2
4
1
6
4
W
= 17
Match Details
ENG vs PAK, 45th T20I, Super 8 Group 2 T20, T20 WC 2026 live
ENG
166-8(19.1)
England won by 2 wickets 🏆
PAK
(20.0)164-9
+
P'ship : 5(2)
Commentary
All
Highlights
Overs
W
6s
4s
Inn 1
Inn 2
Milestone
A Harry Brook special denies Pakistan a win in Pallekele. Excellent spells from Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Tariq and Mohammad Nawaz dragged the game to the very end, with the England captain making it look like batting on a completely different surface.
England have become the first team to qualify for the semi-final in this T20 World Cup and have also become the first team to make it to the semis on five successive occasions in the history of the tournament.
Tomorrow, it is New Zealand vs Sri Lanka from Colombo. Crucial game for both sides. For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Dev Rajawat, Manan Mehta, scorer Raju Khariya and statistician Aman. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!
England have become the first team to qualify for the semi-final in this T20 World Cup and have also become the first team to make it to the semis on five successive occasions in the history of the tournament.
Tomorrow, it is New Zealand vs Sri Lanka from Colombo. Crucial game for both sides. For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Dev Rajawat, Manan Mehta, scorer Raju Khariya and statistician Aman. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!
Most Consecutive Semi-final Appearances in T20 WCs:
5 - England, 2016-Present*
4 - Pakistan, 2007-12
4 - Sri Lanka, 2009-14
5 - England, 2016-Present*
4 - Pakistan, 2007-12
4 - Sri Lanka, 2009-14
Highest Individual Scores while Chasing in T20 WCs:
116* – Alex Hales (England) vs Sri Lanka, Chattogram, 2014
100* – Chris Gayle (West Indies) vs England, Mumbai (Wankhede), 2016
100* – Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka) vs Australia, Pallekele, 2026
100 – Harry Brook (England) vs Pakistan, Pallekele, 2026, Tonight*
116* – Alex Hales (England) vs Sri Lanka, Chattogram, 2014
100* – Chris Gayle (West Indies) vs England, Mumbai (Wankhede), 2016
100* – Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka) vs Australia, Pallekele, 2026
100 – Harry Brook (England) vs Pakistan, Pallekele, 2026, Tonight*
Harry Brook (England Captain): "(Reflections on the win) Yeah it was very nice. We have come here to do that job and glad we are over the line.
(Decision to go up the order and why?) This morning Baz (Brendon McCullum) made that decision. Look it could have not come off, but luckily it did. Yeah, we wanted to try and maximize the powerplay. Everyone knows I like to take the game on and yeah luckily it came off today.
(Has he ever thought about going up the order?) Yeah, I have been thinking about it for a while now. Not just for England actually. Even in franchise cricket, I want to go out there and face as many balls as possible.
(Good record against Pakistan) Yeah, Baz said that this morning to me. He was like, 'Go at number 3 and Pakistan is your team.' I was like yeah, let's do it.
(Sluggish fielding performance) No, we struggled in the field. The atmosphere was not as good as the one against Sri Lanka. Jacob in fact said that lets go out there and field tight. Funny enough he let two slip through. But yeah, we were not good enough on a bubbly outfield.
(Impact of Jofra Archer) Yeah, it is very important to take wickets in the powerplay. Jofra is awesome in that. Just puts the opposition on the backfoot.
(100s across all formats) It is always nice to just win for England in any format. The 100s always bring happiness. The main focus is now on New Zealand, and we want to win that.
(Misfiring top order) That is something for me and Baz to have a chat about and the selectors. I do not think much will change but you never know."
(Decision to go up the order and why?) This morning Baz (Brendon McCullum) made that decision. Look it could have not come off, but luckily it did. Yeah, we wanted to try and maximize the powerplay. Everyone knows I like to take the game on and yeah luckily it came off today.
(Has he ever thought about going up the order?) Yeah, I have been thinking about it for a while now. Not just for England actually. Even in franchise cricket, I want to go out there and face as many balls as possible.
(Good record against Pakistan) Yeah, Baz said that this morning to me. He was like, 'Go at number 3 and Pakistan is your team.' I was like yeah, let's do it.
(Sluggish fielding performance) No, we struggled in the field. The atmosphere was not as good as the one against Sri Lanka. Jacob in fact said that lets go out there and field tight. Funny enough he let two slip through. But yeah, we were not good enough on a bubbly outfield.
(Impact of Jofra Archer) Yeah, it is very important to take wickets in the powerplay. Jofra is awesome in that. Just puts the opposition on the backfoot.
(100s across all formats) It is always nice to just win for England in any format. The 100s always bring happiness. The main focus is now on New Zealand, and we want to win that.
(Misfiring top order) That is something for me and Baz to have a chat about and the selectors. I do not think much will change but you never know."
Salman Ali Agha (Pakistan Captain): "(Reflections on the loss) Yeah I think we started well with the bat. We could not finish the way we wanted to. Sometimes you just have to give credit to the other team. The way Harry batted was phenomenal.
(Need to depend on other results) We just now need to wait and hope that the results go our way. Then we will have to beat Sri Lanka.
(Thoughts at the halfway mark) I feel we were a little short at the halfway mark. Then we pulled things back. However, Harry played really well. We threw everything at him, but he was just too good.
(Lack of support to Farhan) Yeah, I think Farhan has batted well in every single game. He has done well for us in the last 6-7 months. Yes, the other batters have not batted as well. Though we are still hoping that we can do well going forward.
(Back in-form Shaheen) Yeah, Shaheen bowled really well. Very happy for him coming back into form.
(Challenge against Harry Brook) It is very challenging to bowl to Harry. That is because he plays all around the ground.
(England countering Usman Tariq) I think they batted really well against Usman. They were just rotating strike. Though, I still feel Usman bowled really well.
(Hope right at the end) Yeah, the way Nawaz bowled I thought, anything can happen. Cricket is a funny game. If there is a 1% chance, me and my team will give our best."
(Need to depend on other results) We just now need to wait and hope that the results go our way. Then we will have to beat Sri Lanka.
(Thoughts at the halfway mark) I feel we were a little short at the halfway mark. Then we pulled things back. However, Harry played really well. We threw everything at him, but he was just too good.
(Lack of support to Farhan) Yeah, I think Farhan has batted well in every single game. He has done well for us in the last 6-7 months. Yes, the other batters have not batted as well. Though we are still hoping that we can do well going forward.
(Back in-form Shaheen) Yeah, Shaheen bowled really well. Very happy for him coming back into form.
(Challenge against Harry Brook) It is very challenging to bowl to Harry. That is because he plays all around the ground.
(England countering Usman Tariq) I think they batted really well against Usman. They were just rotating strike. Though, I still feel Usman bowled really well.
(Hope right at the end) Yeah, the way Nawaz bowled I thought, anything can happen. Cricket is a funny game. If there is a 1% chance, me and my team will give our best."
Harry Brook (Player of the Match): (On his hundred and overall feeling) “Yeah, I’m very happy with the way we played. It’s always special to contribute, but the most important thing is that we’ve qualified for the semi-finals. There’s still one more game against New Zealand, so the focus now shifts straight to that.
(On the promotion to number three) It was something we spoke about before the game. I haven’t batted much at number three, but I really enjoyed the opportunity. It’s nice to spend more time at the crease and face as many balls as possible. Adapting to different roles is part of the challenge in tournaments like this.
(On Pakistan’s performance and the late scare) Pakistan are always a strong side with world-class players. They put us under pressure at different stages, especially towards the end. Credit to them for the fight they showed, but we’re pleased we held our nerve and got over the line.
(On the team’s batting and partnerships) The partnerships were crucial. At the start, things were a bit tricky, but building those stands helped us stabilise and then push on. It was a really good collective effort with the bat, which is encouraging for us heading into the next phase.
(On confidence and areas for improvement) Confidence is building, but we know there are still areas we want to improve. You never achieve perfection in this format, but we’re always striving to get better. The key is to keep learning and carry that momentum forward.
(On emotions after a World Cup hundred) To be honest, the main feeling was just happiness that the team got the job done. Personal milestones are nice, but in a World Cup, results matter the most. It’s satisfying to contribute to the winning cause.”
(On the promotion to number three) It was something we spoke about before the game. I haven’t batted much at number three, but I really enjoyed the opportunity. It’s nice to spend more time at the crease and face as many balls as possible. Adapting to different roles is part of the challenge in tournaments like this.
(On Pakistan’s performance and the late scare) Pakistan are always a strong side with world-class players. They put us under pressure at different stages, especially towards the end. Credit to them for the fight they showed, but we’re pleased we held our nerve and got over the line.
(On the team’s batting and partnerships) The partnerships were crucial. At the start, things were a bit tricky, but building those stands helped us stabilise and then push on. It was a really good collective effort with the bat, which is encouraging for us heading into the next phase.
(On confidence and areas for improvement) Confidence is building, but we know there are still areas we want to improve. You never achieve perfection in this format, but we’re always striving to get better. The key is to keep learning and carry that momentum forward.
(On emotions after a World Cup hundred) To be honest, the main feeling was just happiness that the team got the job done. Personal milestones are nice, but in a World Cup, results matter the most. It’s satisfying to contribute to the winning cause.”
Player of the Match: Harry Brook
Highest Percentage of Runs by an England Batter in a completed innings in T20Is:
61.96% - Jos Buttler vs Sri Lanka, Sharjah, 2021 (101* runs in 163/4)
60.24% - Harry Brook vs Pakistan, Pallekele, 2026 (100 runs in 166/8), (Tonight)*
56.70% - Phil Salt vs India, Mumbai (Wankhede), 2025 (55 runs in 97/10)
61.96% - Jos Buttler vs Sri Lanka, Sharjah, 2021 (101* runs in 163/4)
60.24% - Harry Brook vs Pakistan, Pallekele, 2026 (100 runs in 166/8), (Tonight)*
56.70% - Phil Salt vs India, Mumbai (Wankhede), 2025 (55 runs in 97/10)
Most Times Qualified for Semi-Final in T20 WCs:
6 - Pakistan
5 - England*
5 - India
6 - Pakistan
5 - England*
5 - India
Least Margin Win by England in T20 WC (By Wickets):
2 vs South Africa, Mumbai (Wankhede), 2016
2 vs Pakistan, Pallekele, 2026, Tonight*
3 vs New Zealand, Gros Islet, 2010
2 vs South Africa, Mumbai (Wankhede), 2016
2 vs Pakistan, Pallekele, 2026, Tonight*
3 vs New Zealand, Gros Islet, 2010
Commentary