LAHORE: Multan Sultans opener Sahibzada Farhan on Wednesday scored a match-winning century in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), equaling India veteran Virat Kohli’s record and closing in on Babar Azam’s tally in T20 cricket.
Farhan remained unbeaten on 106 off just 57 balls in the PSL 11 clash against Hyderabad Kingsmen at the Gaddafi Stadium.
His innings, with eight sixes and seven fours, marked his ninth century in T20 cricket, achieved in his 166th appearance.
With this performance, Farhan has now tied with Kohli on the list of batsmen with the most centuries in this format and is now joint-sixth. He closed the gap on Pakistan’s Babar Azam who is second on the all-time list with 11 centuries.
South African Riley Rossow has nine centuries in 393 games, while former Australian opener and current Karachi Kings captain David Warner is fourth with ten centuries.
West Indies great Chris Gayle holds the record for most centuries in T20 cricket with 22 centuries in 463 matches.
Most Centuries in T20 Cricket:
- Chris Gayle – 22
- Babar Assam – 11
- David Warner – 10
- Riley Rossow – 9
- Virat Kohli – 9
- Sahibzada Farhan – 9
- Abhishek Sharma – 8
- Michael Klinger – 8
Earlier in the match, the newly formed Kingsmen elected to bat first and scored 225 for 5 in their 20 overs. The innings was anchored by half-centuries from opener Mas Sadaq and veteran Sharjeel Khan.
Maas top-scored with 62 off 26 balls, while Sharjeel remained unbeaten on 51, facing an equal number of balls.
Mohammad Wasim Jr was the pick of the bowlers for Sultans with 2 wickets for 37 runs in his four overs. Mohammad Nawaz, Peter Siddle and captain Ashton Turner took one wicket each.
Chasing a tough target of 226 runs, the Sultans were four wickets down with 8 balls to spare and Farhan’s unbeaten century sealed victory.
He saw valuable support from opening partner Steve Smith (46) and vice-captain Shaun Masood (29) and anchored the winning streak with a superb performance. Farhan led the former champions home along with Arafat Minhas who scored an unbeaten 26 off 11 balls.
Saim Ayub was the most successful bowler for the Kingsmen, conceding 43 runs in his three overs, taking two wickets, albeit at an expensive cost. Mahesh Deekshana and Hasan Khan took one wicket each.