Pakistan were eliminated from the T20 World Cup despite beating Sri Lanka by five runs in the Group Two Super 8s match in Pallekele on Saturday.
Their inferior net run rate meant Pakistan needed a convincing win to overtake New Zealand and join group winners England in the semi-finals.
“When I lost the toss, it was always going to be challenging bowling second because of the dew,” said Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha. “It was a very good pitch and keeping them below 148 would have been tough. We tried — I think if I had won the toss it could have been a different story.”
Pakistan racked up 212 for eight after Sahibzada Farhan (100) and Fakhar Zaman (84) combined in a T20 World Cup record 176-run opening stand. Fakhar hit 84 off 42 balls with four sixes and nine fours. Farhan hit five sixes and nine fours as he took his aggregate for the tournament to 383, a T20 World Cup record, passing India’s Virat Kohli’s 319 in 2014.
That meant they had to restrict their opponents to 147 or less to make the last four, but Sri Lanka finished on 207 for six with Pavan Rathnayake making 58 and Dasun Shanaka hitting an unbeaten 76 off 31 balls.
Pakistan were in danger of failing to defend their highest T20 World Cup total. Shanaka began the last over against Shaheen Shah Afridi by going 4, 6, 6, 6. Sri Lanka then needed six off the last two balls. Shanaka missed trying to scoop the fifth ball and left the sixth, a yorker, thinking it was wide.