Playing international cricket since the last century when some of his current teammates weren't even born yet, Shoaib Malik on Sunday showed them the way with an astonishing 18-ball 54 to set up Pakistan's 72-run mauling Scotland in the T20 World Cup.
It was the joint fastest half-century of the tournament alongside Indian opener KL Rahul's 18-ball 50, which also came against Scotland, as Pakistan stopped the Scots with 117 for six after an impressive 189 for four.
As his Indian tennis player Sania Mirza watched from the stands, Malik, 39, threw six sixes in his whirlwind undefeated knock, which overshadowed skipper Babar Azam's fourth half-century of the tournament.
Pakistan batted first, hitting 129 runs down the back of 10 after limping to 60 for two halfway through the stage.
With the ball, the team in form did what was expected of them in their latest Super 12 engagement to settle a semi-final with Australia.
Pakistan worked their way into the last four with five wins from as many outings, underlining their reputation as one of the firm favorites.
Thanks to Malik's blitz, Pakistan scored 43 runs in the last two overs, including 26 in the last six balls bowled by Chris Greaves.
Coincidentally, Malik made his one-day international debut at this venue in October 1999, against the West Indies. His first Pakistani captain, Wasim Akram, withdrew from the competition nearly two decades ago.
Meanwhile, Babar, who once again took on the role of accumulator, became only the third batter to score four half-centuries in a T20 World Cup after former Australia opener Matthew Hayden and India captain Virat Kohli, who completed the feat in 2007 and 2014 respectively. reached. .
After struggling to 60 for two halfway through the stage, Pakistan got 129 runs from the back 10.
Babar and Mohammad Rizwan chose to bat first and started calmly as the Scottish bowlers kept the run rate below six until the power play.
After smoking Bradley Wheal for a massive six over a deep mid-wicket, Rizwan was sacked by Hamza Tahir, who tied the batter on a pitched ball before getting an under-edge to the wicketkeeper.
The Scots deserve credit for keeping the Pakistani score in check as they finished the power play at 35 without a loss, which went to 35 for one in the first ball of the next over with the dismissal of Rizwan.
Pakistan was not so well placed halfway through the stage with 60 for two as Scotland managed to keep their opponents running.
However, things changed completely when Pakistan entered the back 10 with both Babar and veteran Mohammad Hafeez (31 from 19 balls) breaking loose to clear the ropes at regular intervals during a solid 53-run third-wicket partnership.
Babar was his usual stylish self when he played the ball across the ground, but at the same time he didn't hesitate to go over the top, resulting in three sixes.
After Babar's resignation, the show was owned by Malik.
In a huge chase, Scotland lost the wickets to skipper Kyle Coetzer and Matthew Cross with just 36 runs on the board.
Scotland was never in the game as they struggled to 42 for two at the end of the first 10 overs.
Richie Berrington was the only batter in Scotland to shine with 54 off 37 balls.
One of the greatest strengths of Pakistani bowling was the way Shadab Khan (2/14) bowled and got his googlies and leg spinners just before the big semi-final against the Aussies.
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