Pakistan opt to bowl first against Namibia to keep ICC T20 World Cup 2026 hopes alive

The match victory is do or die for both teams for their survival in the tournament as they face each other in a crucial Group A match at Colombo Stadium today  

COLOMBO: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Feb 18^th, 2026) Pakistan on Wednesday won the toss and decided to bowl first against Namibia in a must-win match of ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

The match victory is do or die for both teams for their survival in the tournament as they face each other in a crucial Group A match.

With India already confirmed for the Super Eight stage, Pakistan must secure a victory to continue their tournament journey.

Currently, the United States occupy the second spot in Group A with four points and a superior net run rate, leaving Pakistan trailing behind. A win against Namibia is therefore essential for Pakistan to advance to the Super Eight round; failure to do so will result in an early exit from the tournament.

Weather could play a decisive role. If rain forces the match to be abandoned, Pakistan could still benefit, as a no-result would award both teams one point, potentially allowing Pakistan to progress to the Super Eight stage by a single point.

The high-stakes encounter between Pakistan and Namibia is scheduled to start at 2:30 pm local time today.

Playing XIs:

Pakistan: 1 Sahibzada Farhan (wk), 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Salman Agha (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Usman Khan (wk), 6 Khawaja Nafay, 7 Shadab Khan , 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Faheem Ashraf, 10 Salman Mirza, 11 Usman Tariq

Namibia: 1 Jan Frylinck, 2 Louren Steenkamp, 3 Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 4 Gerhard Erasmus (capt), 5 Alexander Busing-Volschenk, 6 JJ Smit, 7 Zane Green (wk), 8 Ruben Trumpelmann, 9 Willem Myburgh, 10 Bernard Scholtz, 11 Jack Brassell