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Pakistan secured a dramatic five-run victory over Sri Lanka in their final Super Eight match tonight, but the win offered little solace as they were officially knocked out of the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
The result simultaneously confirmed New Zealand's progression to the semi-finals from Group 2.
Heading into the clash, tournament hosts Sri Lanka had already been eliminated from the semi-final race.
Pakistan, however, clung to a mathematical lifeline: they needed to defeat Sri Lanka by an enormous margin of at least 64 runs to surpass New Zealand's superior Net Run Rate.
Taking a bold approach by dropping stalwarts like Babar Azam and Saim Ayub, Pakistan set a daunting target, posting 212 for 8. The innings was anchored by a blistering, record-breaking century from Player of the Match Sahibzada Farhan (100 off 60 balls) and a mammoth 176-run opening partnership with Fakhar Zaman.
To keep their semi-final dreams alive, Pakistan's bowlers needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 runs or fewer.
Despite early breakthroughs by Abrar Ahmed and Naseem Shah, Pakistan's hopes were decisively crushed in the 15th over. Sri Lankan batters Pavan Rathnayake (58) and Dasun Shanaka launched a fierce counter-attack, pushing their team past the 148-run threshold and officially ending Pakistan's World Cup campaign.
Having played spoilers, Sri Lanka then took aim at the actual target of 213, turning the match into a nail-biter.
Needing 28 off the final over bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shanaka smashed three consecutive sixes to bring the equation down to just 6 runs from 2 balls. However, Afridi held his nerve with two crucial dot balls, leaving Sri Lanka stranded at 207 for 6.
Ultimately, Pakistan's desperate final push and record-breaking batting were not enough to undo their earlier tournament struggles, leaving both them and Sri Lanka watching from the sidelines as New Zealand advances to the final four.
