- Dasun Shanaka top-scores for Sri Lanka with 76.
- Abrar Ahmed takes three wickets for Pakistan.
- Sahibzada Farhan declared Player of the Match.
Pakistan wrapped up their T20 World Cup campaign with a narrow five-run win over Sri Lanka in their final Super Eight clash at Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy, on Saturday.
The 2009 champions needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 or less, but half-centuries from Pavan Rathnayake and skipper Dasun Shanaka helped the home side amass 207/6 in their 20 overs, which resulted in New Zealand qualifying for the semi-final alongside England from Group 2.
Shanaka remained the top-scorer for Sri Lanka with a quickfire 76 not out from 31 deliveries at the backend, but his efforts fell short as Shaheen Shah Afridi successfully defended 28 runs off the final over despite conceding three sixes.
The Sri Lankan captain also shared a brisk 61-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Rathnayake, who contributed with an anchoring 58 off 37 deliveries with the help of four fours and three sixes.
Besides them, only Kamil Mishara and Charith Asalanka, 26 and 25, respectively, managed to amass double figures against Pakistan’s bowling attack, led by Abrar Ahmed, who picked up three wickets for 23 runs in his four overs.
He was supported by Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah and Shaheen, who bagged one wicket apiece.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka’s decision to field first backfired as his team’s bowling unit conceded a daunting 212/8 in 20 overs.
Pakistan’s new opening pair of Farhan and Fakhar gave them a flamboyant start as they raised a monumental 176-run partnership, which saw both openers scoring blistering half-centuries.
Dushmantha Chameera eventually broke the threatening partnership by cleaning up Fakhar, who walked back after scoring 84 off 42 deliveries, laced with nine fours and four sixes.
Pakistan then suffered another setback to their batting expedition in the next over when Dilshan Madushanka got Khawaja Nafay (two) caught at long-on and were thus slipped further to 179/2.
Farhan was then involved in a brief 21-run partnership for the third wicket with Shadab Khan, who contributed with a five-ball seven after getting run out in the 18th over.
Skipper Shanaka pulled things back for Sri Lanka in the penultimate over by dismissing all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha for ducks, and thus brought the total down to 199/5.
Farhan, on the other hand, eventually fell victim to Madushanka on the first delivery of the final over and walked back after top-scoring for Pakistan with 100 off 60 deliveries, studded with nine fours and five sixes.
Madushanka struck again in the pulsating final over, trapping Shaheen Shah Afridi lbw and thus halting the flow of runs for Pakistan at the backend.
Madushanka was the standout bowler for Sri Lanka, taking three wickets for 33 runs in his four overs, followed by Shanaka with two, while Chameera claimed one.
For the unversed, despite the narrow victory, Pakistan remained third in Group 2 standings of the T20 World Cup 2026 with three points in three games with a negative net run rate of 0.123, significantly lesser than New Zealand’s 1.390, who also finished with as many points.
