KANDY: 2009 champions Pakistan face an uphill task with the ball despite their dominance with the bat against Sri Lanka to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Pakistan, who are ranked third in Group 2 of the Super Eights, will not only need to beat the ongoing competition, but also overtake New Zealand in terms of net run rate and take it by a huge margin in the points table.
With Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka batting first, Pakistan amassed a mammoth score of 212/8 in their 20 overs.
Pakistan’s new opening pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Faqar Zaman put on 176 before the latter fell victim to Dushmanda Samira in the 16th over and went back after scoring 84 off 42 balls with 9 fours and 4 sixes.
Fakhar’s dismissal spelled a major slump for Pakistan as they lost seven more wickets in the next four overs, including another set batsman Farhan, who registered his second century in the 20-team tournament.
Farhan top scored for Pakistan with a 60-ball 100 with 9 fours and 5 sixes.
After a dominant batting performance, Pakistan now need to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 or less to qualify for the knockouts.
Notably, Pakistan’s net run rate currently stands at negative 0.461, significantly lower than New Zealand’s 1.390.