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Describing his team's 102-win implicit Namibia arsenic a "complete performance", Pakistan skipper Salman Agha connected Wednesday (February 18, 2026) expressed assurance successful his spinners' quality to occurrence successful their archetypal Super Eights crippled of the T20 World Cup against New Zealand.
Pakistan rode connected Sahibzada Farhan's maiden 100 and their spinners' fantabulous show to crush Namibia and marque the adjacent signifier of the tournament, bouncing backmost from the dense decision to India.
"It is simply a implicit performance. We batted good successful the powerplay and the mediate overs arsenic well. Farhan has been batting good for a portion and I americium blessed that helium got his hundred," Salman said astatine the presumption ceremony.
Pakistan volition statesman get the Super Eights underway with the lucifer against New Zealand astatine the Premadasa Stadium successful Colombo connected Saturday (February 21, 2026), and Salman sounded assured up of the large game.
"We person been playing bully cricket. New Zealand person been playing bully cricket arsenic good truthful should beryllium a bully game. We person the luxury of spinners and the all-rounders who tin bat arsenic well.”
"In Sri Lanka if you person specified prime spinners you don't person to fuss astir bowling pace," Salman said.
On enigma spinner Usman Tariq's (4/16) singular spell, Salman said helium was gladsome that they don't person to look him successful a match.
"With the shot we were lethal. He is simply a pugnacious bowler, spot me. I person faced him successful home cricket. It's pugnacious to prime him, particularly with that pause. Thankfully helium is playing for our team," the skipper said.
Having posted 199 for 3 aft batting first, Pakistan bowled retired Namibia for 97.
This was Player of the Match Sahibzada Farhan's archetypal period successful the format internationally but 5th successful T20s since 2025.
"I don't miss a lucifer successful home cricket and doing good successful home cricket for the past 4 unusual years helped me," Farhan said, arsenic erstwhile Pakistan skipper and adept Wasim Akram translated his words into English.
"It's the effect of accordant hard enactment successful home cricket backmost location successful Pakistan. The transportation wasn't casual to bat connected initially but aft a fewer hits I played my earthy game. I told Shadab that we request to get a concern due to the fact that we had mislaid 2 speedy wickets. Everything went according to plan," the opener added.
The decision meant Namibia ended their run winless aft 4 suffering 4 successive losses.
The prime successful Pakistan's rotation bowling proved excessively overmuch for Namibia.
"It's a peculiar accomplishment to have, to crook the shot some ways similar they do. I deliberation that's 1 of the things we'll decidedly instrumentality location and look to amended on, is facing that benignant of bowling and making bully plans astir it and getting that accomplishment level up successful bid to combat that," Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus said.
Asked astir the learnings from the tournament, helium said, "It's ever astir nailing those specializer positions. I deliberation for these 4 editions of the World Cup, it's mostly been similar the apical and bottommost benignant of thing."
"So openers with the bat this tourney is decidedly a large takeaway, however they've batted it successful this tournament."
The adjacent ODI World Cup is acceptable to beryllium held successful South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia and asked astir it, Erasmus said, "Yeah, tons of cricket astir and tons of truly breathtaking things happening successful and astir cricket successful Namibia, which gives the boys a batch of pleasing things to play for. And for the aboriginal of cricket successful the country, it's decidedly a batch to play for."
