Pakistan's Latest T20 World Cup Semi-Final Qualification Scenario To Surpass New Zealand

Pakistan are facing Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele, in a must-win T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 match. While Sri Lanka are already out of the semi-final race, the match holds significance for two other teams in its group - Pakistan and New Zealand. The Pakistan cricket team is yet to register a win against a full-member team this time. It lost to England in the Super 8 while its match against New Zealand was washed out. However, Pakistan received a major favour from England, who beat New Zealand on Friday to leave the semi-final race wide open.

England have already qualified for the T20 World Cup semi-finals from Super 8 Group 2. One among New Zealand and Pakistan will take the second spot.

Current T20 World Cup Super 8 - Group 2 Points Table

1. England - 6 points, 3 matches, NRR +1.096

2. New Zealand - 3 points, 3 matches, NRR +1.390

3. Pakistan - 1 point, 2 matches, NRR -0.461

4. Sri Lanka - 0 points, 2 matches, NRR -2.800

Pakistan are behind New Zealand not only in terms of points but also Net Run Rate. To leapfrog New Zealand, Pakistan not only need to beat Sri Lanka but also win by a comfortable margin.

According to the ICC: "To overtake New Zealand on Net Run Rate, they'll need to beat Dasun Shanaka's side by more than 65 runs, or chase down a target inside 13 overs, though the figures won't be exactly known until after the first innings of the match."

Pakistan are coming to the contest after suffering a close defeat against the two-time champions, England, on Tuesday. On the other side, Sri Lanka have been eliminated from the tournament after suffering back-to-back defeats against England and New Zealand in their first two Super 8s matches.

This will be the 30th time that both sides will face each other in T20Is. Salman Agha's team has a clear edge in the head-to-head record between the two subcontinent teams. Salman Agha's side has won 17 out of the 29 matches played between them, while Sri Lanka have come victorious on just 12 occasions

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team Sri Lanka Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026 New Zealand Cricket Team Cricket