It was heartbreak for Pakistan.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha lamented losing the toss after his side suffered elimination from the T20 World Cup, despite beating Sri Lanka by five runs in their final Super 8s encounter.
Agha’s side went into the game needing a huge swing in net run rate to finish second in Group 2 ahead of New Zealand.
After losing the toss and being put into bat, Pakistan gave themselves hope of achieving that aim with an impressive performance that saw them post a total of 212-8.
Sahibzada Farhan scored 100 off 60 balls, hitting nine fours and five sixes, his opening partnership of 176 with Fakhar Zaman (84) the highest for any wicket in the history of the T20 World Cup.
But Pakistan faltered badly thereafter, with no other batter scoring double figures.
Pakistan’s score meant they had to restrict Sri Lanka to a score of 147 or less to progress to the semi-finals.
But the co-hosts ensured Pakistan’s elimination as captain Dusan Shanaka’s unbeaten 76 and a half-century from Pavan Rathnayake (58) helped them to 207-6.
“When I lost the toss, it was always going to be challenging [bowling second] because of the dew,” said Agha.
“Then it was a very good pitch and restricting them below 148 was going to be a challenge. But we tried. I think if I won the toss then it could have been a different story.”
New Zealand will breathe a sigh of relief after their defeat at the hands of England left them as nervous spectators of Pakistan’s match.
The Black Caps will now face the winner of Group 1 in their semi-final contest. That is likely to be South Africa, who take on Zimbabwe in their final Super 8s game on Sunday. India face West Indies in a winner-take-all match for the second qualification spot from Group 1, with the winner likely to face a last-four meeting with England.
