Pakistan fail to qualify for T20 World Cup 2026 semi

The Pakistan cricket team was knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2026 despite winning its last Group 2 Super 8 match by five runs against hosts Sri Lanka in Kandy on Saturday.

Needing to restrict Sri Lanka to a total of 147 or below in a run chase of 213 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pakistan were knocked out of the spot in the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals in the 16th over.

Pakistan were in the game till the 12th over, with Sri Lanka at 101/5. However, the 2009 champions could not contain the flow of runs, becoming the third team to exit the tournament after Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

“Was always challenging after losing the toss, because of dew,” Pakistan captain Salman Agha explained. “It could have been a different story had we won the toss. Dew was a factor. We couldn't execute plans.”

New Zealand became the second team from Group 2 to progress to the semi-finals as a result, while England finished on top with a perfect record of three wins in the Super 8 stage.

During the match against Sri Lanka, Sahibzada Farhan scored a century to finish his campaign at 383 runs, the most ever in a single edition of the T20 World Cup. He surpassed Virat Kohli’s record of 319 set in 2014.

Sahibzada Farhan is currently the top run-scorer in the T20 World Cup 2026.

Farhan, along with Fakhar Zaman, helped Pakistan get off to a flying start with an 176-run opening partnership, which was broken in the 16th over. However, Sri Lanka mounted a comeback to keep Pakistan to 212/8 in 20 overs.

“We couldn't bat well throughout the tournament,” Salman Agha summed up. “If Farhan had more support, it would have been better. The middle order has been a problem for a few years now, we'll have to look at that.

“We couldn't finish the way we wanted to. We batted well for 18 overs, opposition did well in the other two.”

Pakistan’s Super 8 opener against New Zealand ended in a washout as both teams picked up a solitary point from the game.

Their second match saw them fail to defend a target of 165 as Harry Brook’s hundred guided England to a two-wicket win and clinch the first semi-final berth.

Pakistan’s exit from the T20 World Cup means that both the first semi-final and the final are now confirmed to be held in India.

The first semi-final will be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata while the second will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The T20 World Cup 2026 final will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 8.

The fourth semi-finalists of the T20 World Cup 2026 will be decided after the India vs West Indies match on Sunday, with the winner securing the second semi-final spot from Group 1 after South Africa.

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