In a dazzling display of power-hitting, England captain Harry Brook led his team to a historic victory over Pakistan, securing both a semi-final berth and a place in cricketing history. The resilient Pakistani side had set England a challenging target, but Brook’s destructive innings ensured their chase ended in triumph.
The match, played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday evening, saw Pakistan post a competitive total of 164 runs after batting first. England’s response began shakily, losing three wickets for just 35 runs within the powerplay, but Brook’s entrance at number three completely turned the game on its head.
The 27-year-old smashed a record-breaking century off just 51 balls, becoming the first captain in T20 World Cup history to reach three figures. The previous record for a captain’s T20 World Cup innings was 98, held by Chris Gayle. Brook’s rapid 50-ball effort to reach triple digits marked the second fastest T20 World Cup century after Gayle’s 47-ball effort in 2016, with Brendon McCullum also having achieved a 50-ball century in 2007.
Despite being bowled by Shaheen Afridi immediately after reaching three figures, Brook had already set England firmly on the path to victory. The team clinched the match with five balls to spare, winning by two wickets. This victory secured England’s spot in the semi-finals as the first team to qualify from the Super Eight stage, marking their fifth consecutive T20 World Cup semi-final appearance—a record in the tournament’s history.
Brook’s century also made him only the third English cricketer to score hundreds across all three formats, joining Jos Buttler and David Malan. Additionally, he became the third English batsman to score a T20 World Cup century, alongside Buttler and Alex Hales.
Pakistan’s innings were bolstered by Sahibzada Farhan, who scored 63 runs off 45 balls, his second fifty in this World Cup, making him the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 283 runs from five innings. Fakhur Zaman, Babar Azam, and Shadab Khan contributed late runs, but their total proved insufficient against Brook’s onslaught.
Key individual performances from both sides are summarised below:
| Team | Player | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Wickets | Overs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | Harry Brook | 100 | 51 | 8 | 8 | – | – |
| Will Jacks | 28 | 23 | 3 | 1 | – | – | |
| Sam Curran | 16 | 15 | 1 | 1 | – | – | |
| Pakistan | Sahibzada Farhan | 63 | 45 | 4 | 3 | – | – |
| Fakhar Zaman | 25 | 16 | 3 | 1 | – | – | |
| Babar Azam | 25 | 24 | 2 | 0 | – | – | |
| Shadab Khan | 23 | 11 | 2 | 1 | – | – | |
| England | Liam Dawson | – | – | – | – | 3 | – |
| Jofra Archer | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | |
| Jamie Overton | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | |
| Pakistan | Shaheen Afridi | – | – | – | – | 4 | 4 |
| Usman Tariq | – | – | – | – | 2 | 4 | |
| Mohammad Nawaz | – | – | – | – | 2 | 3 |
With this emphatic victory, England continued their dominance over Pakistan in T20 World Cups, having won all four encounters against them in this tournament and six of the last six matches overall. The win also highlighted Brook’s rising stature as one of the tournament’s most destructive and reliable batsmen.