Pallekele [Sri Lanka], February 25 (ANI): England defeated Pakistan by two wickets in the Super Eight fixture of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at Pallekele on Tuesday to qualify for the semi-finals after a match-winning knock from captain Harry Brook.

Addressing a press conference after the match, Brook credited the head coach, Brendon McCullum, for letting him bat up the order. Coming to bat at number three, Brook played a 100-run knock off 51 balls, which helped England successfully chase down a challenging target of 165 runs with five balls and two wickets to spare.

'It's Baz (McCullum). Baz is the mastermind there. He had a discussion with me this morning about going up the order and trying to maximise the power play, and thankfully it paid off,' said Brook, as quoted by the ICC.

In the match, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first. Sahibzada Farhan (63 in 45 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) continued his fine form in the tournament and, along with knocks from Babar, Fakhar Zaman (25 in 16 balls, with two fours and sixes each), and Shadab Khan (23 in 11 balls, with four boundaries), took Pakistan to 164/9.

Liam Dawson (3/24) and Jofra Archer (2/32) delivered brilliant four-over spells, while Jamie Overton (2/26) was also brilliant in his three-over spell.

In the run-chase, Shaheen Shah Afridi (4/30) reduced England to 58/4, but Brook (100 in 51 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes) did not give up, stitching partnerships with all-rounders Sam Curran (16 in 15 balls) and Will Jacks (28 in 23 balls, with a four and two sixes) and England won the match with two wickets and five wickets left

Speaking on the reasons for his promotion in the batting order, Brook said, 'I think partly because of my past and history against Pakistan, but like I said, to try and maximise the power play and put them under pressure early on. I know we were losing wickets, but my job was still to try to go out there and put them under pressure throughout.'

Reflecting his emotions on the win, Brook said, 'I'm just glad we won, to be honest. We got a little bit nervous at the end there, but I'm pretty happy.'

Replying to the question if he is going to bat at number three for the rest of the tournament, Brook said, 'I don't know. That's something for me and Baz to chat about. The longer I bat, the better it is for me. It's a lot easier facing their best bowlers through the middle period when you're already set.'

With just one point in two games after their first match against New Zealand ended in a washout, a win in their final game against Sri Lanka will give Pakistan a maximum of three points.

They are left at the mercy of the results of other teams and rain for a miraculous entry in the semifinals. With England having sealed their semifinal spot with four points, the race is mostly down to New Zealand and Sri Lanka, who have two fixtures left to play.

Now, England will take on New Zealand in their final Super Eight fixture on Friday in Colombo, whereas Pakistan will clash with Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Saturday. (ANI)