By Staff Reporter
KANDY: Pakistan were eliminated from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup despite beating Sri Lanka by five runs in a Super Eights match of extraordinary swings at Pallekele on Saturday.
The result was never going to be enough. With their net run-rate already compromised by an earlier washout against New Zealand and a heavy defeat to England, Salman Ali Agha’s side needed to restrict the co-hosts to 147 or fewer to leapfrog New Zealand and join England in the semi-finals. They came up 60 runs short of that target, and the tournament door slammed shut.
Sri Lanka, already out of contention, won the toss and chose to field under heavy dew. For Pakistan the decision to omit Babar Azam – the former captain whose strike rate in this format had drawn increasing scrutiny – felt like a statement of intent. In his place came an explosive new opening pair: Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan.
They delivered. On a pitch that offered pace and true bounce, the pair put on a T20 World Cup record 176 for the first wicket, the highest stand for any wicket in the tournament’s history. Zaman, aggressive from the outset, crashed 84 off 42 balls with nine fours and four sixes. Farhan, the outstanding batsman of Pakistan’s campaign, matched him stroke for stroke, reaching a 60-ball hundred – his second of the tournament – with a pushed single off Dasun Shanaka. He finished unbeaten on 100 until the final over, when Dilshan Madushanka bowled him.
The landmarks came thick and fast. Pakistan reached 64 in the powerplay, 100 inside 10 overs, 150 in 14 and 200 in the 19th. Farhan’s aggregate for the tournament swelled to 383, eclipsing Virat Kohli’s previous single-edition record of 319 set in 2014. Yet the innings did not end as it began. After Zaman was castled by Dushmantha Chameera, Pakistan lost eight wickets for just 34 runs in the space of fewer than five overs.
Madushanka claimed three, including the crucial wicket of Farhan, and the tourists closed on 212 for eight – their highest total in a T20 World Cup, surpassing the 201 for five they made against Bangladesh in Kolkata a decade ago.
Sri Lanka began their reply cautiously but found themselves at 94 for four and staring at elimination. Then came the fightback. Pavan Rathnayake made a composed 58, but it was captain Shanaka who turned the contest into a nail-biter. Promoted up the order, the all-rounder smashed an unbeaten 76 off 31 balls, including eight sixes.
The last over, bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi, encapsulated the drama: Shanaka struck the first ball for four, then three successive sixes. Sri Lanka needed six off the final two deliveries. Shanaka missed a scoop off the fifth and, with the sixth – a yorker – left alone, believing it to be wide. The umpires disagreed. Pakistan had won by five runs, but the margin was nowhere near enough.
Agha, speaking afterwards, was candid about the broader failings. “We have underperformed in the whole tournament,” the captain said. “We are out of the semis due to our failure in decision-making in pressure situations.” He singled out Farhan for praise – “Farhan was outstanding in the tournament but none of the other batters could come up to expectations” – while accepting responsibility alongside head coach Mike Hesson for selection calls. On his own future, Agha refused to be hurried. “I will go back and take some time to decide. Because at this point in time, stepping down would be an emotional decision.”
For much of the evening the crowd had sensed a famous upset. Sri Lanka had recovered from the early blows with spirit and power, taking the contest deep into the final over. Yet in the end the mathematics of net run-rate, that most unforgiving of tie-breakers, had the final say. New Zealand progress to the semi-finals alongside England and South Africa on superior net run-rate. The fourth and final place will be decided on Sunday when India face West Indies in the last Super Eights fixture. Pakistan, for all the brilliance of their opening stand and the individual heroics of Farhan and Zaman, depart with the familiar sense of what might have been. In a tournament where fine margins mattered more than ever, those margins went against them once again.
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