Pakistani cricketers are known for their loudness. Without talking about statistics, he just reads the praises of his team’s success in any match, and feels embarrassed after the defeat. Something similar happened with Shoaib Akhtar, who before the match on Tuesday had expressed his wish that Pakistan should defeat England badly today. He also spewed venom against India, saying, “We will be happy if India is out of the T20 World Cup 2026.” Now his reaction after Pakistan’s defeat is going viral. His own statement is becoming a cause of embarrassment for him.

What did Shoaib Akhtar say first

On a show on Pakistan channel, Shoaib Akhtar said before the match, “If England plays so badly today, we can take these 2 points and qualify by defeating Sri Lanka. There will be no limit to our happiness if India gets out of this tournament.”

Akhtar’s tone changed after the match

When England defeated Pakistan, Shoaib Akhtar, sitting on the show of the same channel, raised questions on the captaincy of Salman Ali Aga. Although during this time his voice was very low, he was depressed and was not even able to speak properly. Pakistan, which wanted to see India out of the tournament, is now in a bad situation.

Shoaib Akhtar before and after the game

• Shoaib Akhtar before the start of the game – If England play this badly we’ll happily take the 2 points and our joy will know no bounds if India get knocked out and we make it to the semi-finals.

• Shoaib Akhtar after the game -… https://t.co/brkXCyaKH7 pic.twitter.com/WzaZzenSxN

— 10 (@Loyalsachfan10) February 24, 2026

Pakistan’s veteran Saqlain Mushtaq was also reading the ballads of Pakistan team before the match, he had said that this team can defeat England because it has the strength. After the match he also raised questions on his team’s strategy.

Gems of Shoaib Akhtar and Kudrat Ka Nizam (Saqlain Mushtaq)

Before the Start of the Game :

• Shoaib Akhtar – If England play this badly we’ll happily take the 2 points and our joy will know no bounds if India get knocked out and we make it to the semi-finals.

• Saqlain… pic.twitter.com/wk4qK5q3oM

— 10 (@Loyalsachfan10) February 24, 2026

Now if New Zealand wins both its next matches, then it will not make any difference whether Pakistan wins its next match. Pakistan needs New Zealand to lose both its matches and they should defeat Sri Lanka.

Pakistan is not yet out of the race for the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup 2026, although many fans believe so. Although now Salman Ali Aga and team has become dependent on the results of other matches as well, but their hopes are still alive. Let us explain to you how Pakistan can now reach the semi-finals.

The first match of the Super-8 of T20 World Cup 2026 was between Pakistan and New Zealand, which was washed out due to rain. After the toss, it started raining heavily, due to which the match had to be abandoned without any ball being bowled. Both the teams got 1-1 points, but Pakistan lost its second match. With the good bowling of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan was moving towards winning this match, but Harry Brook’s century turned the tables.

England has reached the semi-finals from Group 2 with 4 points. Now there is a fight between New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to become the second semi-finalist. Pakistan has played 2 matches of Super-8. After one loss and one draw, Pakistan has 1 point, their net run rate is minus (-0.461).

How can Pakistan reach the semi-finals?

Equation 1: If New Zealand loses both its matches (Sri Lanka and England), then Pakistan will have to win only the match against Sri Lanka. With this, New Zealand will have only 1 point, Sri Lanka will have 2 points and Pakistan will have 3 points.

Equation 2: If New Zealand loses one of its two matches, and Pakistan beats Sri Lanka. In this situation Pakistan and New Zealand will have 3 points each. Then whichever team has a better net run rate will be the second semi-finalist of this group.

If this happens then Pakistan will be out

If New Zealand defeats England and then Sri Lanka, then this team will have 5 points. Pakistan will reach only 3 points even after defeating Sri Lanka, that is, if New Zealand wins both its matches then Pakistan will be out of T20 World Cup 2026.

England cricket team created history by winning the match against Pakistan on Tuesday. England has become the first team to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup for the fifth consecutive time. In the first match of Super-8, England defeated Sri Lanka and in the second match Pakistan. Captain Harry Brook played a century against the Pakistan team, for which he was chosen Player of the Match.

England became the first team to do so

England has become the first team to reach the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for the fifth consecutive edition. In 2016, the team reached the finals, where West Indies defeated them and won their second title. In its next edition (2021) also, the team reached the semi-finals, where the team could not reach the final. In 2021 also, England was eliminated after losing in the semi-finals.

In 2022, England won its second T20 World Cup title by defeating Pakistan in the final. In the last edition also, the team had reached the semi-finals, where Team India defeated them. This edition was won by India.

England has also reached the semi-finals in the ongoing edition (2026) of the T20 World Cup. With this, England also equaled Pakistan’s world record.

England has reached the semi-finals a total of 6 times

Earlier, England had won its first T20 World Cup title in 2010. Apart from this, the team could not reach the semi-finals in 4 editions (2007, 2009, 2012 and 2014). England equaled Pakistan’s world record in terms of reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup the most number of times. England and Pakistan have reached the semi-finals 6 times each. Team India has reached the semi-finals 5 times.

what happened in the match

Talking about the match, Pakistan had scored 164 runs while batting first. Liam Dawson took maximum 3 wickets, Jamie Overton and Joffra Archer took 2-2 wickets. While defending the target, Shaheen Shah Afridi got off to a good start, dismissing Phil Salt on the very first ball. In the third over, he took a big wicket in the form of Jos Buttler and also sent Jacob Batal (8) to the pavilion cheaply. England’s 4 wickets had fallen at the score of 58, but England captain Harry Brook’s century turned the tables. Brook scored 100 runs in 51 balls and England won by 2 wickets.

Now every match of T20 World Cup 2026 is do or die for the Indian cricket team, but victory alone is not enough to reach the semi-finals. The future of Suryakumar Yadav and team also depends on the results of other matches. Net run rate will play an important role, so Team India needs a big win against Zimbabwe. Let us explain to you in simple language what should happen so that India qualifies for the semi-finals.

Team India’s next match is against Zimbabwe on 26th February, in which Suryakumar Yadav needs not just a win but a big win. Because after this India’s clash is with West Indies. In the form West Indies are in, it will be difficult to achieve such a big win against them. In the first match of Super-8, South Africa defeated India by 76 runs, due to which India’s net run rate has become -3.800.

South Africa’s net run rate is +3.800, while after the big win of 107 runs, West Indies’ net run rate is +5.350. There is every possibility that there will be a net run rate issue between any two teams, which will decide who will go ahead and whose journey will end. Right now India is standing far behind in terms of net rate.

How big should India’s victory be?

If Team India scores 220 runs while batting first against Zimbabwe, then they should restrict Zimbabwe to 120 or less. By winning by a margin of 100 or more runs, India can come ahead in the game of net run rate, India will have to ‘dominate’ in this match. However, Zimbabwe has defeated big teams like Australia and Sri Lanka in the league stage, so it will not be easy to do this.

If Zimbabwe team bats first then India will have to chase very quickly. If Zimbabwe scores 150 or 160 runs then Team India will have to chase it before 11 or 12 overs. With this, India’s net run rate can go up significantly.

understand with example

If Zimbabwe scored 160 runs while batting first. If Team India achieves this target in 10 to 12 overs, then the net run rate can increase from +4 to +5. Whereas if Zimbabwe scores more than 180 runs, then India should register a win before 15 overs, this will also be a good improvement in the net run rate.

Indian equation

Equation 1: If Team India defeats Zimbabwe and West Indies, then India will get 4 points. But along with this, it is necessary that South Africa defeats West Indies, this will leave only 2 points for the West Indies team. In such a situation, India and South Africa will be the two teams to qualify for the semi-finals.

Equation 2: If West Indies beats South Africa, then India should register a big win over Zimbabwe. This win should be by a margin of more than 100 runs, or a quick chase. Then defeat West Indies also, efforts should be made to make this also a big victory. In such a situation, India and West Indies will have 4 points each. South Africa will qualify for the semi-finals by defeating Zimbabwe, while the team with better net run rate among India and West Indies will be the second finalist.

But if Zimbabwe defeats South Africa, then the top-2 teams with better net run rate between India, West Indies and South Africa will play in the semi-finals of T20 World Cup 2026.

India’s opening pair is being criticized in the T20 World Cup. Especially Abhishek Sharma, who could not even open the account 3 times out of 4. But the figures of Rinku Singh, who is playing the role of a finisher, are also worrying, who has scored less runs than the balls he played. Here are the statistics of his 5 matches, which Indian fans will be surprised to see.

In T20 format, there is not much time for any batsman to stay at the crease, in today’s era even the opener thinks of hitting big hits from the first ball. In such a situation, the role of the finisher is important, how he ends a good or bad beginning. There are expectations from the finisher that he should score runs at a fast pace. Rinku Singh is playing the same role. But Rinku has not scored as many runs as the number of balls she has played.

Rinku Singh’s statistics in T20 World Cup 2026

• vs usa: 6 runs in 14 balls
• vs Namibia: 1 run in 6 balls
• vs pakistan: 11 runs in 4 balls
• vs Netherlands: 6 runs in 3 balls
• vs South Africa: 0 runs in 2 balls

Rinku Singh has scored only 24 runs in 5 matches played in T20 World Cup 2026, while he has played 29 balls. In the first match against USA, he scored only 6 runs in 14 balls. He scored only 1 run in 6 balls against Namibia. Rinku remained unbeaten against Pakistan and Netherlands, although here too he did not play any big innings because he did not get a chance to play many balls.

In the Super-8 round of T20 World Cup, Rinku Singh was out while playing an irresponsible shot. He was caught out while swinging the ball of Keshav Maharaj, in this match he could not even open his account.

Pakistan cricket team’s first match in Super-8 was canceled due to rain, after which Salman Ali Aga and team had to be satisfied with 1 point. Today they face England, who had defeated Sri Lanka in the first match of this round. If Pakistan team loses today, they will be able to reach maximum 3 points, then will the team be eliminated today itself? Understand the equation of Group-2.

Today the England vs Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup will be played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy. It was here that Pakistan’s first match was to be held, which was washed out in the rain. But today the chances of rain here are negligible, although there may be drizzle. So there is a question in the minds of the fans that if Pakistan loses today, they will be out of the race for the semi-finals?

If Pakistan loses, what will be the equation?

Even after losing today, Pakistan will not be out of the race for the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup. In this situation they will have 1 point after 2 matches. However, in this situation they will have to depend on other teams. They would like New Zealand to lose to Sri Lanka and England and Pakistan to beat Sri Lanka in their last match. Then Pakistan will have 3 points, Sri Lanka will have 2 and New Zealand will have zero points.

If New Zealand and Pakistan both beat Sri Lanka and England beat New Zealand. So New Zealand and Pakistan will have 3 points each, then the one whose net run rate is better will go ahead.

If New Zealand defeats both Sri Lanka and England, they will have 5 points and England will have 4 points. In this situation, Pakistan will be out of the race for the T20 World Cup semi-finals even before its last match.

Group 2 Schedule

• 24 February- England vs Pakistan
• 25 February- sri lanka vs new zealand
• 27 February- England vs New Zealand
• 28 February- sri lanka vs pakistan

When and where to watch England vs Pakistan match live?

England vs Pakistan match will start at 7 pm today at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The toss will take place at 6:30 pm. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network. There will be live streaming on JioHotstar app and website.

All the fans are eagerly waiting for the next match of the Indian cricket team, because now India has to win the next two matches to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. After the big defeat at the hands of South Africa in Super-8, it has become difficult for Suryakumar Yadav and team, because now India is dependent on the results of other matches along with its victory. Know when, with whom and where is Team India’s next match?

India is part of Group 1 in the Super-8 round of T20 World Cup 2026, in which the match has been held with South Africa. India lost this match by a huge margin of 76 runs. West Indies and Zimbabwe are also in this group, between whom there was a match on Monday. West Indies team has come on top in the points table after winning by 107 runs.

Which teams will reach the semi-finals?

After all the matches of the Super-8 round, the teams that remain in the top-2 in the points table will become semi-finalists and the journey of the other two teams will end. Let us tell you that the table is decided on the basis of the points of the teams, but when the points of two teams are equal then the order of the teams is decided on the basis of net run rate. In such a situation, India has to win both its matches and also South Africa needs to defeat West Indies. In this situation, India will have 4 points and West Indies will have only 2 points.

With whom is Team India’s next match?

The Indian cricket team’s next match in the Super-8 of the T20 World Cup 2026 is with Zimbabwe. India and Zimbabwe have lost their first match in Super-8.

When is India vs Zimbabwe match?

The match between India and Zimbabwe is on Thursday, 26 February. This match will start at 7 pm. Let us tell you that Zimbabwe had defeated Australia and Sri Lanka in the league stage, hence Team India cannot take this match lightly.

Where is India vs Zimbabwe match?

This important match between India and Zimbabwe will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Tilak Verma has disappointed with his batting so far in the T20 World Cup 2026. His biggest innings so far has been 31 runs, which was against Netherlands. In the Super-8 against South Africa, he got out after playing a bad shot, after which he is being criticized a lot. Now former Indian cricketer Krishnammachari Srikkanth has criticized him and has also raised questions on his being in the playing 11.

Tilak Verma was injured before the T20 World Cup 2026, he underwent surgery and made a comeback. Tilak was in good form before the injury, he played an important role in India’s victory in the Asia Cup. But his bat is silent in the ongoing edition of T20 World Cup. He has scored 107 runs in 5 matches, his strike rate is 118.88. Everyone is criticizing Tilak after he got out after playing an irresponsible shot against South Africa. He went forward to hit the shot, on which the ball touched the bat and went into the hands of the wicketkeeper. After this, former player Krishnammachari Srikanth also gave a sharp reaction against him.

Questions raised on Tilak Verma being in playing 11

Krishnammachari Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, ‘If Sanju Samson comes in the playing 11, there is no place for Tilak Verma. People are also raising questions regarding the return of Tilak. There is also a possibility that after the way he played the shot today, he may be dropped from the playing 11. This shot was quite ridiculous. After such a shot, he did not deserve to be at the crease.

India’s semi-final path difficult

India’s batting looked weak even in the group stage, but in the important match against South Africa, the team collapsed. Chasing the target of 188, the Indian team was reduced to 111 runs. After this big defeat by 76 runs, Team India’s path to reach the semi-finals has become difficult.

Now India has to win its next two matches. Even after this, South Africa should defeat West Indies. With this, West Indies will remain at 2 points and India will have 4 points. If West Indies defeats South Africa then it will be very difficult for India to reach the semi-finals.

When is India’s next match?

India’s next match in the Super-8 of T20 World Cup 2026 is with Zimbabwe on Thursday, 26 February. This match will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from 7 pm.

The path for the Indian cricket team to reach the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup has become difficult, because now even after winning both its matches, it will have to depend on the results of other matches. Of course, Suryakumar Yadav and team won all the matches in the group stage, but as an opening partnership, the team has proved to be the worst. They are worse than Oman, Namibia and Canada, whose journey ended without any win. Leaving aside the first match of Super-8, Ishan Kishan still batted well, but the opening pair disappointed.

The average of the opening pair will surprise you

Team India’s opening pair in the T20 World Cup 2026 has an average of only 6.80. Abhishek Sharma could not even open his account against USA, Pakistan and Netherlands. In the first match held in Mumbai, India’s first wicket fell on the score of 8. After this the first wicket in Delhi fell at the score of 25. The first wicket against Pakistan fell at 1 and then in the fourth match the first wicket fell at zero.

In the first match of Super-8, India’s first wicket fell at zero against South Africa. That means, in 5 matches, India’s opening pair together have made a partnership of 34 runs. If we talk about the average of Oman’s opening pair, it was 10. UAE’s opening pair scored runs at an average of 15.50 and Ireland’s opening pair scored runs at an average of 14.33. So far the best average is that of New Zealand’s opening pair (84).

Indian opener was out on zero 4 times

In 4 out of 5 matches, India’s opener was ‘ducked’ out, that is, could not even open the account. Abhishek Sharma was out for zero against USA, Pakistan and Netherlands, Ishan Kishan could not open his account against South Africa in Super-8. In every match held so far, India’s opening pair has not been able to last till the third over.

Apart from the opening pair, Tilak Verma’s poor form has also remained a problem, in 5 matches he has been able to score only 107 runs at an average of 21. Even against South Africa, he got out while playing irresponsible shots. At the same time, questions are being raised on leaving out Akshar Patel and playing Washington Sundar.

The Pakistan vs New Zealand match was abandoned without any balls being bowled due to rain, after which both the teams had to be content with 1-1 points. However, one aspect of this is that one team has lost 1 point, which could have got full points by winning. Well, here we are telling about the Pakistan team captained by Salman Ali Aga and how the team can now reach the semi-finals.

Pakistan cricket team had won 3 matches in the group stage, this team lost only the match against India. Pakistan’s opener Sahibzada Farhan is in excellent form, he is the batsman who has scored the most runs (220) in the ongoing edition. Usman Tariq has also impressed so far. Although New Zealand is also a strong team, but looking at the pitch conditions, Pakistan seemed to have the upper hand.

The top 2 teams of 4 groups of the league stage are playing in the Super-8 round of the T20 World Cup. They have been divided into 2 groups, each group has 4-4 teams. Each team has to play 1-1 match against every team in its group, after which the top-2 teams will qualify for the semi-finals. Pakistan now has to play England and Sri Lanka in Super-8.

• 24 February, vs England
• 28 February, vs Sri Lanka

Now how can Pakistan reach the semi-finals?

Although Pakistan is not dependent on any team right now, they have to win both their matches. If this happens then Pakistan will qualify for the semi-finals, because in this situation New Zealand will be the only other team which will be able to reach 5 points along with Pakistan.

But if Pakistan loses a match, or their another match is cancelled, then also a problem will arise. In such a situation, Pakistan will have 3 points, then they will have to depend on the performance of other teams. Even then such a situation can arise that only one team is ahead of Pakistan. But it is difficult to make this equation. Whereas Salman Ali Aga and team would like to win both their matches and qualify for the semi-finals without any problem.