Pakistan vs Sri Lanka match-fixing storm hits T20 World Cup, Aakash Chopra breaks silence after being dragged

Former Indian batter and commentator Aakash Chopra has hit back at the social media users for spreading fake news after he was accused of claiming the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka match was fixed at the T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday, February 28, in Pallekele.

Match-Fixing drama erupts after Pakistan vs Sri Lanka clash

The Super 8 clash between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup 2026 has turned into a full-blown social media storm. Fans went berserk after Pakistan won the game by just five runs against Sri Lanka in Pallekele and were eliminated from the global event.

Pakistan needed to beat Sri Lanka by at least 64 runs to make it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026. They had to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 runs after scoring 212 in their 20 overs. But Sri Lanka fought hard and scored 207/6, losing the Super 8 clash by just 5 runs.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Read Also: Daren Sammy declares Shimron Hetmyer & Co. will tear apart Varun Chakravarthy

This tiny margin was enough to knock Pakistan out of the T20 World Cup 2026. As the drama unfolded, fans started talking about match-fixing online after the Super 8 match, and Aakash Chopra was dragged into the discussion.

Aakash Chopra responds after being dragged into match-fixing rumors

They pointed to Sri Lanka’s sloppy fielding and not taking the review against Fakhar Zaman as suspicious, and many posts on X wrongly claimed that Aakash Chopra had said the match was fixed.

Now, the former Indian batter responded quickly and clearly on X. Chopra called the rumors “Jhooot” and warned that too many verified accounts were spreading fake news. He made it clear that he never said anything about match-fixing and was being wrongly blamed.

Read Also: Irfan Pathan enjoys death of Pakistan cricket; Mohsin Naqvi shamed after T20 World Cup exit

Aakash Chopra posted on X: “Jhooot 🤣😂 But carry on with your propaganda. @elonmusk, far too many verified accounts are spreading fake news on X.”

Jhooot 🤣😂
But carry on with your propaganda. @elonmusk, far too many Verified accounts are spreading fake News on X. https://t.co/zvB726Rl1W

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 28, 2026

With this outcome, England and New Zealand have qualified for the semifinals in Group 2, and South Africa qualified from Group 1 for the top four. Now, there is a battle between India and the West Indies for that last spot in the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal.

Dasun Shanaka's heroics crush Pakistan’s Semi-Final hopes

Speaking about the match, Pakistan posted a big total of 212/8 after being asked to bat first against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. Sahibzada Farhan smashed a brilliant century, while his opening partner Fakhar Zaman added 84 runs to give Pakistan a strong start.

Pakistan needed a big victory, but their bowlers failed badly as Sri Lanka, even though they were already out of semifinal contention, fought back and scored 207 for 6. Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka led from the front with a brilliant 76 not out off just 31 balls.

He got excellent support from Pavan Rathnayake, who scored 58 to take the Islanders close to the target. For Pakistan, Abrar Ahmed was the standout bowler, taking three wickets for 23 runs.

It was just 5 runs short of Pakistan’s target to change the net run rate, but enough to end their T20 World Cup campaign. In the end, both Pakistan and New Zealand finished the Super Eights stage with 3 points each. However, New Zealand went through to the semifinals because of their net run rate.