Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl in a high-stakes Pakistan vs India meeting at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Both teams entered the fixture on four points from two games, with India perched atop the group thanks to a superior net run rate while Pakistan sat second. The outcome of this match is crucial for the group standings as both sides aim to secure their place in the knockout phase.
India continue to hold a dominant head-to-head record in T20 internationals, leading 13 wins to Pakistan’s three from 16 encounters. This meeting is the sides’ first since last year’s tense Asia Cup final, a match played amid rising military tensions between the two nations.
The fixture came after weeks of uncertainty when Pakistan initially threatened to boycott the game, raising fears of cancellation. After negotiations and diplomatic interventions the match went ahead as scheduled, offering relief to cricket authorities and supporters across Pakistan who followed developments closely.
Pakistan Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan (w), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq. India Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
With the Pakistan vs India clash settled to proceed, attention now turns to the on-field contest at the R. Premadasa Stadium and the implications for both sides as the T20 World Cup group stage progresses.
