Sahibzada Farhan Shatters Big T20 World Cup Records as Pakistan Bow Out
Sahibzada Farhan rewrote the record books at the 2026 T20 World Cup with a stunning century against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.Â
Farhan’s second hundred of the tournament, along with Fakhar Zaman’s smashing 84 off 42 balls, powered Pakistan to 212/8 at the end of first innings. The big win was on the cards but co-hosts Sri Lanka stunned them with a fitting batting response. Pakistan escaped a loss with a narrow 5-run win.Â
The victory was not enough to take Pakistan into the semi-finals.
New Zealand qualified from Group 2 alongside England. South Africa are through from Group 1 with India and West Indies fighting for the last and final spot.
T20 World Cup: Highest Partnership Record Broken
Pakistan needed a massive win margin of around 65 runs to qualify for the semi-finals. For most of the innings, they looked on track.
Farhan and Fakhar opened the innings and added 176 runs in 15.5 overs. It became the highest partnership for any wicket in T20 World Cup history.
Highest Partnerships in T20 World Cup (Any Wicket)
- 176 – Sahibzada Farhan & Fakhar Zaman (PAK) vs SL, 2026
- 175* – Tim Seifert & Finn Allen (NZ) vs UAE, 2026
- 170* – Jos Buttler & Alex Hales (ENG) vs IND, 2022
- 168 – Quinton de Kock & Rilee Rossouw (SA) vs BAN, 2022
- 166 – Mahela Jayawardene & Kumar Sangakkara (SL) vs WI, 2010
- 154 – Ibrahim Zadran & Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG) vs UGA, 2024
Farhan and Zaman’s stand is also the third-highest partnership for Pakistan in all T20Is.
Farhan Enters A Unique Centurions List
Farhan’s hundred was his second of the 2026 T20 World Cup. No player has scored more than one century in a single edition before this.
He’s now at par with the Universe Boss in T20 World Cup centuries and can only go past as the West Indies legend is retired.Â
Most Individual Centuries in T20 World Cups
- 2 – Chris Gayle (2007 & 2016)
- 2 – Sahibzada Farhan (Both in 2026)
This was Farhan’s sixth T20 hundred since 2025. He earlier scored an unbeaten century against Namibia in Colombo at this edition of the T20 World Cup.
Only Babar Azam has more T20I hundreds for Pakistan, with 3 centuries.Â
T20 World Cup: Most Runs in a Single Edition
Farhan also broke Virat Kohli’s long-standing record for most runs in a single T20 World Cup edition set in 2014 where India lost the final to Sri Lanka.
Kohli had scored 319 runs in 6 matches in 2014. Farhan finished with 383 runs in as many matches in 2026.
His 383 runs are also the joint-second-most by any batter in any T20I series or tournament.
Most Runs in an Edition of T20 World Cup
- Sahibzada Farhan (Pakistan) – 383 in 6 matches (2026)
- Virat Kohli (India) – 319 in 6 matches (2014)
- Tilakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 317 in 7 matches (2009)
- Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 303 in 6 matches (2022)
- Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 302 in 6 matches (2010)
Interestingly, all 5 of the top batters on this list are Asians.
Pakistan Miss Out On Semis Qualification
After the 176-run opening stand, Pakistan looked set for 220-plus. But the final 4 overs yielded just 35 runs and cost them 7 wickets.
They finished on 212/8 and needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 or below to qualify. A win by a margin of 65-runs was never going to be easy.
Sri Lanka fought back strongly. Shanaka smashed 76* off 31 balls and nearly pulled off a miracle chase. Sri Lanka needed 53 off the last 4 overs. With 6 required off 2 balls, the match went down to the wire.
On the final delivery, Shanaka expected a wide, but the umpire did not signal it. Sri Lanka fell short by 5 runs.
The combined match total of 419 runs is now the third-highest aggregate in T20 World Cup history.
Pakistan won the match. Sahibzada Farhan rewrote the records. But the semi-final spot slipped away.
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