All-round Pakistan dominate USA to make it two in two

Overcoming their hiccups against Netherlands in the tournament opener, Pakistan recorded an impressive 32-run victory over USA in their T20 World Cup clash at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.

Having been asked to bat first, Pakistan rode on opener Sahibzada Farhan's rapid start. Saim Ayub was more pedestrian but unleashed a Calypso-style pull for six off Saurabh Netravalkar.

The breakthrough came from Shadley van Schalkwyk, who removed Ayub and Salman Ali Agha in the PowerPlay. Babar Azam struggled initially, even failing to capitalize on a free hit. However, the 13th over swung momentum decisively as Babar tore into left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh for a six and two fours. He fell soon after to leg-spinner Mohammad Mohsin.

Wicket-keeper Andries Gous dropped a straightforward chance off Mohammad Nawaz in the same over. Farhan departed in the following over, but Shadab Khan's blistering 12-ball 30, including a hat-trick of boundaries off Ehsan Adil, ensured Pakistan reached 190. Van Schalkwyk returned figures of 4/25.

For USA, opener Shayan Jahangir provided a positive start. Just as Gous picked up pace, he miscued one off Mohammad Nawaz. Captain Monank Patel departed for a laborious 10-ball 3 as Pakistan's spin-heavy attack tightened the screws.

From 50/1 after the PowerPlay, USA managed only 18 runs in the next four overs. Jahangir holed out one run shy of a half-century. Usman Tariq, playing his first match, proved nagging with his variations, slowing the pace considerably.

Shubham Ranjane battled on, whacking Shaheen Afridi for back-to-back sixes in the 18th over. However, Tariq found himself on a hat-trick in the penultimate over, shutting the door on USA. Ranjane raised a fifty in the final over before being yorked LBW by Afridi.

Pakistan's spinners bowled 16 of the 20 overs, a ploy that paid off as they moved to the top of Group A.

Brief Scores:
Pakistan 190/9 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 73, Babar Azam 46; Shadley van Schalkwyk 4-25) beat USA 158/8 in 20 overs (Shubham Ranjane 51, Shayan Jahangir 49; Usman Tariq 3-27, Shadab Khan 2-26) by 32 runs.