Australia’s defeat to Sri Lanka has put them on the brink of elimination from the 2026 T20 World Cup. They can technically still qualify for Super Eights, but it will take a specific string of results. Here’s how.
Australia needed to beat Sri Lanka in a crucial Group B encounter in Pallekele to stay in control of their fate at the World Cup. But they were swept aside by a superb hundred from Pathum Nissanka after Sri Lanka's spinners restricted them to 181, even after a 104-run opening stand.
Group B table after Sri Lanka vs Australia
| Rank | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Points | NRR |
| 1 | Sri Lanka (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +2.462 |
| 2 | Zimbabwe | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +1.984 |
| 3 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +0.414 |
| 4 | Ireland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +0.150 |
| 5 | Oman | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4.546 |
Remaining Group B games at T20 World Cup 2026
- Ireland vs Zimbabwe, February 17
- Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, February 19
- Australia vs Oman, February 20
With the defeat, Australia remained on two points, while Sri Lanka reached six to qualify for the Super Eights. Zimbabwe are second in the group with four points, and with a win over Ireland in their next match, they could join Sri Lanka in the Super Eights and knock the 2021 T20 World Cup champions out.
Australia’s hopes now rest on Zimbabwe’s remaining two group games, against Ireland and Sri Lanka. They will have to hope that the African side lose both, leaving Australia with a chance to match their points tally and overhaul their NRR with a big win over Oman. But there are a lot of ifs and buts involved.
As a rough example, if Zimbabwe lose their remaining two games by a combined margin of 30 runs, they will finish with an NRR of around +0.55. Australia will then need to beat Oman by around 20 runs to get past Zimbabwe on the NRR column and qualify for Super Eights.
Also read: T20 World Cup 2026, where to watch live: TV channels, live score and streaming
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