Sahibzada Farhan equals Virat Kohli (Screengrab) Pakistan batsman 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 Pakistan Super League (PSL) match in Lahore on Wednesday. Chasing a daunting target of 226, Multan Sultans staged the fifth most successful chase in PSL history, reaching the total with eight balls to spare. Farhan played an unbeaten 106 off just 57 balls, anchoring the innings from start to finish.Farhan, Smith set the tone in the 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 and propelled the Sultans to 83 runs in the first six overs. Farhan brought up his half-century in just 25 balls and kept the momentum going 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 remained on track.
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Riyan Parag is honest: he handles criticism, captains’ calls and rain chaos 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 win with a six soon after.Earlier, Hyderabad Kingsmen posted a formidable 225 for 5, thanks to explosive knocks from Maaz Sadaqat and Sharjeel Khan. Maaz smashed 62 off 26 balls to reach his fifty in just 19 deliveries while Sharjeel remained unbeaten on 51 off 26 balls. Despite a strong batting performance, the Marnus Labuschagne-led Kingsmen slumped to their third straight defeat. Meanwhile, Multan Sultans registered back-to-back wins and started their campaign in impressive fashion.
Farhan enters the elite T20 club of the century
Farhan’s knock marked his ninth T20 century and placed him fourth on the all-time list alongside Virat Kohli and Rilee Rossouw. Notably, he surpassed Virat and Rossouw’s record to become the second fastest player to reach the milestone in terms of innings (160) behind only Chris Gayle (127) who leads the charts with 22 centuries.
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He now trails only Gayle (22), Babar Azam (11) and David Warner (10) on the list of most T20 hundreds.Earlier this year, Farhan also made history during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, becoming the first player to score two centuries in one edition and breaking Virat Kohli’s record for most runs in one edition of the tournament. 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 over 12 years when he scored 319 runs in the T20 World Cup in 2014.
