England Became the first team to officially secure a place in t20 world cup 2026 Semi-finals after a thrilling two-wicket victory Pakistan At Pallekele on February 24, 2026. The match was full of ups and downs, with the England captain saying, harry brookHe registered his name in history with his brilliant performance which silenced the Pakistani bowling attack.
Chasing a competitive target of 165 runs, England looked to be in deep trouble early on Shaheen Afridi The top order was decimated, leaving them at 35/3. However, Brook’s brilliant brilliance turned the game around, as he single-handedly pulled his team back from the brink of defeat. For Pakistan, the defeat is a crushing blow, leaving their tournament hopes hanging in the balance, making it vital to win their final Super 8 match.
T20 World Cup 2026: Sahibzada Farhan’s flexibility and Liam Dawson’s spin stifle Pakistan’s strength
Pakistan’s innings was the story of a lone warrior Sahebzada Farhanwho took the team to a competitive 164/9 on a surface that offered significant variation for the English spinners.
After getting the invitation to bat, Pakistan immediately got a huge blow. jofra archer taken out Saim Ayyub The captain was out immediately in the second over. salman ali agaThe powerplay left the ‘Men in Green’ flailing at 42/2. However, Farhan showed remarkable composure and scored 63 runs in 45 balls, using the sweep shot effectively and bowling the long distance ball. Liam Dawson. Dawson was one of the English bowlers, finishing with impressive figures of 3/24 as he gained the bounce and turn to remove the ball. Osman Khan And Mohammad Nawaz In quick succession.
A collapse in the middle of the innings threatened to derail Pakistan completely, but there was an aggressive display late on Shadab KhanThe scorer’s 23 off 11 balls provided the much-needed impetus to take the score past 160. Despite the late overs flourish, England’s death bowling remained disciplined. jamie overton Brilliant bowling to take two wickets and stop Pakistan from reaching a really challenging score. At the end of the innings, Pakistan felt they were perhaps 15 runs short, placing a heavy burden on their pace batteries to defend the total in light.
Harry Brook’s historic century and Joffra Archer’s courage secured England’s place in the semi-finals.
Chasing the target of 165 runs, England got off to a very bad start as Shaheen Afridi presented a masterclass in swing bowling and got them out. Phil Salt And jos buttler Within the first seven balls of the innings. Then Captain Brook came out and played what many are calling the greatest T20 World Cup captain’s innings in history.
Brook played a sensational innings of 100 runs off just 51 balls, his pace particularly pleasing salman mirza and affair of Shadab Khan And Osman TariqHit 10 fours and 4 big sixes to maintain the strike rate near 200. His century, the first by a captain in the history of the tournament, looked like the game was over until a frantic last-order collapse brought Pakistan back into the contest with three wickets in four balls.
With England needing four runs from the final over and Shaheen completing his quota with figures of 4/30, the tension was palpable jofra archer Came to the crease with only two wickets remaining. Archer showed great coolness and hit a length ball from Salman Mirza over mid-off for a boundary to win the game with one ball to spare. The win brought jubilation in the England camp, while Pakistan’s players were disappointed on the field, aware that their semi-final hopes now depended on a complex web of mathematical probabilities.
Here’s how fans reacted:
A 50-ball-100 to single-handedly take your team to the semis, this is what dreams are made of! Well played Harry Brook 👏👏
PS: India benched Akshar vs South Africa and Pakistan dropped Abrar for this game. Truly astonishing and costly strategic mistakes.#PAKvENG #T20WorldCup– Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) 24 February 2026
H Brooke at 3 years old now makes me think it’s possible.. #ICCT20WorldCup ..This is the innings which proves that there is talent in the England team..
– Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) 24 February 2026
What an amazing night it was for Harry Brook!
Single-handedly he destroyed Pakistan – is this the end of Pakistan?#PakvsEng #ICCT20WorldCup2026– Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) 24 February 2026
England has become the first team to reach the semi-finals. Harry Brook’s move to bat at number 3 won the game for them.
– Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) 24 February 2026
Harry Brook – Freak
– Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) 24 February 2026
This is a brilliant century from Harry Brook.
100 (51) is excited to take his team to the World Cup semi-finals.
Given the preparation for this tournament, serious skill was also shown.
– Yas Rana (@Yas_Wisden) 24 February 2026
Greetings, Harry Brook. They treated the Pakistani attack with the same disdain that our tourists treat eating Icelandic fermented shark.
– Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) 24 February 2026
Strange innings from an eccentric batsman. This was pure class from Harry Brook. Such strategic batting along with incredible shots. ultimate show-stealer #T20WorldCup
– Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) 24 February 2026
Harry Brooks, what a talent. The first thing is brother.
– Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) 24 February 2026
Leader. Match winner. star. 🌟🔥
Harry Brook scripts a Captain’s masterpiece
100 (51) to go with the POTM trophy 🏆💥#harrybrooks #Pakistan #england #T20WorldCup #T20WorldCup2026 #Cricket pic.twitter.com/PpuvTrfrpP
– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) 24 February 2026
Also read: T20 World Cup 2026: This is why Faheem Ashraf is not playing today’s PAK vs ENG Super 8 match
