Despite securing an important win, Pakistan ultimately failed to secure their spot for the Semi-finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, as the ICC World T20 2009 champions have been eliminated from the Super Eights of the 2026 edition. 

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: Why did Pakistan fail to qualify for Semis despite beating Sri Lanka?

As Sri Lanka chose to field first after winning the toss at Pallekele on Saturday night (February 28), the calculation was very simple for Pakistan to qualify for the Super Eights, as they had to win the match by 65 runs to surpass New Zealand in the Group 2 Super Eights points table through the net run rate, as both could finish the Super Eights Group 2 with three points each. 

While Pakistan scored 212/8 in 20 overs, majorly thanks to the record-breaking opening partnership between Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman, Sri Lanka replied with 207/6, as the Men in Green only managed to win by five runs. Although Pakistan managed to finish the Super Eights Group 2 with three points, they finished with a far below net run rate (-0.123) than New Zealand (+1.390).

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Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman set tone, Sri Lankan team fought back 

Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman set a tournament record-breaking 176-run partnership for the first wicket, where Fakhar scored 84 off 42 balls, while Sahibzada later stretched to 100 off 60 balls. However, once that partnership was broken in the 15.5 overs, the other batters were losing wickets cheaply, as the Men in Green were ultimately restricted to 212 runs. 

In reply, Sri Lanka were losing wickets at regular intervals, while Pakistan had to restrict Sri Lanka to below 147 runs to qualify for the Semis. However, Pavan Rathnayake and captain Dasun Shanaka's half-centuries not only eliminated Pakistan from the tournament, but also put the match on wire. While Pavan scored 58 off 37 balls, skipper Dasun scored 76 not out off 31 balls with two fours and eight sixes. 

Last over drama

In the final over of the match, Sri Lanka needed 28 runs to win, while Shaheen Shah Afridi delivered the final over. Starting the over with a four, Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka then slammed three consecutive sixes, as the hosts needed only six runs in the last two balls. However, Afridi managed to deliver two back-to-back dot balls to snatch the game in their favour.