Pakistan were handed a tough loss by England in the Super 8s of the T20 World Cup 2026. The Salman Agha-led side lost by two wickets on Tuesday, February 24, putting themselves in a precarious position in the tournament. After playing two games in the Super 8s, Pakistan have just one point in their pocket and are being threatened with an early exit.
Can Pakistan qualify for the semi-final of the T20 World Cup from here? Well yes. But the equation has gone out of their hands. England have already qualified for the semi-finals from Group 2, which means that New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are in contention for the second spot.
ENG vs PAK T20 WORLD CUP 2026: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
Here’s Pakistan’s disadvantage: they are the only team apart from England to have played two matches in the Super 8s.
HOW CAN PAKISTAN STILL QUALIFY FOR THE SEMI-FINAL?
Scenario One
Pakistan have to win against Sri Lanka and hope that Sri Lanka and England beat New Zealand.
This way, New Zealand will finish with only one point and Sri Lanka will finish with two points, knocking both teams out of the tournament, while Pakistan will qualify with three points.
Scenario Two
New Zealand win only one out of their remaining two matches, and Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by a big margin to surpass the Kiwis’ net run rate.
This way, Pakistan will finish with three points and make it into the semis on account of a better net run rate, while New Zealand will get knocked out with 3 points, and Sri Lanka will finish with either two or zero points. Pakistan also has the advantage of playing their last game a day after New Zealand on February 28. Hence, if they stay in contention until then, they would know what to do in their last match to earn a semi-final spot.
HOW ENGLAND BEAT PAKISTAN
On Tuesday, it was Harry Brook’s single-handed brilliance that handed Pakistan a defeat. Batting at No. 3 for the first time in his limited-overs career for England, Brook became the first captain to score a century in a T20 World Cup. Powered by his exceptional knock, England chased down 165 with five balls to spare to secure a memorable victory.
Earlier, Pakistan posted 164 for nine in their 20 overs – a competitive, but not imposing, total on a good batting surface. Sahibzada Farhan anchored the innings with a fluent 63 off 45 balls, striking seven fours and two sixes.
Fakhar Zaman added 25 off 16, while Shadab Khan’s late surge of 23 off 11 provided crucial momentum. However, regular wickets hampered Pakistan’s progress, and Liam Dawson’s impressive three for 24 ensured they were kept in check.
In reply, Pakistan struck early through Shaheen Shah Afridi, who delivered a fiery spell of four for 30. He removed Phil Salt and Jos Buttler up front and later dismissed Brook after his 100 off 51 balls. Usman Tariq also bowled well with figures of 4-0-31-2.
Despite exerting pressure at various stages, Pakistan faltered in the closing moments. Jofra Archer struck the winning runs off Salman Mirza in the first ball of the 20th over, guiding England past the finish line.
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