Is Pakistan out of the T20 World Cup 2026? Full breakdown of Sri Lanka vs Pak result
Kandy: Pakistan concluded its ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on Saturday with a bittersweet five-run victory over Sri Lanka at Pallekele International Stadium, a result that failed to secure the team a spot in the knockout stages due to an inferior Net Run Rate.
Despite the narrow win, Pakistan’s inability to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 runs or fewer allowed New Zealand to advance on tie-breaking criteria, effectively eliminating the 2009 champions from the tournament.
Farhan’s Historic Century
Opting to bat first, Pakistan’s innings was defined by a dominant opening partnership between Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan. Zaman provided a blistering start with a rapid 84, but it was Farhan who authored the history books.
The opener struck 100 off 60 deliveries, becoming the first player in history to score two centuries in a single edition of the T20 World Cup. His performance propelled Pakistan to a total of 212/8, the team’s highest-ever score in World Cup history and their second-highest in all T20 Internationals.
Sri Lankan Fightback
Sri Lanka’s chase began poorly with early wickets, but the middle order stabilised the innings. Pavan Rathnayake contributed a vital 58, his second half-century of the tournament, before Captain Dasun Shanaka nearly pulled off an improbable comeback.
Shanaka played a career-best, unbeaten 76 off just 31 balls, decorated with eight sixes. Entering the final over needing 28 runs, Shanaka cleared the ropes three times, but the hosts ultimately finished at 207/5, just five runs short of the target.
The Match in Numbers
The high-scoring affair produced a flurry of statistical milestones, dominated largely by Pakistan’s Farhan:
- Elite Company: Sahibzada Farhan joined West Indian legend Chris Gayle as only the second player to record two career T20 World Cup hundreds. He stands alone as the first to do so in a single tournament.
- Run Machine: Farhan ended the edition with 383 runs at an average of 76.60, eclipsing Virat Kohli’s 2014 record of 319 runs for the most prolific single tournament by a batter.
- Power-Hitter: Farhan also set a new benchmark for most sixes in a single T20 World Cup with 18, surpassing the 17 previously held by Shimron Hetmyer.
- Consistent Excellence: With five 50-plus scores in this edition, Farhan tied the record held by Matthew Hayden, Virat Kohli, and Babar Azam.
- Bowling Milestone: Pakistan’s mystery spinner Usman Tariq went wicketless for the first time in 27 T20I innings.
- Centurion Leader: During his career-high 76*, Dasun Shanaka surpassed 100 career sixes in T20Is.
The victory marks a disappointing exit for a Pakistan side that showed flashes of brilliance but struggled with consistency earlier in the group stage.
With inputs from IANS