England go on top of Group 2 with four points after beating Pakistan, on Tuesday, by two wickets at the Pallakele International Cricket Stadium. A Harry Brook century helped the three lions to win the game against Salman Ai Agha’s side. England became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Brook who promoted himself at No.3 played a captain’s knock of 100 off 51 deliveries as he showed controlled aggression and delivered a captain’s knock on one of the most important matches for England, where other batters failed to get many runs. Will Jacks played a crucial knock of 28 runs off 23 balls and was more of an anchor.
Pakistan qualification scenario revealed
After this loss Pakistan’s qualification scenario for the semi-final has been jeopardized. With one loss against England and one washout in the first game against New Zealand, without a ball being bowled. They currently have one point and sit second in the league table. A win for Pakistan in their next game against Sri Lanka will not confirm their berth to the last four.
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Other than that, they have to keep an eye on the remaining two games in Group 2 with New Zealand playing England and Sri Lanka playing New Zealand. Sri Lanka and New Zealand may overtake the Men in Green with two wins each. That means the Kiwis and the Island nation cannot win more than one match.
If Mitchell Santner’s side beat co-hosts on February 25, they cannot beat England on February 27. Next Sri Lanka needs to win against the Black Caps. Pakistan will not want the Kiwis to beat the three lions by a large margin. This means that the Sri Lanka vs Pakistan match on February 28 will determine who advances to the semifinals.
Pakistan’s batting has been flop
Coming to the match, Pakistan won the toss elected to bat first. Shaheen Shah Afridi made a comeback to the side, with Faheem Ashraf sitting out. Pakistan lost Saim Ayub early as he was dismissed by Jofra Archer.
The Pakistan batters once again failed to get big runs, except Sahibzada Farhan, who has been the leading run scorer for the side and in the tournament as well with 283 runs. He scored 63 off 45 balls, with no other batter scoring past 30 runs.
Pakistan failed to perform against quality opponents
While chasing, England lost the two openers inside three overs, Phil Salt getting out on the first ball, and Jos Buttler went back after scoring two runs. Harry Brook promoted himself from No.5 to No.3 when the three lions were struggling, the skipper took his time and almost finished the match with 10 needed off the last three overs.
Pakistan at the very end turned it around picking two quick wickets in the 19th over. However, Salman Ali Agha’s side failed to get over the line, as it has been a problem against quality opponents, they have failed to keep up the momentum of the game despite having early wickets in the game.
Also Read: Fans go berserk as England beat Pakistan; compare Harry Brook with Virat Kohli
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