2022 T20 World Cup champions England secured a hard-fought win by a margin of 2-wickets against Pakistan in the pivotal super-8 encounter of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the city of Kandy (Pallekele International Cricket Stadium) on Tuesday.
Pakistani skipper Agha Salman’s call of batting first back-fired as the 2022 runners-up managed to score just 164 runs in twenty overs, thanks to a blazing fifty by opening batsman Sahibzada Farhan. The right-hander finished the match as the top run-getter for the Shaheens with a fabulous inning of 62 runs in 44 balls with the assistance of 7 fours & 2 big maximums. He received ample amount of support from the duo of Fakhar Zaman & Babar Azam, who played knocks of 25 runs each, while leg spin bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan also contributed with his knock of 23 runs.
| Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | No Result | Points | Net Run Rate |
| England | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.491 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-0.461
|
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2.550 |
Left-arm orthodox bowler Liam Dawson of England led England’s bowling assault from the front, picking up three scalps by giving away just 23 runs in his quota of 4 overs, while the duo of Jofra Archer & Adil Rashid registered 2-wickets each to their name.
In reply, the Three Lions chased down the target of 165 runs on the first ball of the 20th over for the loss of 8 wickets after skipper Harry Brook played a crucial role in his team’s victory with his smoldering ton. The right handed batsman led the run-chase of his side from the front, scoring 100 runs in 49 balls, with the assistance of four big maximums & 10 boundaries, while the duo of Sam Curran (16 runs) and Will Jacks (28 runs) also did well with meaningful contributions.
Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was the best Pakistani bowler of the night, as he registered a four-wicket haul to his name, giving away just 29 runs in four overs, while mystery spinner Usman Tariq picked up two.
This victory against Pakistan, which is also the second successive win of the Three Lions in two encounters in the super-8 phase, helped them become the first side to successfully seal the semi-finals spot of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as they secured the number-one spot of Group-2 with four points to their name.
Salman Ali Agha-led Pakistan, on the other hand, dropped to the third position behind 2021 runners-up New Zealand, with whom their super-8 encounter was abandoned due to rain in the city of Colombo.
The 2009 winners are now even more reliant on the results of the remaining Group-2 contests because, in addition to defeating the co-hosts, they would now require Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand to suffer defeats in both of their remaining games versus Sri Lanka & England in order to advance to the semis
To surpass the Kiwis’ net run rate and secure second place, the Shaheens will have to defeat Sri Lanka by a sizable margin if New Zealand were to win just one of their next two games.
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