T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 Group 2 points table after ENG vs PAK: Updated scenarios as England qualify for semi-finals

England on Tuesday became the first team to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals after defeating Pakistan by two wickets in a thrilling Super 8 match in Pallekele, Sri Lanka. The win took England to four points from two games, and thus maintained top spot in Group 2.

Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. The Men in Green were off to a shaky start as they lost Saim Ayub and skipper Salman Ali Agha in the powerplay. In fact, they had a mediocre powerplay, managing to post just 46 runs.

Fakhar Zaman (25 runs from 16 balls) and Shadab Khan (23 runs from 11 balls) got off to starts, but none could convert them into a big knock like Sahibzada Farhan (63 runs from 45 balls).

Farhan scored his second half-century of this T20 World Cup 2026 and has been in excellent form recently. However, he could not reach the century-run mark as he did against Namibia in the group stage. It was only because of the opener that Pakistan posted a total of 164/9.

The Salman Ali Agha-led side got off to a dream start in England's run chase, with Shaheen Shah Afridi striking thrice in the powerplay. He got rid of Phil Salt (2), Jos Buttler (2) and Jacob Bethell (8) to restrict England to 35/3 in the fifth over.

However, skipper Harry Brook led from the front with a hard-fought century. Brook got to his hundred off 50 balls, slamming 10 fours and four sixes to get to the milestone.

However, he was dismissed in the very next ball by Shaheen, leaving England at 155/6 in the 17th over. Will Jacks (28 runs from 23 balls) provided some resistance for England, who were once again in a spot of bother in the 19th over after he and Jamie Overton were dismissed.

England needed three runs to win from the final over with two wickets left, and despite a few late nerves, the two-time champions romped home with five balls to spare.

While England have qualified for the semi-finals, there is one more spot left for the second semi-final spot from Group 2. For Pakistan, this loss is a tough pill to swallow as they remain with just one point. Here's a look at the possible qualification scenarios for the other three teams from Group 2.

T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 Group 2 points table

With four points from two matches and a healthy Net Run Rate (NRR) of +1.491, England are safely through to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026.

They defeated Sri Lanka and Pakistan and will next face New Zealand in Colombo in three days. That match will likely determine whether England finishes as table-toppers or not.

For New Zealand, it’s pretty straightforward—Should they beat Sri Lanka and England, the Kiwis will qualify for the semi-finals. Should they beat Sri Lanka and lose to England, then they will have three points.

The Black Caps will then need Pakistan to beat Sri Lanka, and hope to have a better NRR than Pakistan. This is because both Pakistan and New Zealand would then each have three points.

Pakistan need to beat Sri Lanka in their last Super 8 match to reach three points. They will then need to hope that New Zealand lose at least one of their last two matches.

Should New Zealand lose to Sri Lanka but beat England, Pakistan will likely be eliminated with NRR coming into play. The best-case scenario for Pakistan would be for New Zealand to lose both their remaining matches and for Pakistan to beat Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka needs to beat both New Zealand and Pakistan to reach four points.

Should they win and England beat New Zealand, the Lankans would qualify for the semi-finals as the second team from Group 2 with four points.