Colombo: Pakistan are out of the T20 World Cup.
Needing to beat Sri Lanka by a big margin in their last Super Eights fixture to pip New Zealand to a semifinal berth, Pakistan managed to squeeze out a narrow 5-run victory on Saturday night to fall short.
Having posted 212/8, thanks to a 176-run opening stand between Sahibzada Farhan (100) and Fakhar Zaman (84), Pakistan not only had to win but needed to restrict Sri Lanka to within 147. The already-eliminated Lankans got past that number and came within a hit of pulling off a remarkable win.
In the end, Sri Lanka stopped at 207/6 after skipper Dasun Shanaka smacked 8 sixes and 2 fours in a 31-ball unbeaten 76.
The result left New Zealand and Pakistan tied on 3 points each, with net run-rates of 1.390 and -0.123, respectively. New Zealand thus finished second in Super Eights Group 2, with England having already qualified by topping the group.
All eyes will now be on the India versus West Indies clash at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Sunday evening. It’s a winner-take-all game, as the last semifinal spot is up for grabs.
South Africa, who face Zimbabwe in the first game tomorrow, have already booked a last-four slot from Group 1.
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