Kandy, Feb 28 (NationPress) In a thrilling encounter, Sri Lanka's captain Dasun Shanaka delivered a remarkable performance with a score of 76 runs. However, Pakistan narrowly triumphed over the home team by just five runs during their concluding match in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the Pallekele International Stadium on Saturday.

Despite their victory, Pakistan faced elimination from the tournament. Having posted 212 runs while batting first, they aimed to limit Sri Lanka to 147 runs to surpass New Zealand on the Net Run Rate. Sri Lanka managed to score 207 runs, just short of the target, thus concluding Pakistan’s campaign.

In pursuit of a challenging target, Sri Lanka stumbled early as Naseem Shah, making his debut in the tournament, sent opener Pathum Nissanka back to the pavilion in the second over, with Nissanka only managing three runs off seven balls.

Kamil Mishara responded with aggression, striking Shaheen Afridi for a six and two fours before falling to Abrar Ahmed's googly in the fourth over, having scored 26 runs off 15 balls. At the conclusion of the powerplay, Sri Lanka was at 49 for 2.

Former captain Charith Asalanka contributed to the innings' stability alongside Pawan Ratnayake, as they added 42 runs in just 28 balls. However, Pakistan disrupted the partnership in the ninth over as Abrar bowled Asalanka for 25 runs. Abrar struck again in the 11th over, removing Kamindu Mendis, followed by another wicket in the 12th over when Mohammad Nawaz dismissed Janith Liyanage.

While wickets continued to tumble, Ratnayake played superbly, reaching his half-century in a mere 32 balls with a six off Shadab Khan in the 15th over. He was finally dismissed by Shaheen Afridi in the 18th over, after scoring 58 runs off 37 balls.

Shanaka, who exhibited excellent form throughout the match, achieved his fifty in just 23 balls and remained not out at 76 runs. His innings featured an impressive eight sixes and two fours. With 28 runs required from the final over, Shanaka struck three sixes and a four off Afridi but fell short on the last delivery, resulting in a five-run defeat for Sri Lanka.

Earlier, Pakistan's opener Sahibzada Farhan continued his stellar performance with his second century of the tournament, and Fakhar Zaman added 84 runs to help Pakistan post 212 for 8 in their 20 overs.

The opening duo of Farhan and Fakhar started cautiously before accelerating the scoring from the third over. Farhan reached his half-century in just 32 balls and broke Virat Kohli’s record for the most runs in a single T20 World Cup edition by hitting a boundary off Shanaka in the sixth over.

Fakhar also reached his fifty in just 27 balls with a boundary off Dunith Wellalage in the 12th over. Sri Lanka finally made a breakthrough in the 16th over when Dushmantha Chameera bowled Fakhar for 84 runs off 42 balls, which included nine fours and four sixes.

Following this, Mohammed Nafay, who replaced Babar Azam, was dismissed in the next over, while Shadab Khan was run out in the 18th over.

Farhan continued his aggressive batting and reached his century in 59 balls during the 19th over, becoming the first player to score two centuries in a single T20 World Cup edition. He was dismissed later in the same over after scoring 100 runs off 60 balls, hitting nine fours and five sixes.

Brief Scores:
Pakistan 212/8 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 100, Fakhar Zaman 84; Dilshan Madhushanka 3-33, Dasun Shanaka 2-42) beat Sri Lanka 207/6 in 20 overs (Dasun Shanaka 76*, Pawan Rathnayake 58, Abrar Ahmed 3-23, Mohammad Nawaz 1-21) by 5 runs.