WATCH | Sahibzada and Fakhar step-up to hand desperate Pakistan lifeline with record-breaking stand

Gantavya Adukia

ByGantavya Adukia,SportsCafe Editor

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Pakistan's cricket for long has been reliant not on overall tactical brilliance or a collective effort, but trusting that when the hour comes, so will a superstar. The 2026 T20 World Cup was no different as in a must-win game against Sri Lanka, their two openers stitched a mammoth 176-run stand.

P‌akistan entered the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday knowing even a victory would not be enough to secure passage through to the Super Eights. A heavy defeat to England after an abandoned match against New Zealand meant they had a huge net run rate gulf to bridge if they were to knock out the Kiwis and usurp their place. However, when they were put in to bat first, the odds were already stacked against them given the lack of explosive firepower seen in the unit thus far to put up a total big enough to dream of a significant victory. Yet, a change in the pairing worked wonders for them.

The visitors took the call of dropping touted prodigy Saim Ayub and instead promoting Fakhar Zaman back to the top to open with Sahibzada Farhan. The former declared his intentions early with a four in the first over, before Farhan launched off by taking Dilshan Madushka for a four and a six in the third over. By the end of the powerplay, a spree of boundaries meant the score had raced to 64/0, with Farhan claiming the record for most runs in a T20 World Cup cmapaign by exceeding Virat Kohli's 319 in 2014. The spread of field did little to contain the duo as they looked in supreme touch and added 38 more in the next four overs, taking the score to 102/0 at the halfway mark of the innings. Farhan borught up a 32-ball half-century, his fourth of the tournament, while Zaman got to the mark in just 27 deliveries. Overs of 18, 11, 14, and 13 followed as Pakistan reached 150 in just 14 overs, and by the time Dushmantha Chameera ended the carnage in the 16th over the stnad of 176 was already the highest for any wicket in T20 World Cup history.

Twitterati was quick to give them their flowers.

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