Abdul Samad produced one of the most explosive innings in Hong Kong Sixes history, hammering a 10-ball half-century to propel Pakistan into the semi-finals after a crushing win over South Africa in the quarter-final on Saturday.
Pakistan had earlier qualified for the knockouts on superior net run rate after splitting their group matches — losing to India but beating Kuwait. Facing South Africa in the second quarter-final, the Men in Green won the toss and opted to field, restricting their opponents to 102 for 3.
South Africa’s Jorich Van Schalwyk top-scored with a quick 40 off 13 balls, but Pakistan clawed back through Muhammad Shahzad, who returned brilliant figures of 3 for 11 in his only over. Abdul Samad, on the other hand, had an expensive outing with the ball, conceding 25 runs in an over — but he more than made up for it with the bat.
Chasing 103, Samad opened alongside Khawaja Nafay, and from the very first over, the fireworks began. Facing Abdullah Bayoumy, Samad launched the first three legal deliveries for towering sixes, while Nafay added another to take Pakistan to 30 without loss after the opening over.
For the next two overs, Samad watched from the non-striker’s end as Nafay (36 off 13) and captain Abbas Afridi powered Pakistan to 75 for 1 in three overs. When his turn finally came, Samad unleashed an extraordinary assault — smashing five consecutive sixes to bring up his fifty in just 10 balls and sealing the chase with 1.1 overs to spare.
Pakistan wrapped up the innings in 3.5 overs, securing a dominant win and booking their place in the semi-finals.
The 27-year-old Faisalabad-born batter has already represented Pakistan in five T20Is, making his debut earlier this year against New Zealand. Though his international numbers — 66 runs at an average of 13.50 and strike rate of 113.79 — haven’t yet reflected his power-hitting potential, his Hong Kong Sixes performance underlined the impact he can make in short formats.
Samad’s journey has been unconventional. Selected for Pakistan’s T20I squad before making his PSL debut, he eventually turned out for Peshawar Zalmi in the 2025 season, scoring 61 runs in five matches at a blazing strike rate of 190.62.
While his overall T20 strike rate of 144.48 shows glimpses of promise, Samad is still chasing his first half-century in the format — his highest score so far being 47. His first-class record remains modest, averaging 12.42 after 14 matches, but his List A stats — 948 runs in 31 matches at 35.11 average and 80.40 strike rate — point to steady progress.
With his 10-ball masterclass in Hong Kong, however, Abdul Samad has reminded everyone why he’s considered one of Pakistan’s most fearless strikers of the ball — a player capable of changing the course of a match in mere minutes.
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