England became the first team to qualify for the T20 World Cup semi-finals with a two-wicket victory over Pakistan in a tense chase, powered by an extraordinary 50-ball century from Harry Brook. Promoted to No. 3 for the first time in his England career, Brook entered the fray during the opening over and watched the top order stumble before transforming a potential crisis into a seemingly comfortable pursuit.
Brook's innings, which featured 14 boundaries and included a remarkable back-foot straight drive for six off Mohammad Nawaz, ended in the 17th over when he fell to Shaheen Shah Afridi for his fourth wicket. At that stage, England needed 10 runs from 18 balls. Late wickets from Will Jacks and Jamie Overton in the penultimate over gave Pakistan a glimmer of hope, but England reached their target of 165 with five balls to spare.
The victory masked deeper concerns for England, particularly the form of captain Jos Buttler, who has now scored only 10.33 runs per innings in six tournament appearances. Brook came to his skipper's defence, saying: "He's a powerhouse of world cricket, he's done it on every stage, won World Cups, ODIs and T20s. People have got to cut him a little bit of slack." Buttler and fellow opener Phil Salt contributed just three runs between them, both caught behind off Shaheen's bowling.
Earlier, Pakistan posted 164 for 9, with Sahibzada Farhan, the tournament's leading scorer, adding another fluent innings. Jofra Archer struck early to remove Saim Ayub, and Babar Azam made 25 before mistiming a heave off Jamie Overton. Overton then sparked a collapse, bowling Farhan with a pinpoint yorker to reduce Pakistan to 149 for 8. England's occasional misfields added to the chase's tension, but Brook's brilliance had already set the stage for a memorable victory.
