Pallekele: Pakistan signed off from the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 with a narrow five-run victory over Sri Lanka in a Super 8 Group 2 encounter, but the win was not enough to keep them in semifinal contention.<\/p>\n
Batting first, Pakistan posted an imposing 212\/8 in 20 overs. Sri Lanka responded strongly but were restricted to 207\/8, falling short by five runs in a dramatic last-over finish.<\/p>\n
Shanaka\u2019s late fireworks<\/p>\n
Dasun Shanaka nearly turned the match on its head with a blistering 76 off 31 balls. Needing 28 runs in the final over, he smashed Shaheen Afridi for three consecutive sixes, raising hopes of an improbable chase.<\/p>\n
Afridi, however, held his nerve on the final two deliveries to seal the win.<\/p>\n
Farhan named Player of the Match<\/p>\n
Sahibzada Farhan was adjudged Player of the Match for his crucial knock that helped Pakistan cross the 200-run mark.<\/p>\n
Despite the victory, Pakistan\u2019s earlier results meant they were eliminated from the tournament, bringing their World Cup campaign to an end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pallekele: Pakistan signed off from the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026 with a narrow five-run victory over Sri Lanka in a Super 8 Group 2 encounter, but the win was not enough to keep them in semifinal contention. Batting first, Pakistan posted an imposing 212\/8 in 20 overs. Sri Lanka responded strongly but were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61120,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,19,209],"tags":[13437,13434,13435,1845,13436],"class_list":["post-61119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-latest","category-sports","tag-bringing-their-world-cup-campaign-to-an-end","tag-but-the-win-was-not-enough-to-keep-them-in-semifinal-contention-batting-first","tag-he-smashed-shaheen-afridi-for-three-consecutive-sixes","tag-however","tag-raising-hopes-of-an-improbable-chase-afridi"],"yoast_head":"\n