semifinals following a pulse-pounding two-wicket victory over Pakistan in Kandy on Tuesday. The England captain became the first skipper to record a hundred in the tournament's history, anchoring a chase of 165 that teetered on the brink after a triple-strike from a resurgent Shaheen Shah Afridi.
England reached the target with five balls to spare at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, securing their place in the knockout stages for a fifth consecutive T20 World Cup. While the victory was far from clinical, marred by shoddy fielding and a familiar top-order collapse, Brook’s maiden T20I ton provided the definitive act of leadership required to keep the defending champions' title hopes alive.
In a move inspired by coach Brendon McCullum, Brook promoted himself to No. 3 for the first time in his T20I career. The move proved vital. Walking out to face the second ball of the innings after Phil Salt was dismissed for a golden duck, Brook watched as Jos Buttler’s wretched form continued with a feather behind for just two.
Brook reached his milestone by lofting successive deliveries over cover for six and four off Afridi. Though he was cleaned up by a pinpoint Afridi yorker one ball later, the result had been reduced to a formality.
Pakistan’s total of 164-9 appeared underpowered on a surface where the ball was skidding onto the bat. Sahibzada Farhan remained the lone bright spot for the opposition, striking 63 off 45 balls to cement his position as the tournament’s leading run-scorer.
Despite Farhan’s aggression, Pakistan’s momentum was sapped by the spin of Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson. Rashid enforced a 23-ball boundary drought that eventually claimed the wicket of Babar Azam, who surrendered to the pressure for a run-a-ball 25. A late-innings collapse saw Pakistan plummet from 146-5 to 149-8, as Dawson’s 3 for 24 tightened the screws.
England’s path to the semifinals has been "perfectly imperfect." Their fielding in Kandy was uncharacteristically poor; Jacob Bethell allowed two boundaries to slip through his fingers, and Brook himself dropped a regulation catch at extra cover.
Furthermore, the form of Jos Buttler remains a significant concern, with the veteran averaging just 10.33 across six innings in this tournament. However, as Brook noted after the match, "Teams often only require one top-order batter to fire."
Century: Harry Brook (100 off 51 balls) — 14 total boundaries.
Shaheen’s return: 4 for 30, including a wicket with the first ball of the innings.
Tournament leading scorer: Sahibzada Farhan (283 runs in 5 innings).
Bowling impact: Liam Dawson (3 for 24) and Adil Rashid (4.33 economy in the death overs).
Finish: England secured qualification with one Super 8 game remaining.
England now travels to Colombo to face New Zealand on Friday, with the chance to top Group 2 and secure a more favorable semifinal draw. Pakistan’s tournament life now hangs by a thread; they must defeat Sri Lanka in their final fixture and rely on a complex set of results to fall in their favor.