T20 World Cup: Pakistan regain momentum as Farhan hits half-century

After being invited to bat, Pakistan's opening batters Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan gave their side a solid start during the 12th match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, on Tuesday.

Pakistan reached 85 runs for the loss of two wickets at the end of 10 overs, with Farhan and Babar keeping the innings on a solid footing.

Shadley van Schalkwyk dismissed Saim during the 6th over, who scored 19 runs off 17 balls.

Skipper Salman Ali Agha took charge along with Farhan to carry on Pakistan's innings, but the former also returned to the pavilion after scoring just 1 run.

The United States of America (USA) elected to bowl first after winning the toss against Pakistan.

Pakistan and the USA have faced each other only once in T20 cricket.

In the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, the two sides clashed in a thrilling Group A match at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium, Dallas, on June 6.

Pakistan posted 159/7 in 20 overs, with Babar Azam scoring 44 and Shadab Khan contributing 40.

USA replied with 159/3, anchored by a solid partnership including Monank Patel's half-century.

The match was tied, forcing a Super Over, where the USA scored 18/1. Pakistan could only manage 13/1, handing the co-hosts a historic Super Over victory — one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq and Abrar Ahmed.

USA: Andries Gous (wk), Shayan Jahangir, Monank Patel (c), Milind Kumar, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Shubham Ranjane, Harmeet Singh, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ehsan Adil and Saurabh Netravalkar.

Head-to-head

Pakistan and USA have come face-to-face just once in the shortest format.

Their solitary meeting came at the previous edition of the T20 World Cup in 2024, during which the USA stunned Pakistan after the Super Over.

• Matches: 1
• USA: 1
• Pakistan: 0

Form Guide

Pakistan and USA enter the fixture with decent momentum in their favour as the Green Shirts have just one defeat in their last five completed T20Is, while USA have three triumphs in as many games.

The upcoming fixture marks the second game for both teams in the T20 World Cup 2026; Pakistan edged past the Netherlands by three wickets, while USA succumbed to a 29-run defeat at the hands of co-hosts and defending champions India.

Pakistan: W, W, W, W, L (most recent first)

USA: L, W, W, L, W