ENGLAND FIRST TEAM TO BOOK T20 WORLD CUP SEMIFINAL BERTH

New Delhi, Feb 25, 2026 : England became the first team to seal a semifinal berth in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after captain Harry Brook’s blazing century powered them to a tense two-wicket win over Pakistan at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Chasing 165, England rode on Brook’s 100 off 51 balls — an innings studded with 10 fours and four sixes — to overhaul Pakistan’s 164 for 9 with little time to spare. In the process, Brook became the first captain to score a hundred in a men’s T20 World Cup match.

He is only the third England batter to register a T20 World Cup century, after Alex Hales and Jos Buttler. The knock also marked the first T20I hundred by an England captain and eclipsed the previous highest score by a skipper in a T20 World Cup — Chris Gayle’s 98 in 2010.

England’s chase was far from straightforward. Early wickets meant they had to rebuild, but Brook counterattacked to wrest control. Sam Curran (16) and Will Jacks (28) offered useful contributions, yet it was the captain who shouldered the responsibility, taking on Pakistan’s attack with calculated aggression. He brought up his hundred off 50 balls with a boundary off Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Earlier, Pakistan posted 164 for 9 after opting to bat. Sahibzada Farhan top-scored with 63 off 45 balls and added 46 for the second wicket with Babar Azam (25). However, regular wickets prevented Pakistan from capitalising on a steady platform. Fakhar Zaman chipped in with 25 off 16, while Shadab Khan remained unbeaten on 23.

Liam Dawson led England’s bowling effort with 3 for 24, while Jamie Overton (2/26) and Jofra Archer (2/32) kept Pakistan in check on a surface conducive to batting.

Having opened their Super 8 campaign with a win over Sri Lanka — and with Pakistan’s fixture against New Zealand washed out — England’s second victory ensured they became the first side to progress to the semifinals of the 2026 tournament.