Sri Lanka's spinners displayed a great performance in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026, but their batters failed to perform as per the expectations. Because of this, they had to face two straight heavy defeats against England by 61 runs on February 22, and New Zealand by on February 25. Now, New Zealand's string win against Sri Lanka has pushed Pakistan on the brink of elimination.
Let's take a glance at what Pakistan needs to do to claim a berth in the semifinals after New Zealand's win.
New Zealand's strong hold
In Group 2 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, Sri Lanka faced elimination after back-to-back defeats against England and New Zealand respectively. England claimed their berth in the semifinals of the tournament after clinching wins against both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, while the Kiwi's win made things a little bit tricky for Pakistan.
In Group 2, New Zealand saw a massive surge in their net run rate, which stands at 3.050, after defeating Sri Lanka by a massive margin.
What does Pakistan have to ensure?
Pakistan's game against New Zealand was washed out because of rain, while they faced a big defeat against England. Pakistan has only one game left in hand against Sri Lanka.
To reach the Semifinals, Pakistan must improve their run rate of -0.461 and surpass New Zealand's 3.050. For that, They would require defeat by Sri Lanka by a huge margin roughly by at least 50 runs.
They have to hope that New Zealand face defeat in their last game against England by at least 20 runs. If New Zealand secures a win against England, Pakistan will be eliminated regardless of net run rate calculations.