T20 World Cup: Pakistan fight to recover after back-to-back dismissals

Pakistan struggled to stabilise their innings as England bowlers dismissed Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, and Babar Azam during the high-stakes Super Eight clash of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, on Tuesday.

Ayub was dismissed for just seven runs in the third over by Jofra Archer, giving England an early advantage.

Agha followed soon after, contributing only five runs before returning to the pavilion.

Sahibzada Farhan and Babar Azam steadied Pakistan's innings for a period, but Jamie Overton ended Babar's innings in the 11th over. Babar scored 25 off 24 balls.

Farhan continued to anchor the innings, completing his half-century and keeping Pakistan's hopes alive of posting a competitive total.

Fakhar Zaman joined Farhan at the crease to rebuild the innings and provide stability for the Green Shirts.

Earlier, Pakistan chose to bat first after winning the toss in their second Super Eight clash.

Playing XI

Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (capt), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, and Usman Tariq

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (capt), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, and Adil Rashid

Head-to-head

Historically, England and Pakistan have faced each other 31 times in T20 cricket. The Three Lions have won 21 encounters, while the Men in Green have emerged victorious on nine occasions. One match ended without a result.

In T20 World Cup history, the sides have met three times, with England winning all three games and Pakistan yet to register a victory.

• Matches: 31
• England: 21
• Pakistan: 9
• No Result: 1

Form Guide

Pakistan and England enter the fixture with equally decent momentum in their favour as both teams have just one defeat in their last five T20Is.

In Super Eights, however, the 2009 champions had their opening match against New Zealand washed out due to persistent rain in Colombo, while the two-time winners edged past co-hosts Sri Lanka to make a triumphant start to the stage.

England: W, W, W, L, W (most recent first)

Pakistan: NR, W, L, W, W