Kamal Ghorui
Pakistan batter Sahibzada Farhan broke Virat Kohli‘s T20 record after producing a sensational unbeaten century to lead Multan Sultans to a thrilling six-wicket victory over Hyderabad Kingsmen in a high-scoring Pakistan Super League (PSL) clash in Lahore on Wednesday. Chasing a daunting target of 226, Multan Sultans pulled off the fifth-highest successful chase in PSL history, reaching the total with eight balls to spare. Farhan starred with an unbeaten 106 off just 57 balls, anchoring the innings from start to finish.Farhan, Smith set the tone in Powerplay blitzFarhan laid the foundation with a dominant 104-run opening stand alongside Steven Smith, who smashed a quickfire 46 off 20 balls. After a quiet start, the duo took control during the Powerplay, propelling the Sultans to 83 runs in the first six overs. Farhan brought up his half-century in just 25 balls and maintained the tempo even as wickets fell at the other end. Hyderabad Kingsmen managed a brief comeback through Hassan Khan and Saim Ayub, but Shan Masood’s brisk 29 off 16 ensured the chase stayed on track.In the closing stages, Arafat Minhas added the finishing touch with an unbeaten 26 off 11 balls. Farhan reached his century in the 19th over and fittingly sealed the victory with a six soon after.Earlier, Hyderabad Kingsmen posted a formidable 225 for 5, courtesy of explosive knocks from Maaz Sadaqat and Sharjeel Khan. Maaz hammered 62 off 26 balls, reaching his fifty in just 19 deliveries, while Sharjeel remained unbeaten on 51 from 26 balls. Despite their strong batting performance, the Kingsmen, led by Marnus Labuschagne, slumped to their third consecutive defeat. Meanwhile, Multan Sultans registered back-to-back wins to begin their campaign in impressive fashion.
Farhan joins elite T20 century club
Farhan’s knock marked his ninth T20 century, placing him joint-fourth on the all-time list alongside Virat Kohli and Rilee Rossouw. Notably, he broke Virat and Rossouw’s record and became the second-fastest player to reach this milestone in terms of innings (160), behind only Chris Gayle (127), who leads the chart with 22 centuries.He now trails only Gayle (22), Babar Azam (11), and David Warner (10) on the list of most T20 hundreds.Earlier this year, Farhan had also etched his name in history during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, becoming the first player to score two centuries in a single edition and surpassing Virat Kohli’s record for most runs in one tournament edition. He amassed 383 runs in seven matches at an average of 76.60 and a strike rate of 160.25. Virat Kohli held the record for more than 12 years, when he scored 319 runs in 2014 edition of T20 World Cup.
