T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan Crashes Out Of Semifinal Contention Despite Beating Sri Lanka

Pallekele: Pakistan's journey at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 is over. Pakistan was eliminated during the Super 8 Group 2 clash against Sri Lanka even before the end of the match. After setting Sri Lanka a target of 213 runs, Pakistan had to restrict them to 147 or less in order to progress to the semifinals. However, despite losing wickets continuously, Sri Lanka surpassed this target in the match, eliminating Pakistan from the tournament. Meanwhile, New Zealand has secured its place in the semi-finals.

How did Pakistan perform?

In this match, Pakistan's batsmen worked hard and took the team to a good score. However, to surpass New Zealand on the run rate and secure a place in the semi-finals, Pakistan had to win the match by at least 65 runs. However, this did not happen, and despite fighting hard, Pakistan could not stop Sri Lanka from crossing the 147-run mark.

🚨 CRYING MOMENT FOR PAKISTAN VS SRI LANKA 🚨

- Sri Lanka just destroyed the dreams of 25 crore Pakistanis 😆

- Pavan Rathnayake and Dasun Shanaka smashed every Pakistani bowler fair and square 👏🏻

- Pakistan Qualified for Karachi Airport 😂 #SLvsPAK pic.twitter.com/9cXaeyDW2v

— Fan Account Richard Kettlebourogh (@RichKettle07) February 28, 2026

Why was Pakistan eliminated?

England, from Group 2, qualified for the semi-finals with 6 points after winning all three of its Super 8 matches, while Sri Lanka was eliminated. All hopes of Pakistan and New Zealand reaching the semi-finals rested on this match, but that didn't happen.

The first of New Zealand's three matches was washed out due to rain. New Zealand earned 1 point from this match. New Zealand then defeated Sri Lanka in their second match to earn 2 points. New Zealand lost their third match on Friday. This defeat made New Zealand's path to the semi-finals difficult and kept Pakistan's hopes alive. New Zealand has 3 points and a run rate of +1.390.

Recalling Pakistan's Super 8 journey, they earned 1 point from the rain-washed match against New Zealand, while they lost against England. Before the match against Sri Lanka, Pakistan had 1 point from 2 matches and a run rate of -0.461.