Bangladesh edged Pakistan by 11 runs in the third ODI to clinch the series 2-1 at the electric Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

After winning the toss, Pakistan elected to field. Bangladesh posted a commanding 290 for 5 in their 50 overs, propelled by a brilliant century from Tanzid Hasan (107). Litton Das provided quickfire support with 41, Saif Hassan added 36 and Najmul Hossain Shanto contributed 27 as the hosts built a challenging total.

For Pakistan, Haris Rauf impressed with three wickets, while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Abrar Ahmed claimed one wicket each.

Chasing 291, Pakistan battled fiercely but were ultimately all out for 279 in 50 overs. Salman Ali Agha was the standout with a gritty 106, and Shaheen Shah Afridi chipped in with a useful 37.

Taskin Ahmed spearheaded Bangladesh’s attack with four wickets; Nahid Rana and Mustafizur Rahman picked up two apiece.

Earlier in the series, Pakistan produced a remarkable comeback in the second ODI, delivering a dominant performance to defeat Bangladesh by 128 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method after rain interrupted the match.

An all-round performance led by Maaz Sadaqat helped Pakistan record a convincing 128-run victory by DLS over Bangladesh in the second ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Friday.

The three-match series is level at 1-1, with the third ODI scheduled at the same venue on Sunday, 15 March.

Batting first after the hosts opted to field, Pakistan posted a competitive 274 in 47.3 overs, thanks to a blazing innings from Maaz Sadaqat and a solid middle-order effort from Shaheen Shah Afridi’s side.

Openers Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat gave Pakistan a brisk start, adding 103 for the first wicket inside 13 overs. Maaz was the aggressor, hitting six fours and five sixes in a 46-ball 75, reaching his fifty in just 31 balls. This was Maaz’s second ODI, after making his international debut in the series opener.

After the quick start, Mohammad Rizwan (44, 59b, 5x4s) and Salman Ali Agha (64, 62b, 7x4s, 2x6s) rebuilt the innings with a crucial 109-run fourth-wicket partnership that steadied Pakistan following a brief middle-order wobble.

Bangladesh spinner Rishad Hossain claimed three wickets and Mehidy Hasan Miraz took two, but Pakistan’s total proved enough after rain reduced Bangladesh’s chase to 243 in 32 overs under the DLS method.

Pakistan’s bowlers then produced a clinical new-ball spell as Shaheen struck twice early to remove Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto, while Mohammad Wasim dismissed Saif Hassan to leave the hosts 13 for 3.

Litton Das (41, 33b, 4x4s, 2x6s) and Towhid Hridoy (28, 38b, 2x4s) tried to rebuild, but Maaz’s left-arm spin turned the match further Pakistan’s way with a superb 3 for 23, removing Litton, Afif Hossain and Rishad Hossain in quick succession.

Haris Rauf also bowled with pace and control, grabbing three wickets for 26, while Faheem Ashraf chipped in with one wicket as Bangladesh were bowled out for 114 in 23.3 overs, well short of the revised target.

For his match-winning all-round performance of 75 runs and three wickets, 20-year-old Maaz was named player of the match.

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.

England have qualified for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup with a nervy two-wicket win in their Super Eight match against Pakistan, who have inched closer to exiting the tournament.

Captain Harry Brook scored a sublime century under pressure on Tuesday as his side successfully chased a 165-run target in 19.1 overs at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium near Kandy, Sri Lanka, and became the first team to enter the knockouts. Brook formed a 52-run partnership with in-form all-rounder Will Jacks, who scored 28 in the winning cause.

England’s win, however, began with a tumble and ended with a wobble as their top order and lower-middle order slumped against a par total of 164-9 set by Pakistan. The two-time champions went through to the last four by winning their second Super Eights game and taking four points, while Pakistan remain on one point after two matches.

England’s chase got off to a horrible start when Shaheen Shah Afridi removed opener Phil Salt with the first ball of the innings; Salt edged a length delivery to wicketkeeper Usman Khan, who took a diving catch. Afridi, who had been dropped for Pakistan’s washed-out match against New Zealand, continued his dream return with a wicket in his second over as former captain Jos Buttler was dismissed in a similar manner. Jacob Bethell, caught in the deep off Afridi, and Tom Banton, caught behind off Usman Khan, were the next two wickets to fall as Pakistan seemed to have the upper hand in the second innings.

Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan continued his imperious run-scoring form to score 63 runs off 45 balls, which became the cornerstone of Pakistan’s innings.

The opener was briefly supported by Babar Azam, who fell for 25 runs.

Fakhar Zaman’s 25 and Shadab Khan’s 23 runs helped Pakistan cross the 160-run mark in a must-win game.

Spin bowler Liam Dawson’s figures of 3-24 in four overs were supported by two wickets each from pacers Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton as England made it four wins in their last four games in the tournament.

They will face New Zealand in their last Super Eight fixture on Friday while Pakistan will play against hosts Sri Lanka the following day.

The next Group 2 match is between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on Wednesday.

Pakistan must now hope that Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by a big margin and England do the same two days later to dent the Kiwis’ net run rate.

New Zealand and Pakistan will share the points after rain forced a washout in Colombo. Officials waited more than two hours from the scheduled start for the weather to improve, but the steady drizzle that began at the toss only grew heavier and never relented.

With puddles forming on the covers and no sign of improvement overhead, the umpires made the inevitable call.

There had been a strong chance of showers as toss time approached. Pakistan’s evening training session the previous day had been cancelled because of rain. At the toss, which Pakistan won with Salman Agha choosing to bat, a drizzle began while the captains were speaking and the ground staff moved the covers into position. From then on, the fate of the game was sealed.

Pakistan left Khawaja Nafay out and brought in Fakhar Zaman, while New Zealand made three changes, including the return of captain Mitchell Santner to the XI.

Both teams have opened their Super Eight campaigns but are left with little room for error. Pakistan will play England next on Tuesday and Sri Lanka a week from today, while New Zealand face Sri Lanka on Wednesday and England on Friday. All games in this group are being played in Sri Lanka.

Pakistan stormed into the Super Eight stage of the ICC T-20 World Cup, crushing Namibia by 102 runs in Colombo today.

Batting first, Pakistan posted a commanding 199 for 3 in their allotted twenty overs, with Sahibzada Farhan anchoring the innings and reaching an unbeaten century.

In reply, Namibia were bundled out for 97 in 17.3 overs. Usman Tariq led the bowling charge with four wickets, while Shadab Khan chipped in with three crucial scalps.

Elsewhere, South Africa beat the United Arab Emirates by six wickets in Delhi. Meanwhile, the India vs Netherlands match is currently underway in Ahmedabad.

Super 8 Lineup and Matchups

The qualified teams are divided into two groups:

• Group A: India, South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe
• Group B: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, New Zealand

Pakistan’s upcoming fixtures are crucial as they aim to make a deep run:

• Against New Zealand on February 21
• Against England on February 24
• Against Sri Lanka on February 28

With the tournament now entering its knockout stage, the stakes are higher than ever as teams battle for the ultimate prize in T20 cricket.

India extended their recent on-field superiority over Pakistan with a 61-run victory in Colombo, securing their place in the T20 World Cup Super 8s.

After weeks of uncertainty and debate over whether the fixture would take place, India proved too strong and recorded a ninth consecutive win in completed matches against Pakistan.

The captains did not shake hands at the toss and there were no exchanges after the final ball, but otherwise the match passed without incident despite ongoing political tensions and last year’s military conflict.

The game was effectively decided by a ferocious early attack from opener Ishan Kishan, who made 77 off 40 on a tricky, turning surface.

That gave the co-hosts a flying start and, even though Pakistan’s army of spinners slowed the scoring and took wickets, India still posted 175-7.

The target always looked difficult: Hardik Pandya removed a wicket in the first over of the chase and Jasprit Bumrah took two in the second, putting the result beyond doubt.

Usman Khan hit some shots in his 44, but Pakistan were overwhelmed and bowled out for 114 in 18 overs.

India are now confirmed to progress as they seek to defend the 2024 title, while Pakistan must beat Namibia on Wednesday to ensure a Super 8s spot.

If they win, the two rivals could still meet again later in the tournament in a semi-final or final.

Australia may have fielded a stronger side for the second T20I, but they were no match for a near‑flawless Pakistan team, who crushed Australia by 90 runs to seal the series with a game to spare. It is Australia’s biggest T20I defeat since 2005, their second biggest overall, and Pakistan’s largest victory over Australia.

A splendid innings from a resurgent Salman Agha, who struck a career‑best 76 off 40 balls, put Pakistan in control, while Usman Khan also posted his highest T20I score, 53 off 36, helping Pakistan surge to 198. Much like the first game, Agha and Saim Ayub tore into the Australian attack during the powerplay, scoring 55 in 25 balls; the 72 Pakistan made in the powerplay was their third‑highest T20I total in that phase.

Adam Zampa’s introduction did slow things and removed Babar Azam cheaply for the second consecutive game, but the visitors never managed to rein Pakistan in enough to give their batters a real chance. Xavier Bartlett in particular suffered, conceding 52 in his four overs and 14 in the final over as Pakistan pushed close to 200.

With Australia having fallen so far short chasing 169 on Thursday, this was always a tall order. They had the experience and hitting power of Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis, but Pakistan’s spinners on these surfaces are a well‑oiled unit with a knack for breaking partnerships early. The biggest Australian partnership was just 24, Abrar and Shadab accounted for six wickets, and although Cameron Green’s dismissal of Ayub in the final over of the powerplay — after Ayub had been struck for two sixes and a four — briefly threatened a fightback, Pakistan quickly snuffed it out as Australia were skittled for 108.

In a remarkable show of consistency and resilience, Pakistan won the 2025 Tri-Nation T20 Series title in Rawalpindi by defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets, marking a historic achievement in national cricket.

Led by Salman Ali Agha, the team set a new record for the most T20 international wins in a year, achieving 21 victories. Pakistan reached the target of 115 runs in the 19th over, losing four wickets along the way.

Sri Lanka, batting first, scored 114 runs, struggling to gain momentum against Pakistan’s disciplined bowling. Mohammad Nawaz excelled throughout the tournament and was named both Player of the Match and Player of the Series for his outstanding performance.

The latest success capped off a remarkable year for Pakistan in 2025, during which the team played 34 T20 internationals, winning 21 and losing 13. This outdid their previous record of 20 victories in 2021. In past years, Pakistan had achieved 17 wins in 2018 and 14 in 2022.

The win in Rawalpindi came after Pakistan’s dominant display against Sri Lanka in a bilateral series, where they made a clean sweep. The recent achievements have made 2025 one of Pakistan’s most successful periods in the T20 format, both in match participations and victories.

Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Wasim starred as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the third and final ODI on Sunday, claiming the series 3-0.

Rizwan scored an unbeaten 61 and opener Fakhar Zaman knocked 55 to guide Pakistan past their target of 212 in 44.4 overs.

Fast bowler Wasim earlier took 3-47, while pace partner Haris Rauf and spinner Faisal Akram took two apiece to bowl out Sri Lanka on a slow-paced Rawalpindi Stadium pitch.

This becomes Pakistan’s fourth consecutive ODI series win over Sri Lanka, having beaten them in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Pakistan did lose opener Haseebullah Khan for a duck but Babar Azam joined Zaman to put 74 runs for the second wicket with both dominating the bowling.

Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay brought Sri Lanka back in the game by removing Zaman, Azam (34) and Salman Agha (six) in the space of 33 runs.

But Rizwan and Hussain Talat, who scored 42 not out, dove Pakistan past the target and to 215-4 during their unbroken 100-run stand for the fifth wicket.

Zaman hit eight boundaries while the usually-swashbuckling Rizwan played an anchoring knock which featured just four hits to the rope.

Vandersay finished with 3-42 but did not get any support from the other bowlers.

For Pakistan skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi it was his second series win as captain after beating South Africa 2-1 earlier this month.

“I think winning a series gives great happiness,” said Shaheen. “We bowled well in this series so it’s nice for the future.”

His Sri Lankan counterpart, Kusal Mendis, rued his own side’s performance with the bat, however.

“The top five got good starts but did not go on long and we did not get a big total which cost us badly,” said Mendis.

Sri Lanka lost the first two ODIs in Rawalpindi and started the final match on a bad note when skipper Charith Asalanka was ruled out with a fever.

Sadeera Samarawickrama, who top-scored with 48, added 43 for the third wicket with stand-in captain Kusal Mendis (34), but the innings then fell away badly.

Pathum Nissanka scored 24 and Kamil Mishara made 29 but both openers were dismissed in quick succession by the combination of Rauf and Wasim.

Akram, playing his first international in a year, dismissed Kamindu Mendis for 10 and then Samarawickrama as the tourists slumped from 143-4 to 193-8.

Debutant Pavan Rathnayake hit a fighting 32 with a six and two boundaries before he was the last man to go, run-out trying to grab a quick second.

The three-match series was overshadowed by security fears following Tuesday’s suicide bombing in Islamabad, which killed 12 people and wounded dozens.

The second ODI was delayed by a day after several Sri Lankan players considered abandoning the tour over safety concerns.

But the Pakistan Cricket Board and Sri Lanka Cricket managed to convince the players to stay with enhanced security measures.

The two sides will next engage in a T20 tri-series alongside Zimbabwe, beginning November 18.