Pallekele [Sri Lanka], February 24 (ANI): Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha lauded opposition captain Harry Brook after the latter scored a magnificent century to guide his team to a two-wicket victory in their Super 8s clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Pallekele on Tuesday. With the win, England became the first semifinalists of this World Cup edition.With England chasing 165, Harry Brook scored a match-winning 51-ball 100-run innings, helping his team clinch a victory despite being in a tricky spot earlier in the chase.Speaking at the post-match presentation, Salman Ali Agha admitted Pakistan started well with the bat but failed to finish strongly, leaving them slightly short on runs. He credited Harry Brook, saying “hats off to him”, for a brilliant match-winning innings that took the game away despite Pakistan throwing everything at him.Salman Ali Agha also praised Sahibzada Farhan for his consistent performances throughout the tournament and acknowledged that while some batters didn’t deliver as expected, such fluctuations can happen in World Cups.”Started well with the bat but couldn’t finish the way we wanted to. But some days you have to give credit to other batters. I think Harry batted brilliantly. Our score was a bit short. And then Brook took the game away from us. We threw everything at him. [On Farhan] I think he’s batted very well throughout the World Cup. Other batters haven’t played the way we wanted to but it can happen like that in World Cups. [Afridi] He bowled really well today. He’s famous for early wickets and he did that today,” the Pakistan captain said.”Whenever we play against England and lose, it’s always him. Have to say hats off to him and the way he batted today. Very challenging. He can play all around the ground so it can get challenging. They batted really well against Tariq. They didn’t go hard against him. Still he got two wickets. The way Nawaz bowled the 19th over, I thought maybe, you never know. Even if there’s a 1% chance my team will go for it,” he added.Chasing 165, England stumbled early to 58/4 before Brook counter-attacked with a historic 100 off just 50 balls — the first century by a captain in T20 World Cup history. Despite a late collapse and a four-wicket haul (4/30) from Shaheen Afridi, England held their nerve, with Jofra Archer striking the winning boundary to finish at 166/8 in 19.1 overs.Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan’s 63 off 45 balls anchored Pakistan to 164/9 after they chose to bat. England’s bowlers, led by Liam Dawson (3/24), consistently picked up key wickets to restrict the total.With two wins in two Super 8 matches, England confirmed their semifinal berth, while Pakistan, after a washout and this defeat, were eliminated from contention. (ANI)(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)