Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first
Pakistan needed to win by 64 runs or more to qualify for the semi-finals, but could not come close to doing so
Men In Green dropped Babar Azam for the do-or-die fixture
Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka, T20 World Cup 2026: Men In Green Eliminated Despite Victory; New Zealand Enter Semis
Needing to keep Sri Lanka down to 147 runs or less after posting a 212-run total, Pakistan bowlers struggled with the dew in Pallekele and scraped through for a five-run win. Both teams thus bowed out of TCC T20 World Cup 2026 in the Super Eights stage
Summary
Despite surviving Dasun Shanaka's remarkable onslaught and edging past Sri Lanka by five runs, Pakistan were on Saturday (February 28, 2026) knocked out of the T20 World Cup in their Super Eights match in Pallekele. New Zealand sneaked into the semi-finals from Group 2 on the basis of a better net run rate than the Men In Green (1.390 as against -0.123).
Batting first, Pakistan posted a challenging total of 212 for 8, with Sahibzada Farhan (100) hitting a fantastic hundred and his opening partner Fakhar Zaman scoring 84. En route his ton, Farhan (383) broke Virat Kohli's (319) record of most runs in an ICC T20 World Cup.
Farhan and Zaman notched up a record 176-run stand — the highest for any wicket in T20 World Cup history. Their partnership surpassed the previous record held by New Zealand’s Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, who had added an unbeaten 175 earlier against UAE.
Pakistan needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 or less to surpass New Zealand's net run rate, but they failed to do so as co-hosts Sri Lanka, who were already out of reckoning for a semifinal spot, finished at 207 for 6. With 28 needed off the final over, captain Shanaka (76 not out off 31) almost took the Lankans to a miraculous victory, clobbering 22 runs off the first four balls of the 20th over before falling short by six runs.
Shanaka left the final delivery alone thinking it would be called a wide, but the on-field umpire gave no signal.
With the result, the semi-finals venues were also locked. The first semi-final will be played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday, March 4, while the second one will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 5.
The final match of the tournament is now set to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 8.
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Check out the scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary of Pakistan vs Sri Lanka below:
Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka, T20 World Cup 2026: Toss Update
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first in Pallekele. Pakistan made three changes from their previous playing XI, with senior batter Babar Azam, Saim Ayub and Salman Mirza not playing. Naseem Shah, Khawaja Nafay and Abrar Ahmed were named in their place.
Sri Lanka made two changes with Kamil Mishara and Janith Liyanage coming in for Kusal Mendis and Dushan Hemantha.
Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka, T20 World Cup 2026: Playing XIs
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Khawaja Nafay, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara (wk), Charith Asalanka, Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (c), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
Who won the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka match in the Super Eights stage of T20 World Cup?
Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by five runs in their ICC T20 World Cup 2026, Super Eights clash in Pallekele.
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Why did Pakistan not qualify for the semi-finals despite victory?
Pakistan could not advance to the last-four stage owing to an inferior net run rate than New Zealand in Group 2 (1.390 as against -0.123).
Where will the semi-finals be played?
The first semi-final of T20 World Cup 2026 will be played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday, March 4, while the second one will be held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 5.
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