India vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2026: IND defeat PAK by 61 runs at Colombo

I think this is for India. We played the same brand of cricket what we wanted to play. Batting first was better option on this wicket. Ishan thought something out of the box. After 0/1, someone had to take responsibility and the way he took it was amazing. It's difficult to say when you're batting first. Because you never know if there will be dew or how the pitch will play under lights. But we felt it was 15 above par. 155 could've been a tight game. It was great to see everyone contributing with the ball. We'll go back, have a good time together as a team and then think about the other games when we take the flight to Ahmedabad.

I think the wicket wasn't that easy in the beginning. You just have to believe and focus on your strength. Wanted to make them run as much as possible to my side. I worked a lot on my off-side play. I was just trying to keep it simple. I had that in mind that we need to put 160-170 runs and it will be a good total for us. India v Pakistan is always a special game not only for us but for our country as well. Winning this game against Pakistan will give us a lot of confidence and we will look to keep the momentum going. When Shaheen was bowling I didn't feel like the ball was doing much for the pacers but how Bumrah and Hardik bowled in those two overs was incredible

Shankar Narayan: A match that saw so much happen before even a ball was bowled ended in the most predictable manner. For all the build-up, the rhetoric and the theatre that inevitably accompany an India–Pakistan clash, the competitive edge in this rivalry has dulled in recent years. Sunday was no exception.

India wobbled briefly, but the stutter was fleeting. Ishan Kishan responded with an innings of rare authority, counterattacking on a surface that grew increasingly tacky with every passing over. If Kishan tilted the contest with the bat, the bowlers slammed it shut.

For much of the late 20th century, Pakistan’s pride lay in the variety and menace of their attack - a conveyor belt of fast bowlers and crafty spinners. In recent years, that historical narrative has felt inverted. India’s attack was sharper, more disciplined and infinitely more adaptable to conditions.

What was once a combative rivalry now increasingly resembles a lesson in modern white-ball precision.

Once they slumped to 38 for 4 in the powerplay, undone by pressure as much as skill, the result felt inevitable. Usman Khan’s resistance offered brief defiance, but the broader story was one of sustained Indian control - another chapter in a rivalry that increasingly leans only one way. What was once a combative rivalry now increasingly resembles a lesson in modern white-ball precision.

Varun Chakarvarthy has come into the attack and picked up a couple of wickets here. First, it was Faheem Ashraf who tried to hit into the stands, which was caught on the boundary, and then came in Abrar, who did not have a clue where the ball was going, and he was trapped in front of the wicket. Usman Tariq has come into the middle, and Chakarvarthy is on a hat-trick here. We have had a situation where Saim Ayub was on a hat-trick in the first innings and almost got it, but didn't. And seems like Suryakumar Yadav has gone for a review for LBW to see Varun has completed his hat-trick. The original decision is not out from the umpire, and it will stay that way.

Axar Patel has had the last laugh in the case of Usman Khan. Noticing that he was coming down early, he dug in even shorter and threw it a little wider, and Kishan took care of the rest. And next Nawaz, who has played a few cameos in recent time converted one of those tossed-up deliveries from Kuldeep into a full-toss but could not reach the ball, ended up giving the catch to mid-wicket. Well, it could have played on the ground, but that has been the case with Pakistan batting today. They attacked when they had to build something. Apart from Usman Khan, it was a bit of headless batting from them. The needed a solid innings up top to pose any threat to India which they did not have.

Shadab Khan has come into the middle. He has shown he is quite a good batter, but he has too much to do here. Like India, Pakistan too has depth in their batting with all-rounders coming in, but the four-wicket loss is too much to recover from for anyside. Unless someone has a day out and slams a 70-80 or even 100 from here on, it is tough to see how Pakistan are going to get out of the jail. Yet again, they had everything covered coming into the tournament, whitewashing Australia, and this game was a proper reality check in the quality between both sides. India are yet to use thier another wrist spin option who have they brough in for these conditions specifically.

Axar Patel has come into the attack with two right-handers in the middle, which is tactically a superb move from Surya, but Usman in the middle has slammed him for a couple of boundaries already. Pakistan does need a good partnership here. Well, as we update, Axar has picked up Babar Azam. It was an unnecessary shot from him. They had some runs in the over already, he tried to play slog sweep through mid-wicket and ended up losing his stumps. Pakistan has lost four now. It has unfolded pretty quickly in this chase, hasn't it? They are on their knees within no time, and it does seem like they might get bowled out under 100 here.

We are done with the opening over here, and Hardik Pandya has picked up the wicket of Farhan. It was a shot ball dug into the surface, which the batter tried to pull from outside the off-stump, and ended up getting the top edge. It was never there in his eye vision, wasn't it was one of those basic errors batters make while pulling the ball. As we update, Jasprit Bumrah has come into the attack from the other end. We don't see India turn to him this early seems like we might see him bowl 2,4,6 like he did during the Asia Cup. As we update, Saim Ayub has slammed Bumrah for a six, which was a top edge, and there is a review on the yorker decision here. As we update, Ayub has fallen.

India lost two wickets in the last two balls of Shivam Dube and Axar Patel, and they are 10-15 runs short in this innings. The innings from Surya, which had to be a 50 or 60, ended up as a wasted opportunity. In the end its just not him. Tilak Varma's start went in vain. However, Ishan Kishan's start early on in the innings has given India a decent score, but they will have to bowl well. If Pakistan gets off to a flier in the power play, the pressure will be on the Indians. Will they go with Bumrah and Hardik with the new ball or start with Axar Patel? We have to wait and see. Do stay with us, we will be right back with the second innings.

Sriram Veera: That was a strange technique from Babar Azam to take out Hardik Pandya. It was a skier that dropped from the skies towards him at long-off. Babar went for the reverse-palms-cupped up, a la Australian style, with fingers up. So far so good. But he never quite opened up his palms. Instead he had curled it up as it he had fisted his hands. Then at the last instant, he opened up his fists and had his palms cupped up. And the ball went inside safely. We say Australian style but the likes of Ian Chappell have denounced it in the past that it wasn't an Australian tradition and he never caught it that way. Perhaps as Mark Taylor said once it came from people who played cricket and Aussie rules football 'Footy' as kids. Maybe there is something to it. But even those Australians wouldn't delay opening the palms as late as Babar did to take that catch of Hardik.

Shankar Narayan: At 125/2 after 14 overs, with Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav in control, India seemed set to surge towards 200. Pakistan had already sent down 13 overs of spin and now entrusted Saim Ayub with his fourth and final over, desperate for a breakthrough. Ayub produced far more than that. Tilak attempted to break the shackles with a sweep but missed completely and was struck in front. The finger went up, and he chose not to review. Hardik Pandya walked in with the responsibility of restoring calm, their best hope of a late flourish. Instead, on a surface offering grip and little for big hitting, he went for a slog over long-off first ball, mistimed it, and departed for a duck. Ayub nearly had a hat-trick, too, beating Shivam Dube’s edge with a delivery that fizzed past the outside edge. In the space of six balls, certainty gave way to tension. What had looked like a launchpad became a choke point, and the contest, once tilting India’s way, swung sharply back towards Pakistan.

Ayub has got two wickets in two balls here, and that might be the turning point in this game. First, it was Tilak Varma who was trapped in front of the wicket, and there was a discussion between the skipper and Tilak about whether he should review it. Finally, Tilak decided not to and walked back. And next it was Hardik Pandya in his first delivery, who tried to send the ball to India from Colombo and was holed out. It is gripping a bit, and India has to play smart. Shivam Dube has walked into the middle.

We have reached the second water break, and India has batted pretty well. They have not tried to go on and continue to attack. They held back a bit and looked to build a partnership and lay the foundation for the batters to follow. With the depth, it is very tempting to continue the momentum created by Ishan in those initial overs, but that is where the experience comes into play, and both these have batted a lot together, and they have played a lot of T20 cricket on different types of wickets. As we update Tilak Varma has fallen here.

Sandip G: Relief flickered on Saim Ayub’s face when he castled Ishan Kishan. He usually keeps his celebrations grand, but here he was simply relieved to see the back of the batsman that had tormented him and his colleagues. Ishan’s manoeuvre, backing away and giving himself room, would concede an impression that he gifted the wicket. It cannot be further from the truth, as it first beat him in flight and then the massive turn. The ball, with delicious revvs, gripped the surface and spat off it. Not quite like the Premadasa sorcerer, Muttiah Muralitharan, but as close to the orthodox off-break you would see in T20s. Of all the spinners, Ayub extracted the maximum turn, because he ripped the ball more than most. He could have as well bowled every ball like that, but then the experimental side catches up. Like a seam-up he bowled early that Ishan had deposited in the stands.

Sandip G: Ishan Kishan can wield the heavy artillery, like the sweeps, slog sweeps, the flat-batted pull down the ground, and the more conventional swivelled pulls. But his game has sophistry too. He flaunted his velvety hands when he tapped Abrar Ahmed past the short third man. Then he shuffled across when they cramped him for room, but just as the leg-break spun into him, he arched himself away from the ball’s line, saw it almost whizz past him to wicket-keeper’s grasp, before his bat intervened and deflected it to the fence. The flourish was minimal, there was no exaggerated wind-up before the stroke either. Abrar merely blew his cheeks, stupefied. There was little wrong with the ball, but Ishan was in a mood to punish. Heavy artillery and soft hands could be unstoppable.

Shankar Narayan: India’s start could scarcely have been shakier. Abhishek Sharma fell in the very first over, undone by Salman Ali Agha’s calculated gamble with the ball, and the early breakthrough briefly tilted the mood Pakistan’s way. For a few moments, the pressure hung in the air. Ishan Kishan responded in the only way he knows - by attacking. Rather than retreat into consolidation, the left-hander went on the offensive, pulling anything short, sweeping the spinners off their lengths and even stepping inside-out to pierce the infield. His intent forced an immediate rethink from the bowlers, who were suddenly scrambling to adjust their lines and fields. The counterattack was swift and decisive. Kishan surged to a half-century off just 27 balls, flipping the tempo of the innings and dragging momentum firmly back towards India.

Shadab Khan has come into the attack. They will need some wickets here. The interesting thing in recent times has been the errors in fields or reckless cricket, altough got minimised in the Pakistan side as per the evidence in the Asia Cup 2025, but there is still a clear gulf between the skills both sides have because of the IPL or playing more bilaterals regualrly. Although Pakistan have tried to compete, after a certain point, they just could not match them during the Asia Cup when they lost all three in three. The advantage they have today is that they have played here and India have not, and they need to use that and make it an even contest for both sides.

Five overs into the innings, we had four overs of spin already, which is unlike any Pakistan side India has faced in recent times. Gone are the days itseems when Pakistan opens with their fast bowlers, now they have completely gone the other route with their mystery spinners and wrist spinners. However, to show that they have only managed to pick up one wicket in this passage so far. While Agha punched India early on, India has returned a few more. Good start for India this despite the wicket, the acceleration can come at any point with the batting depth India has up their ranks.

Ishan Kishan has started well here early in the piece. He is looking to continue his aggressive approach, which he has shown since his return to the side. Pakistan again are looking to bowling into him, which is his strength area. When the balls come into him, he will whip the bowlers into that square-leg region or in front of the wicket through the mid-wicket, taking the ball away is always a good option for him. Shaheen Shah Afridi, who bowled the second over could not get much out of the surface. There is no grass on it whatsoever; if anything, a bit of breeze could have helped him but Agha took him out of the attack already.

Well, the openers are walking into the middle for India in Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma, the covers are in place, so obviously there will be that thing hanging around the game through the evening. Well, first things first, Pakistan opting to bowl first is quite a decision, and they have opted to go with him to start the innings. Exciting times are coming up do stay with us through the evening.

No handshakes in the middle as reported earlier

We want to bowl first. It looks a bit tacky, so we feel it will assist the bowlers for the first few overs so we want to use that. It's a big game. We all know that. But in our group we all are very, very relaxed now. And we're just focusing on the game and we're very excited for this challenge. Bigger ground than SSC and the pitch is slower than SSC. But we have been playing on these kind of pitches for the last six months. So we have an idea how to play on these pitches as well. Same team for us.

Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan(w), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq

The lights have gone off at the Premadasa. A short pre-game entertainment will take place now.

The groundstaff are taking their position near the covers. The Colombo skies remain cloudy as there is 66% chance of rain till 7 pm. A good breeze is blowing across the ground with half an hour to go for the toss.

“I guess, there will be extra pressure on them. Because, the way they're discussing these things, I think, if they're just discussing it in that sense, meaning, they're just objecting on that, it shows that, maybe, there will be extra pressure on them. But, I don't know about it. I'm really focusing on my games. I don't have any idea what's going around in the media and stuff. It's a simple thing that I'm just focusing on my cricket and practice."

Pakistan off-spinner Usman Tariq’s action has been under the scanner of late, but a little is known about the other side of the cricketer who left his country to do a salesman job in Dubai was inspired by the Indian Bollywood film former Indian skipper MS Dhoni’s biopic “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” to pursue his cricket aspirations again.

“I had left behind thinking of making a name in cricket, but one day I watched this film and it convinced me that I can also do the same,” Tariq told AFP.

"Suppose if Bumrah has a bad day, concedes over 50 runs in an important match in the World Cup, how Suryakumar Yadav pulls things back from there, I want to see that. Also, if the other bowlers struggle, what Plan B will Suryakumar Yadav bring on the field, I want to see that as well," says Irfan Pathan.

“Who is a match changer in the Pakistan team? What are you going to say to a country’s fans that get happy when a wicket falls just because it means that Babar Azam will come to bat. But then Babar comes and goes. Today’s star for Pakistan was Faheem Ashraf, who came in at No 8. Baaki batsman chanafali bech rahe the kya?(Were the rest of the batters selling peanuts?)”

"Yes, there will be pressure, there will be nerves, butterflies in the stomach when we start the game tomorrow. But yeah, at the same time, there's no pressure, there's no nerves, there's no fun to play cricket. And yeah, it's a big occasion."

"I haven't lost sleep but I have a few extra grays in my beard. Yeah it's an added responsibility when you are captain of your side and representing 250-260 million people. You can't run away from the responsibility. When you are representing your country and you are the captain of your side, we need to find a way to deal with that."

Extreme multi-layered security cover, unlike ever before in Colombo. The city is almost under a thick security blanket with multiple check points leading to the stadium. Fans are already forming long queues outside the stadium.

In the last two years, he has averaged 48 against them, wielded a strike rate of 163.3 (pre-2024, it was 105.7) and been dismissed just thrice in 86 balls faced.

Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed.

Hello and welcome to our live blog of India taking on Pakistan in Colombo. There has been a lot of talk about whether the game will happen or not, but finally, here we are hours away from the high-octane clash. Stay with us to get all the weather updates and live action from Colombo. Our man Venkata Krishna B is at the ground sit back relax and enjoy our coverage.