Pakistan is into the final four after a dominant victory over Namibia in Abu Dhabi.
The Group 2 leaders racked up an impressive 189/2 first up, and Namibia never looked like chasing it down, finishing on 144/5, still 45 runs short.
Babar Azam’s decision to bat first after winning the toss went against the tournament trend, with teams preferring to chase throughout the World Cup so far.
But Pakistan defied the norms to build a formidable target that set up their fourth straight win of the Super 12 stage.
Pakistan v Namibia
Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 70 off 49 balls, with his opening partner and captain Azam continuing their brilliant partnership with a 70 off his own.
Mohammad Hafeez added polish to the innings with a sparkling 32 off just 16 late on, with Pakistan scoring an eye-watering 130 runs in the last ten overs.
And in reply Namibia played well against the formidable Pakistan attack, but never looked likely to score fast enough on a tricky surface to chase down 190.
Steady in the Powerplay
The tactic in the Powerplay was clear from Pakistan, who looked to see off dangerman Ruben Trumpelmann and bide their time before accelerating later in the innings.
Trumpelmann’s two overs first up went for just two runs, with Rizwan particularly conservative, scoring at a strike rate below 50 through the fielding restrictions, reaching just 29/0 after six overs.
Babar Azam gets in the swing of things
Acceleration through the middle overs
But the Pakistani pair made hay after their steady start, pushing through the gears in the middle overs.
And the return of Trumpelmann in the 12th over was the perfect illustration of the change of mindset, with 18 coming off it and Azam reaching his 23rd T20I half-century off 40 balls.