Pakistan's late surge not sufficient to cross the line

An average cricket fan would definitely know that the last game of the Super eights Group 2 of the 2026 T20 World Cup became interesting because of two major reasons - Pakistan's first game against New Zealand was washed out and Mitchell Santer's bowling choice of bowlers in the last three overs against England while defending 159 with the opposition reeling at 117-6, was questionable. Like it generally happens, Pakistan had one more chance to be in the hunt. It was not straightforward though and they had to defeat Sri Lanka by more than 64 runs.

After Dasun Shanaka won the toss and chose to bowl first on a fairly good pitch, it looked even more ominous for Pakistan. But the in form Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman, who was sensibly promoted to open, blasted their way to an opening partnership of 176 in 16 overs. The Sri Lankan bowling was hapless and the fielding- mediocre to say the least. Their captain Shanaka, frustration writ on his face tried almost everything including a packed off side field but his men offered virtually no support. Misfields and dropped catches added to the bowlers' woes. At times even dives which prevented boundaries but were not clean enough gave the impression of this being a club match. All changed after Fakhar Zaman dragged Dushmantha Chameera on to his stumps. Though Farhan completed his century, Pakistan could muster only 212 - this meant that they would be knocked out if Sri Lanka crossed 147. This was not hard to chase unless the Lankan batting collapsed.

After a shaky, scratchy start, Sri Lanka scored 49 with the loss of two wickets in the powerplay. With the asking rate of 7 not to be a cause of concern, Charith Asalanka batted and Pavan Rathnanayake - who batted reassuringly and beautifully and compiled a half century, looked in control till Abrar bowled Asalanka. Sri Lanka, in the quest of quick runs lost wickets at regular intervals and eventually lost the match by just 5 runs but crossed the all important 147 run mark that mattered for Pakistan. Dasun Shanaka, who launched a blitzkrieg, remained unbeaten having scored 76 off 31.

Pakistan, having been mostly outplayed in the tournament, should return disappointed. Their captain Salman Ali Agha looked clueless and out of form throughout. The bowling which has traditionally been Pakistan's strength, lacked penetration. Usman Tariq was their top wicket taker with 10 to his name. Time will tell how long he will remain a mystery. Saim Ayub, despite repeated failures, was persisted at the top. Babar Azam, already under pressure for not being able to force the pace and score briskly, was dropped midway. Mohammed Nawaz underperformed and Shaheen Shah Afridi, apart from the game against England which Pakistan lost, looked ineffective. Shadab Khan, reprimanded by the PCB for making comments against former players, never looked menacing as a bowler. Pakistan's fielding lived up to its general reputation built over the past few years of being lethargic and was never threatening. Apart from the hype created by some of the commentators, the average cricket lover never expected Pakistan to reach the last four and it ended that way.