Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals took a hit after their loss to England, but they are still not completely out of the race.England chased down Pakistan’s 164-run target thanks to a brilliant century from captain Harry Brook, who scored 100 off 51 balls, helping his team qualify for the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Pakistan had earlier posted 164/9, with Sahibzada Farhan top-scoring with 63, while Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman added 25 each. England’s bowlers kept things tight, but Brook’s knock proved too strong. For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi took four wickets, but it wasn’t enough to stop England. With this result, England are through to the semis. Pakistan, however, have one point from two matches (one loss and one washed-out game) and still have a slim chance to qualify, depending on other teams’ results.
Super 8 Group 2 points table
For Pakistan to reach the semi-finals, a few things must go their way. First, Pakistan must beat Sri Lanka in their final Super 8 match. Then, they need New Zealand to lose both of their remaining matches. If that happens, Pakistan will move ahead on points and qualify. If New Zealand win one match and lose one, then qualification will come down to net run rate (NRR), meaning Pakistan will need to have a better scoring and bowling record than New Zealand. Any other combination of results will knock Pakistan out of the tournament. In short, Pakistan must win their last match and hope for favourable results from New Zealand’s games to stay alive in the World Cup.
