Harry Brook’s heroic hundred under pressure helped England secure a two-wicket win against Pakistan at Pallekele in Group 2. He smashed 10 fours and four sixes off just 51 balls to steer his side to victory in one of the most thrilling England Cricket Team Vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Matches in recent times.
Shaheen Afridi’s three-fer – dismissing Phil Salt for golden duck, Jos Buttler, and Jacob Bethell early on in Pakistan’s chase of 165 runs – gave their chase a solid foundation.
Match Summary Table
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Tournament | T20 World Cup |
| Venue | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy |
| Pakistan Score | 164/9 (20 overs) |
| England Score | 166/8 (19.1 overs) |
| Result | England won by 2 wickets |
England vs. Pakistan
England won their thrilling encounter against Pakistan by two wickets to advance to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in Pallekele and advance further than expected. Although plagued by rain, both sides found ways to deal with slow pitches but England made use of these conditions in the final overs when Jofra Archer hit Salman Mirza for a boundary to seal victory and extend their winning streak against their opposition to four matches.
England Scored 46/1 In The Final Over England’s chase started off poorly when Shaheen Afridi struck with his opening ball and dismissed Phil Salt for a duck off only his second ball, as well as Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell before England slumped to 35/3 within the Powerplay. Harry Brook was unfazed by this development, however. By using calculated aggression and skillful strike rotation he rebuilt England’s innings almost single-handedly with an assured 28-ball fifty that gave them enough firepower in middle overs to make a comeback comeback possible.
He quickly delivered a short delivery wide of square leg and hit it to the fence with force before moving towards mid off region and smashing over deep extra cover for another boundary, England quickly approaching their target at an impressive pace.
WICKET! Jos Buttler falls for two in the next over as Shaheen Afridi strikes once more with her left-arm quick bowling, this time targeting Jos Buttler himself and landing it square onto his pads bringing about an edged delivery from Shaheen that brings Jos Buttler tumbling backwards onto himself bringing in Wicketkeeper Usman Khan who takes an excellent catch!
Jos Buttler is out for a golden duck as Shaheen Afridi takes his third wicket with an off-cutter that hits Buttler squarely on his backfoot before bobbing towards deep square leg and being collected easily by Sahibzada Farhan.
England are well placed to complete their comeback and bat out the final over without further miscues. All that remains for them to do is complete it without further mishaps.
T20 World Cup 2026
Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman delivered brilliant centuries to help Pakistan score 212-8 against Sri Lanka at Premadasa Stadium in Pallekele in their final Super 8s match, yet their efforts weren’t enough as New Zealand beat them on net run-rate to make the semifinals.
Pakistan lost their first wicket in the eighth over, when Kamil Mishara was caught out by Shaheen Afridi’s flight and edged to slip. They now needed 177 runs from 14 overs for victory; Farhan and Zaman’s 176-run stand provided hope of success but Dasun Shanaka made their task harder by hitting two sixes and fours off Shaheen Afridi to extend play well into its final over.
Pathum Nissanka mistimed his pull attempt and was caught at deep midwicket by Naseem Shah for just four runs! Abrar Ahmed struck when Pathum missed it entirely and was caught.
An incredible shot as the southpaw struck it with the inside half of his bat to send the ball careening towards extra cover for seven runs from just the first over!
Farhan Azam continues his amazing form as he breaks Virat Kohli’s record for most runs scored in one T20 World Cup innings – now at 111 from 60 balls!
Abrar Ahmed delivers a short and wide delivery that Pathum Nissanka misjudges when trying to hit over long-on. Instead, the ball sails off towards the boundary for four runs.
Abrar Ahmed strikes again with a slower delivery that traps Kamindu Mendis out for five. Attempting a scoop but missing completely led him out for five runs; shortly afterward came another dot ball, with Sri Lanka all out for 147 in 15.5 overs; it was too little, too late; they must now beat Australia in their final Group 2 match to maintain top two position while hoping for a superior net run-rate than New Zealand who finished second in Group 2.
Live Scores
England Win!- England captain Harry Brook produced an outstanding fifty off 28 balls to bring England back into the game against Pakistan and establish control. They now need only seven runs from 12 balls before winning comfortably.
Shaheen Afridi has been one of the biggest disappointments for Pakistan so far in this tournament, his absence being highly criticised. But the left-arm spinner will hope to change things against England at Pallekele.
Kandy weather conditions should remain sunny with a 25% chance of rainfall throughout the day, although any potential rainfall shouldn’t interfere with play; should this happen, then the pitch will be rewatered accordingly.
After an initial slow start, Jos Buttler and Harry Brook have found their groove. Scoring 17 runs in Jofra Archer’s previous over, including two boundaries and a six six, these pair has put England in control of proceedings once again and put them on track towards victory.
Pakistan have finally reduced to three wickets with Sam Curran being dismissed for 8. He attempted to play a big shot on the last ball of an over, but Usman Tariq took an excellent catch at deep square leg region. This wicket is important and underscores their need to raise their game over the remaining four overs.
England have triumphed against Pakistan in four consecutive games at the T20 World Cup, dominating their rival and leading 21-9 with one no-result match. England are also the defending champions, giving them an excellent chance at reaching the semi-finals again at Pallekele; currently leading Group 2 with two victories out of four wins; their next match against Sri Lanka will be vital if England want to keep alive their semi-final dreams.
Predictions
England are heavy favourites to prevail in this Super 8 clash due to their superior bowling balance and growing familiarity with Sri Lankan conditions. England’s spinners demolished Sri Lanka at Pallekele earlier this tournament and should again prove instrumental against Pakistan’s batsmen who have struggled throughout this tournament.
Phil Salt’s return to form, Jacob Bethell’s impressive all-round contributions and Sam Curran’s lethal death bowling have transformed England into a more well-balanced team than they were against India in their opening match of this tournament. These factors, combined with Adil Rashid, Liam Dawson and Jacks’ depth can give England more avenues for controlling contests even when their batting struggles to hit top form.
Pakistan have shown some improvement recently, though their opening game against New Zealand was washed out without even one ball being bowled and their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals took another hit when their win against Namibia was called off due to rain. Their bowlers must remain wary against an England side which scored an astonishing 195 runs during Powerplay compared to Sri Lanka while facing a fresher surface than when their match took place.
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium’s surface typically favours stroke-makers in the early stages of T20 innings due to its firm base and good bounce, though later it should slow down, providing spinners and change-of-pace bowlers an opportunity to apply pressure with accurate lines and lengths. A temperature of 19 degrees Celsius with humidity between 80-90% can help quickly score runs; however a wet outfield could potentially hamper this.