Brook's masterly century fires England into semi-final

Match Overview

Pakistan and England locked horns in the 45th match, their second of the Super Eights of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Tuesday, February 24. Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and elected to bat first.

The openers - Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub - began briskly but the latter was dismissed in the third over itself. Agha could not last long either as Pakistan found themselves at 27/2 in the fourth over. Babar Azam now joined Farhan, the man in-form, and the duo built a 46-run partnership. Farhan was the aggressor, but the stand materialised in 44 balls which was not quick enough.

Farhan then formed a much-needed, fast-paced partnership of 49 runs off 30 balls with Fakhar and it provided Pakistan with a push. Meanwhile, the right-hander completed his 10th half century off 37 balls, but was dismissed not too long after for a well-made 63(45). In the end, cameos from Fakhar and Shadab Khan kept Pakistan going and took them to a competitive-looking 164/9.

Shaheen Shah Afridi provided a breakthrough off the first ball of the innings, sending back Phil Salt for a golden duck. However, Harry Brook came out at number three and counterattacked. Jos Buttler, meanwhile, was the next to go as Afridi struck again. While Brook was looking comfortable at one end, the batters to come struggled. Even Jacob Bethell, who came next, perished to Afridi as England ended the powerplay at 53/3.

Brook continued to play in the same vein, but regulated his run-scoring when the spinners came on. Nevertheless, the required run rate was being taken care of by him almost single-handedly. His partnerships with Sam Curran and, most importantly, Will Jacks put the game in England's pocket as the team needed just 27 runs off 24 balls with five wickets in hand.

Brook reached his maiden T20I ton soon after in just 50 deliveries, but was clean bowled off the very next ball, giving Afridi a four-wicket haul. England stuttered towards the end, losing three wickets in quick time. But, Jofra Archer kept his cool and helped his team to a two-wicket win with five balls remaining. With it, England qualified for the semi-finals and, notably, it is their fifth-consecutive qualification to the last four in T20 World Cups.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the Match

Harry Brook

Brook led by example to drive England into the semi-finals tonight. The moment the right-hander came to the crease he looked comfortable and confident. It seemed like the England captain was batting on a different wicket than the others, and without his aggressive gameplay, England would not have crossed the finish line.

Turning Point

Brook's partnership with Curran shifted the momentum from Pakistan's favour to England's. Thereafter, the subsequent stand between him and Jacks ensured that England could win the game with balls to spare. These two back-to-back partnerships was where the game was won by England.

What the captains said

Winning Team Captain, Harry Brook (ENG)

"(On securing a semi-final berth) That's very nice. We've come here to do that job and thankfully we've got it under the line. (Whose decision was it to promote himself to No. 3 and when was it made?) This morning by Baz (Brendon McCullum) as he was the mastermind behind it and it could have not come off, but thankfully tonight it has. We wanted to try and maximise the powerplay a little bit more and everybody knows that I like to try and take the game on and I was going to do that from ball one. So, thankfully it came off and I managed to get us a decent start."

"(Was it at the back of his mind to promote himself up the order) I'd been thinking about it for a while and it's something I want to do in my career moving forward anyway, not just for England and in franchise cricket. I want to get up there and try and face as many balls as possible."

Losing Team Captain, Salman Ali Agha (PAK)

"It started well with the bat, but we couldn’t finish the way we wanted. At the end of the day, sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition. The way Harry Brook batted was outstanding - he completely took the game away from us. (On having to depend on other results) We just have to wait and see how the other results go. We’ll be hoping they go our way, and then we know we’ll have to win against Sri Lanka."

"(On his thoughts at the halfway stage) It was a mixed surface, but I thought we bowled really well up front. Then Harry came in and played an outstanding innings. We threw everything at him, but he was simply too good for us today. He (Sahibzada Farhan) has batted really well in every single game of this World Cup and has been consistent for us over the last six or seven months. Unfortunately, the other batters haven’t performed the way we wanted. That can happen in World Cup games, but we’re hopeful we can improve in the next match. He (Shaheen Afridi) bowled really well. That’s what we expect from him - to strike up front. That’s what he’s famous for, and he delivered today."