Pakistan have been eliminated from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after failing to restrict co-host Sri Lanka below 147 in a crucial Super Eights match held in Colombo.
Put into bat first by Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka, Pakistan posted 212 for eight in their 20 overs, powered by Sahibzada Farhan’s century and Fakhar Zaman’s fifty for the Green Shirts.
Despite posting a massive total, Pakistan bowlers needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 or fewer runs to qualify for the semi-finals, a target they ultimately could not achieve in allotted overs.
Pavan Rathnayake remained unbeaten with a half-century as Sri Lanka comfortably surpassed the required score, leaving Pakistan unable to overtake New Zealand’s superior net run rate of 1.390 in the Super Eights standings.
This exit continues Pakistan’s recent T20 World Cup struggles, as they again failed to reach the knockout stage after a group-stage elimination in 2024 and runners-up finish in the 2022 edition.
Pakistan began the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign strongly, defeating Netherlands and the USA before suffering a narrow loss to arch-rivals India during the group-stage matches of the ongoing tournament.
A 102-run win over Namibia secured Pakistan’s Super Eights qualification, finishing second in the group with six points from four matches, trailing only holders India while relying on other results to reach semi-finals.
