Record night in Rawalpindi: Islamabad’s opener joins an elite club
The Pakistan Super League got a new entry for its highlight reel in Rawalpindi. Sahibzada Farhan, opening for Islamabad United, cracked 106 off 52 balls to bring up his fourth T20 hundred of the year—becoming the first Pakistani to hit four T20 centuries in a calendar year and joining an elite club that includes Chris Gayle (2011), Virat Kohli (2016), Jos Buttler (2022), and Shubman Gill (2023). The 29-year-old reached his hundred in 49 balls, matching the fastest century by an Islamabad United batter in PSL history.
It wasn’t a perfect start. Islamabad lost Andries Gous to a run-out for a duck at 9/1 in the second over, the kind of early wobble that can drain momentum. Farhan and Colin Munro flipped the script fast. They countered with a century stand that put Islamabad at 128/1 by the 11th over, punishing anything even a fraction short or wide. By the time Alzarri Joseph removed Munro for 40 in the 14th over, the platform was set and the scoreboard was racing.
Farhan kept pressing. He mixed clean drives with crisp pick-up shots over midwicket, rarely letting Peshawar Zalmi’s attack settle. Islamabad piled on 243/5—now the joint sixth-highest total in PSL history—with late cameos from Jason Holder (20*) and Ben Dwarshuis (18*) making sure the final overs landed with force. At a strike rate north of 200, Farhan’s 106 off 52 wasn’t just about volume; it was the pace that broke Zalmi’s plans.
Here’s what the night changed at a glance:
- Fourth T20 century of 2025, tying the world record for the most in a calendar year.
- First Pakistani batter to reach four T20 hundreds in a year, and he did it in just nine innings.
- Maiden PSL century, reached in 49 balls—matching the fastest for an Islamabad United player.
- Islamabad United posted 243/5, joint sixth-highest team total in PSL history.
That last point matters for more than trivia. In a league where net run rate can decide play-off spots, totals like 243 don’t just win games—they reshape seasons. Islamabad have built their brand on fearless batting since the league’s early years, and this innings felt like a return to that identity, with a fresh face at the center of it.
The form behind the fireworks
This was not a one-off outburst. Farhan came into the PSL on a tear from the National T20 Cup, where he scored three hundreds and a tournament-record 588 runs in just six innings. His average there—147—tells its own story, as does the strike rate of 194.05. He was both hard to dismiss and impossible to slow down. That is a rare combo in T20 cricket, where players usually trade risk for speed.
If you’re wondering how unusual four T20 hundreds in a year really is, the answer is: very. Gayle did it during his white-hot 2011 run. Kohli made it look routine in 2016 when he piled up IPL runs like it was batting practice. Buttler matched the mark in 2022 during a title-winning season, and Gill’s 2023 surge showed how a classical base can power modern T20 scoring. Farhan joining that lineup shows two things—his timing is razor sharp, and his game travels across formats and competitions.
At the international level, he’s been nudging the selectors and the opposition alike. A career-best 74 against Bangladesh and a 63 off 41 against the West Indies were not empty numbers; they pulled weight in series wins. Those knocks didn’t have the three-figure glamour, but they showed the same themes we saw in Rawalpindi: a quick read of length, comfort against pace, and a willingness to target straight and leg-side boundaries early.
Within Pakistan’s T20 landscape, Farhan’s run also resets the internal leaderboard. He has now moved past the previous national benchmark—long associated with Babar Azam—for annual T20 hundreds by a Pakistani batter. The point isn’t a rivalry; it’s a sign of depth. Pakistan’s T20 pool has added another high-ceiling opener who can both anchor and accelerate.
Technically, what’s clicking? It’s the tempo. Farhan rarely drifts into dots after boundaries. He keeps the strike turning, forces bowlers to change plans, and turns over after powerplay fields with intent rather than caution. In Rawalpindi, that meant he didn’t wait for the second wind; he created it, first with Munro’s support and then by pacing the middle overs himself.
There was also clarity in match awareness. After the early run-out, Islamabad needed a stabilizer and a striker rolled into one. Farhan filled both roles. He took calculated risks against the right matchups, protected the weaker end when needed, and still left enough gas for the last five overs. That kept Zalmi’s bowlers guessing and their captain without easy field changes.
For the PSL, nights like this broaden the narrative beyond the familiar names. Islamabad’s dressing room is full of hitters, but this was the game where Farhan put a stamp on the lineup card. It becomes part of how oppositions plan: do they burn their best overs at him, or stretch their attack and risk the death overs? Those are the strategic ripples that follow a 49-ball hundred.
What comes next is the real test: sustainability under focus. Bowlers will study his release points, his favored zones in the first six overs, and the slower-ball patterns that might slow him down. But form is form, and right now it looks sturdy. Farhan hasn’t just strung together one big league and one big night—he’s drawn a straight line from the National T20 Cup to the PSL with barely a dip.
For Pakistan fans, the bigger takeaway is reassurance. With global T20 calendars growing more crowded, consistency across competitions is a more reliable currency than one-off brilliance. On a cool April night in Rawalpindi, Farhan cashed in again—and this time, he wrote his name next to Gayle, Kohli, Buttler, and Gill.
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