England booked their place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup after edging past Pakistan by two wickets in Pallekele.
Promoted to number three, captain Harry Brook delivered a stunning 100 from just 51 deliveries to rescue his side after a top-order collapse.
Earlier, Liam Dawson led the bowling effort with figures of 3-24 as Pakistan were limited to 164-9 in their 20 overs.
Brook rescues England after early collapse
“My promotion to number three came from Baz [head coach Brendon McCullum]. He came to me this morning,” player of the match Brook explained after the win.
“We have spoken about adapting, and having the bravery to do that today was awesome.
“It may not have come off but thankfully it did. Baz said Pakistan is my team and I said, ‘let’s do it’.
“The idea was to maximise the powerplay as everyone knows I like to take the game on, and I was going to do that from ball one.
“I have been thinking about batting higher for a while. It’s what I want to do for England and in franchise cricket.
“I am very happy with how we played there. We have one more Super 8s game against New Zealand but then the bigger prize ahead.”
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Team-mates hail match-winning century
“That was a special knock. He had the extra responsibility at number three and got a hundred straight away,” team-mate Will Jacks said of Brook’s effort.
“Shaheen [Afridi] was swinging the ball up top and we know the quality of their spinners, but he made it look very easy.
“He is our best batter and should face as many balls as possible. He faced 20 balls in the powerplay and was in the flow when spin came on.
“He has led from the front. He targeted the sight screen and then waited for them to drop short.
“He hasn’t just slogged. He scored at a strike rate of 200 but it didn’t feel like he chased the game. That’s the skill.”
Moeen Ali praises Brook’s awareness
Former England star Moeen Ali added: “When Brook plays like that, he is so good. There are not many better.
“It was an unbelievable knock, outstanding, and if he bats at number three in T20s, he will score 130s, 150s.
“He plays spin better after facing seam early on and just puts pressure on bowlers. He hits good balls for fours and sixes. Some of the shots against spin were unbelievable.
“I liked his game awareness as well, that was the most impressive thing. His energy running between the wickets.
“Body language is a small thing but so important in T20 cricket and the way he was on, he was like a man possessed. His running, his shot selection was unreal.”
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SportJustSport writers