The Pakistan national cricket team have been knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2026 after failing to restrict the Sri Lanka national cricket team below 147 in their Super 8 Group 2 clash at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Although the match result itself became secondary, Pakistan needed to keep Sri Lanka under 147 to surpass the New Zealand national cricket team on net run rate and qualify alongside the England cricket team. Once Sri Lanka crossed that mark, New Zealand sealed their semifinal berth from Group 2.
From Super 8 Group 1, the South Africa national cricket team have already booked their place in the final four, while the India vs West Indies clash in Kolkata will decide the remaining semifinal spot.
Earlier in the game, Pakistan posted an imposing 212/8, thanks to a brilliant opening stand. However, after racing to 198/2 by the end of the 18th over, they suffered a dramatic collapse, losing six wickets in just 2.1 overs. Sahibzada Farhan hammered a superb century, while Fakhar Zaman’s explosive 84 laid the foundation for what looked like a match-winning total.
Pakistan had earlier posted 212 but will feel they left runs on the table, falling about 20 short of a truly commanding total. To qualify, they must restrict Sri Lanka to 147 or below — a daunting task given the pitch conditions and dew factor. Sahibzada Farhan starred with a magnificent 100 off 60 balls — his second century of the tournament — while Fakhar Zaman’s explosive 84 off 42 provided strong support.
After Pakistan got eliminated, that’s how cricket fans reacted on Social Media
PAVAN RATHNAYAKE, THE HERO OF NEW ZEALAND & VILLIAN OF PAKISTAN 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/ul0GgrZLsG
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 28, 2026
To whole Pakistan cricket team except Fakhar and Farhan#PAKvsSL pic.twitter.com/V1JvxqX1cY
— Abid Orakzai (@BeingAbid_) February 28, 2026
Pakistan cricket team fans. pic.twitter.com/LoLvZMqgqo
— 𝕄idnight ✨ (@cuzof_euphoria) February 28, 2026
Pakistan cricket team
Practice match – Champions 🏆
Important match – “Network issue, please try again later” 😅🏏#SLvsPAK #T20WorldCup2026#cricketlover pic.twitter.com/4TAUQtqrGW— Amitkotarya20 (@amitkotarya) February 28, 2026
Guess who’s heading home early again? ✈️
Pakistan out of 2026 t20 cricket World Cup. 🤙🏻 pic.twitter.com/3MkM0TIIGo
— Multazam (@MultaZamX) February 28, 2026
After taking a top-up loan from the World Bank and paying a huge amount of money to Sri Lanka for playing bad cricket, still Pakistan could not manage to bowl them out under 150 runs. Now Pakistan has qualified for the Karachi bus stand.😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/0SmeeyHofB
— Geo Sync (@thegeo_sync) February 28, 2026
When the whole Sri Lanka team wanted Pakistan to win, Pavan Rathnayake chose to play cricket over money and knocked out pakistan out of this T20 world cup . pic.twitter.com/MUIJqeiIgy
— Dev (@refocus21) February 28, 2026
With Pakistan knocked out of the tournament, England and New Zealand have secured qualification from Group 2. The semifinals are set to be held in Mumbai and Kolkata, while the grand final will take place in Ahmedabad.
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