New Delhi, 17 February 2026: In the ICC T20 World Cup, hosts Sri Lanka defeated Australia at the Pallekele International Stadium to book their place in the Super 8. Sri Lanka achieved the target by scoring 184 runs for 2 wickets in just 18 overs with the help of Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten century.
Nissanka’s century in 52 balls was the first century of the tournament. Kusal Mendis also scored a quick 51 runs for Sri Lanka.
Earlier, Australia had made a good start, with openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head scoring quick half-centuries and making a strong partnership of 104 runs. But Sri Lanka made a brilliant comeback in the middle overs and restricted Australia to 181 runs for 9 wickets.
For Sri Lanka, Dushan Hemantha took three wickets while Dushmantha Chameera took two wickets. Pathum Nissanka was declared player of the match. Australia have two points from three matches and now depend on other results to survive in the tournament.
England defeated Italy by 24 runs in the second match played in Group C at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens yesterday. Chasing England’s target of 203 runs, Italy were all out for 178 runs in 20 overs. Batting first, England scored 202 runs for seven wickets in 20 overs.
Earlier, Afghanistan had registered their first win in the tournament by defeating United Arab Emirates-UAE by five wickets in the Group D match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
Chasing the target of 161 runs, Afghanistan scored 162 runs for five wickets in 19 overs and two balls. Batting first, UAE scored 160 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs.
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