Who: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Overview: ICC 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eight
Location: Palekele Cricket Stadium, Palekele, Sri Lanka
Date and time: Saturday, February 28th, 7pm (13:30 GMT)
How to follow: All content will be broadcast on Al Jazeera Sports from 10:30 GMT, ahead of the text commentary stream.
Pakistan is in the final stages of deciding whether to advance to the Super Eight stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup and will have to defeat Sri Lanka, who have already been eliminated, by a large margin in order to advance to the semi-finals.
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New Zealand currently hold second place in the four-team group, but Friday’s loss to England opens the door for Pakistan to move into second place.
Al Jazeera Sports has a detailed analysis of the match and what Pakistan must do to reach the finals.
How did Pakistan do in the T20 World Cup?
Pakistan’s campaign began on a nervy note, with a thrilling last-over three-wicket victory against the Netherlands, followed by defeats over the United States and Namibia.
In the meantime, the much-awaited match was held in Colombo, where they lost badly to India.
Pakistan lost their first Super Eight match against New Zealand in Colombo, then lost to England before Harry Brook’s brilliant century in Kandy on Tuesday.
How did Sri Lanka perform in the T20 World Cup?
Sri Lanka won comfortably against Ireland and Oman, then defeated Australia to advance to the group stage.
In the final group match, they suffered a shocking loss to Zimbabwe and lost their top spot.
Their start to the Super Eights was in contrast to their group, with heavy defeats to England and New Zealand ending their hopes of reaching the semi-finals on home soil.
How can Pakistan reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals?
England finished as group winners, defeating Pakistan and Sri Lanka to qualify for the semi-finals, and clinched top spot with a win over New Zealand.
Pakistan must not only beat Sri Lanka but also overturn their net run rate deficit if they are to surpass the Kiwis and claim a top-four spot.
To leapfrog New Zealand and advance to the semi-finals against South Africa, Pakistan will need to beat Sri Lanka by around 65 runs or more or chase down the target within 13 overs.
Both equations depend on the outcome of the first inning of the game.
Pakistan ignores hopes of reaching T20 World Cup semi-finals as they focus on Sri Lanka
Fast bowler Salman Mirza said Pakistan have always been focused on beating Sri Lanka, irrespective of whether they still have any hope of qualifying for the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan needed England to beat New Zealand impressively in Colombo on Friday, but now they need a big win against Sri Lanka to break into the top four on net run rate.
A win for New Zealand would have ended Pakistan’s hopes and rendered the game against Sri Lanka in Kandy meaningless in the tournament.
“It’s a critical situation because reaching the semi-finals was out of our control,” Mirza told reporters.
“But if we can reach the semi-finals, we have the ability to do even better.
“We needed to win the game against England and that defeat gave us this place.”
Mirza regrets Pakistan’s missed chance against England
Brook was dismissed near the end of England’s run chase, but Pakistan fought back with two wickets in the last two overs.
Mirza defended the final over for three runs and took two wickets to seal the win, but Jofra Archer hit the first ball for four.
“I had a chance to be a hero in the last over but I couldn’t grab it,” Mirza said.
“Opportunities like this don’t come along every day. If I had taken two wickets we would have won that match, but that didn’t happen.”
What happened the last time Pakistan played against Sri Lanka?
The last time the two countries met in a T20 international was in a three-match bilateral series in January.
Sri Lanka blew a 14-point lead in the rain-affected final game to tie the series 1-1.
Losing the toss, the Sri Lankans reduced both teams to 12 overs to make it 160-6. Pakistan looked good as they reached 101 in four overs, but in the end they fell short of the target and ended up 8 down.
direct confrontation
This will be the 31st meeting between the two sides, of which Pakistan won in 17, Sri Lanka won in 12 and one ended without a result.
The two teams have faced each other four times in the T20 World Cup, with both teams coming away with two wins.
Expected Pakistan team
Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
Expected Sri Lankan team
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kamil Mishara (wk), Charice Asaranka, Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (c), Danis Wellaledge, Dushyant Hemanta, Mahish Thekshana, Dushmanta Chameera
Pakistan and Sri Lanka create guide
Pakistan’s last 5 matches (latest results last):
WLWLW Sri Lanka’s last 5 matches (latest results last):
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