India posted a 176-run target for Pakistan in the ICC Men’s World Cup 2026 high-voltage clash at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.
Pakistan’s spin strategy paid dividends with Saim Ayub grabbing crucial wickets of Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya to stall India’s aggressive run flow during the high-voltage ICC Men’s T20 World Cup clash at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha struck in the opening over, dismissing Abhishek Sharma for a duck, but Ishan Kishan fought back and hit boundaries to get his side back on track.
Kishan stabilised India’s innings by scoring 77 runs off 40 balls, featuring 10 fours and 3 sixes. However, Ayub removed Kishan during the ninth over.
Pakistan have decided to bowl first after winning the toss.
Both Pakistan and India have so far played two matches in the tournament, gaining four points each; however, the Indian side currently tops the points table courtesy of their net run rate, with Pakistan in the second spot.
Historically, the two teams have faced each other 16 times in the shortest, with India leading the head-to-head record with 13 wins, while Pakistan emerged victorious thrice.
The match will mark the first time both teams will be facing each other since last year’s Asia Cup final, a tense event staged following military conflict between India and Pakistan that nearly escalated into a fully-fledged war between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
The latest meeting comes against the backdrop of a tumultuous fortnight in which Pakistan’s boycott threat — later reversed — nearly blew a hole in the tournament’s marquee fixture.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan(w), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah.
