Kandy, Mar 1 (IANS) Pakistan signed off their campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a narrow five-run win over Sri Lanka, but the victory was not enough to take them into the next stage due to an inferior Net Run Rate. The match was played at the Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy on Saturday.
Batting first, Pakistan posted a massive 212/8, led by a superb opening stand between Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman. Farhan smashed 100 off 60 balls, becoming the first batter to score two centuries in a single T20 World Cup edition, while Fakhar added a rapid 84. Despite late wickets, Pakistan crossed the 200-run mark with ease.
In reply, Sri Lanka lost early wickets but fought back through partnerships in the middle overs. Captain Dasun Shanaka played a sensational unbeaten knock of 76, keeping Sri Lanka in the hunt till the final over. Needing 28 runs off the last six balls, Shanaka hit three sixes and a four, but Sri Lanka fell just short at 207/5.
Although Pakistan won the match, they failed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 runs, which meant they could not overtake New Zealand on Net Run Rate and were eliminated from the tournament.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka match in numbers
2 – After Chris Gayle of West Indies, Pak opener Sahibzada Farhan became the 2nd batter to post two hundreds in the T20 World Cups.
Ist – Sahibzada Farhan (100) became the first batter to post two hundreds in a single edition of the T20 WC. Earlier, he also scored an unbeaten 100 runs vs Namibia in Colombo.
4 – Pakistan Sahibzada Farhan (100) became the 5th batter to hit five 50-plus scores in a single T20 WC edition. M. Hayden (2007), Virat Kohli (2014 & 2021) & Babar Azam (2021) are the other three.
64/0 – Was the score of Pakistan in the Power-play (1-6). This was their 4th-highest power-play score in the T20 WCs.
383 – The number of runs scored by Sahibzada Farhan at an avg of 76.60 in the current edition, which are most runs scored by a batter in a single edition of a T20 WC. Sahibzada Farhan bettered the record of Virat Kohli of India, who scored 319 runs in the 2014 edition.
212/8 – Pakistan (212/8 ) recorded their highest innings total in the T20 WC; their previous best was 201/5 against Bangladesh in Kolkata in the 2016 edition. This is also their 2nd-highest innings total in T20Is. Behind 232/6 vs England in Nottingham in 2021.
18 – The number of sixes (18) hit by Sahibzada Farhan in this T20 WC. Farhan bettered the record of Shimron Hetmyer (17) of the West Indies.
58 – The number of runs scored by Pavan Rathnayake (58). It was his 2nd fifty in the T20 WC. Earlier, he had scored 60 vs Oman in Pallekele on Feb 12.
27 – In this match, Pakistan’s mystery spinner Usman Tariq went wicketless. In 27 innings, it happened for the first time when Usman Tariq went wicketless in a T20I.
76* – The number of runs scored by Dasun Shanaka off 31 balls with 2 fours and 8 sixes. It was his highest score in 131 matches. His previous best was 74* vs India in Dharamsala in the 2022 edition. Overall, it was his 8th 50-plus score. The 2nd vs Pakistan in 17 T20Is. During this innings, he also completed his 100 sixes.
–IANS
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