LIVE: Pakistan pile on runs, pressure on Sri Lanka

Broadcast details for Men's T20 World Cup 2026

With a semi-final spot on the line, Pakistan have started strong against Sri Lanka in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 clash in Kandy on Saturday.

Scorecard

On a day they needed quick runs, Pakistan's new opening duo of Fakhar Zaman and Sahibzada Farhan has stepped in with intent. They brought up fifty in the fifth over, finished powerplay on 64 and have raced to 102/0 in 10 overs. It is Pakistan's highest opening partnership of this World Cup so far.

Currently unbeaten on 55, Farhan overtook India's Virat Kohli for most runs in a single T20 World Cup edition. Kohli's record stood at 319, a tally he had achieved during World T20 in Bangladesh in 2013/14. It was also Farhan's fourth half-century of the T20Wc 2026.

Earlier, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to field first.

There were three changes for Pakistan, the main one being that former captain Babar Azam will not start. Though technically proficient, Azam has come under fire for his slow strike-rate in the shortest format on the game, and it's a risk Pakistan can't take on a day when they have to score big and score quick. Saim Ayub and Salman Mirza are also on the bench.

Coming in their place are Khawaja Nafay, Abrar Ahmed and pacer Naseem Shah.

Pakistan were down and almost out. But England's incredible comeback win over New Zealand on Friday revived their chances of making it to the semi-finals. Sri Lanka are out of semi-final contention.

England has already qualified, but Pakistan have a chance to upstage New Zealand if they score a big win over the tournament co-hosts.

Just how big are we talking about? To beat New Zealand's superior net run-rate of +1.390, Pakistan would have to win either by at least 64 runs or chase down the target in 13.1 overs or less.