February 28, 2026
Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals have officially ended, despite being on the verge of a match victory against Sri Lanka.
To surpass New Zealand on Net Run Rate, Pakistan’s bowlers needed to restrict the hosts to 147 runs or fewer. However, a defiant counter-attack by Pavan Rathnayake and Dasun Shanaka saw Sri Lanka cross the 148-run threshold in the 16th over, mathematically knocking the Men in Green out of the tournament.
While Pakistan’s bowlers, led by Abrar Ahmed’s 3/23, have left Sri Lanka struggling at 152/6 and likely to lose the game, the result is now a "dead rubber" for both sides. Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan had set a world record with his second century of the edition (100 off 60 balls), helping Pakistan post 212/8.
With this result, New Zealand has officially secured the second semi-final spot from Group 2, joining England in the knockout stages.