India's captain Suryakumar Yadav, left, smiles as he and Pakistan's captain Salman Ali Agha walk out onto the field for the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)Suryakumar Yadav’s India posted 175/7 against Salman Agha’s Pakistan in the high-octane clash on Sunday in Colombo with no rain interruptions in sight. After plenty of off-field the ICC and PCB have reached terms to continue with the game. All eyes will be on how India’s power-packed line-up will deal with the spin attack of Pakistan. Contrary to the weather forecast and reports, the match received an on-time start with Pakistan opting to bowl first.
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Will there be handshakes today between the India and Pakistan teams? Will Abhishek Sharma play today? Why is a former Pakistan cricketer praying for rain today in Colombo? And will Pakistan be tweaking the batting order to push Babar Azam to third? Scroll down for answers to all that (and more!) in our live blog of the T20 World Cup clash between India and Pakistan.
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The pitch at Colombo has historically been conducive to spinners over the years, and Sunday will be no different either. Indian batting in recent times has been playing on true surfaces and has not played on pitches that they might end up facing in Colombo. However, the team is in good form and will look to adapt and tackle the conditions.
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As per Pakistan, every time India met them during the Asia Cup 2025 in September although they had periods of dominance in the game, they could not keep sustained pressure on India. The batting of The Men in Green had a tough time dealing with the Indian spinners through the middle overs.
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India sealed their Super 8 berth after putting on a commanding performance against Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, securing a comprehensive 61-run win on Sunday. The defeat also meant Pakistan’s qualification was cast in doubt yet again as they slipped to third place in Group A, below the United States of America. (CHECK OUT THE POINTS TABLE HERE)
Usman Tariq is the last wicket to fall as Pakistan is bundled out for 114, their third lowest T20 World Cup score in history. India win by 61 runs.
AAAAND THAT'S TWO MORE WICKETS DOWN FOR PAKISTAN AS VARUN CHAKARAVARTHY STRIKES!! Both Abrar Ahmed and Faheem Ashraf depart.
Pakistan are absolutely throwing away wickets at the moment. Shahab Khan tries for a big shot and has played it straight into the hands of Shivam Dube.
And Kuldeep Yadav has come up trumps against Nawaz as he tries to catch the bowler on the full and just holes out to Shivam Dube in the deep.
Usman Tariq who was the lone Pakistan batter providing the resistance has to go now for 44 after trying to take Axar on. Comes down the tracks, misses the ball entirely and Ishan Kishan takes the bails off. Wasn't evn close to getting back was Usman.
AND WOULD YOU KNOW IT!! Pakistan have lost another and this time it's Babar Azam who walks back. Failed to read Axar Patel's delivery and tries a slog, only to miss the ball and then gets cleaned up.
And we have another wicket off the Jasprit Bumrah over again!! And it's the Pakistan captain. Salman Ali Agha plays a flick shot and that hasn't gone anywhere. Nestles into the safe hands of Hardik Pandya.
It's now Bumrah's turn to rock Pakistan as a toe crusher finds its target as Saim Ayub is given LBW. He reviews but it looked pretty plumb. DRS confirms it. Three reds. Pakistan are struggling.
AAAND WE HAVE THE FIRST WICKET FOR INDIA STRAIGHTAWAY. Sahibzada Farhan tries a big hit from the off, gets it all wrong as he holes out to Rinku Singh off Hardik Pandya.
"175 is the highest team total in the history of India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup matches. And only once a total of 175+ is chased successfully at Premdasa. And that was in 2018," Aakash Chopra with stats.
After two quick wickets in the end, India reach 175/7, just 5 runs short of where they would have wanted to be. But it's still a steep total for Pakistan to chase down.
Usman Tariq now gets into the act as he takes out Suryakumar Yadav for 32. Surya tries to slog but mistimes it and it went straight down the throat of Saim Ayub marshalling the boundary.
Big wicket for Pakistan as the Asia Cup final's hero Tilak Varma walks back for 25 runs. Didn't entirely looked comfortable out there tonight. AND ANOTHER ONE FOLLOWS as Hardik Pandya is gone trying to play a big shot. Ayub with 3 wickets.
"Win the toss & field first comes as a surprise. Post match interview last game Pakistan’s captain clearly said that their strategy is to bat first & give thier bowler enough to defend since bowling is thier strength. But as expected Kuldeep comes in place of arshdeep. If India gets to 180 , you cant loose from there," Shreevats Goswami posts.
Kishan's whirlwind has literally all of Pakistan's supposed spin-bowling plans on this strip. It has sped India to such a strong start that the rest of the power-packed order can now even build to a huge score from here on. Kishan looked set to get a ton here before Saim Ayub castled him out in the seventies.
Ishan Kishan has set the stage on fire with a rollicking half-century on a tacky pitch. This has not been wild slogging rather high-class attacking while playing the match-ups well.
Returning to the XI, Abhishek had another forgettable outing as he suffered a four-ball duck, falling to an excellent ploy from Pakistan captain Salman Agha. The skipper interestingly stepped up with the new ball, despite not bowling in any of Pakistan's last eight matches and scooped up the big fish. However, Ishan Kishan's blazing Powerplay slogging ensured that India scaled past 50 in the first six.
The Indian team have made two changes from the Playing XI who started against Namibia. Big hitter Abhishek Sharma have come in place of Sanju Samson while Arshdeep Singh gave way to Kuldeep Yadav.
Meanwhile, the toss has taken place at Colombo and Pakistan have won the toss and opted to field against India. No handshakes either, as reported by the Indian Express. To follow the match live, please switch over to our MATCH BLOG.
The lead-up to the latest clash – the T20 World Cup game on a neutral venue – comes with the promise of another war sequel. This time, the political point-making and acrimony almost cancelled the game. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while announcing a boycott, assured his cabinet that they “have taken a very considered stance, and we should completely stand by Bangladesh … I think this is a very appropriate decision.” In India there were voices who didn’t regret the snapping of cricket. There was mistrust and hostilities from both sides with cricket as the weapon. Then came the quick and dramatic Pakistan U-turn. With a week to go for the Great Game, the boycott was called-off. It was said, economics had called the bluff on political posturing. Where do these fickle-minded politicians leave the fans? (READ MORE FROM SANDEEP DWIVEDI)
India: Ishan Kishan(w), Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan(w), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq, Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, Salman Mirza, Khawaja Nafay
After this match, both teams have one more fixture left before the Super 8s. India will take on Netherlands in their last group stage encounter while Pakistan will take on Namibia in a wrap to their Group stage commitments.
The Indian cricket team will not be shaking hands with the Pakistan players in the group game of the ICC T20 World Cup that will be played in Colombo today. The Indian Express understands from those in the know that the team will maintain a status quo on the hand shaking tradition, with captain Suryakumar Yadav unlikely to extend his hand for the formal handshake with Pakistan counterpart Salman Agha at the toss. The Indian team didn’t shake hands with Pakistan during the Asia Cup last year too, post ‘Operation Sindoor’, as tensions between the two neighbours have not eased since last May’s hostilities. In cricket, it’s gotten worse.
"It has become a miserable spectacle recently — both on the field, where it has become too one-sided, and off it, where the result has been exploited in a performative way," Mike Atherton writes for the Times on the India vs Pakistan rivalry in modern times.
"Don’t really get the hype in figuring out Usman Tariq. The action is weird, but he’s not the first one to come up with a weird action in cricket. He barely spins the ball. Just wait a second longer and look to hit along the line. Put pressure on him in the first over," says Priyank Panchal on X.
IND vs PAK Head-To-Head In T20Is
The Indian team have arrived at the stadium for their high voltage clash against Pakistan. (Video credit: ANI)
According to our man on the ground, Venkata, the Pakistan team have already arrived.
#watch | Colombo, Sri Lanka: Indian Cricket Team arrive at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo for their match against Pakistan
— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2026
#indvpak #iccmenst20worldcup pic.twitter.com/V77MUKAG1M
In case, there is a washout, both teams will share points as there are no reserve days for the group-stage matches. If both teams end up sharing the points, it will also confirm their qualification for the Super 8 phase.
India
Feb 7: Defeated USA by 29 runs
Feb 12: Defeated Namibia by 93 runs
Pakistan
Feb 7: Defeated Netherlands by 3 wickets
Feb 10: Defeated USA by 32 runs
How to deal with Usman Tariq is one of the talking points that had emerged ahead of India’s T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan. It looks like captain Suryakumar Yadav had taken it upon himself to replicate the Pakistan spinner’s action for his batters to get used to. In videos that have been shared by broadcaster Star Sports in the leadup to the match, Suryakumar can be seen running in to bowl and then pausing at the release point before finally sending the ball in, like what Usman does. Suryakumar did this time and again as India looked to get used to the bowler that Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha called their “trump card”. Suryakumar also acknowledged that facing Usman will be a different kind of a challenge to anything that the Indians have experienced before.
"For me Hardik Pandya will always remain the man for India in big games. Finals of 2024 World T20 and Champions Trophy, he made the difference. Focus is never on him but he proves to be the game-changer,:" Kaif posted on X.
For the uninitiated, this isn't the only India vs Pakistan encounter on Sunday. The two nations also faced off in a Women's Asia Cup Rising Stars match where India skittled out Pakistan for 93 runs and then chased down the target with ease in just 10.1 overs.
"This ‘no shaking hands’ is such a silly thing that India has started. It’s unbecoming of a nation like ours. Either play properly within the spirit of the game or don’t play at all," says Sanjay Manjrekar on X.
Kuldeep Yadav is likely to make his way back into the playing eleven in place of pacer Arshdeep Singh, whereas Abhishek Sharma will open the innings as India take on Pakistan in the much-awaited ICC T20 World Cup game in Colombo today.
As India gears up to play Pakistan in the 2026 T20 World Cup clash in Colombo later in the evening, the match will mark the first instance of the arch-rivals clashing in a World Cup match without both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in India’s playing XI. The last time neither player featured in the team for a T20 World Cup match against Pakistan was in the 2007 group-stage game in Durban, which India won in a bowl-out after the scores were level at the end of Pakistan’s innings.
At last September’s Asia Cup, cricket turned into an Indo-Pak cold war in colour-clothing and under floodlights, coming just days after the real one in fatigues under the cover of darkness, writes Sandeep Dwivedi in his weekly newsletter.
As another India vs Pakistan Sunday nears, the pre-match apprehensions are now tragically non-cricketing. Will the teams shake hands? Will Suryakumar Yadav offer tributes to the armed forces at the press conference? Will Pakistan players be mimicking fighter jets in free fall or using bats like guns?
At last September’s Asia Cup, cricket turned into an Indo-Pak cold war in colour-clothing and under floodlights, coming just days after the real one in fatigues under the cover of darkness, writes Sandeep Dwivedi in his weekly newsletter.
As another India vs Pakistan Sunday nears, the pre-match apprehensions are now tragically non-cricketing. Will the teams shake hands? Will Suryakumar Yadav offer tributes to the armed forces at the press conference? Will Pakistan players be mimicking fighter jets in free fall or using bats like guns?
“They have been playing some good cricket. I watched their last two matches, but not much before that. I’ve been hearing that they have been playing well. At the same time, we have been playing well also, we will stick to our preparations,” Suryakumar said.
“Whatever game you play, there is pressure. When you play Pakistan, it is about the occasion. Whatever you say, we don’t play them often, so when we do, it becomes an occasion. We will try to keep it simple and put our best foot forward,” Suryakumar said.
“If they (Pakistan want) we will play him,” Suryakumar said, keeping his retort short. With regards to the handshakes, too he kept it simple: “Wait for 24 hours. Eat well, sleep well, we will see tomorrow,” he said. Earlier, Agha had also spoke on the same lines when asked if his team would respond if India chose to shake hands. “We will see it tomorrow.”
The Indian cricket team will not be shaking hands with the Pakistan players in the group game of the ICC T20 World Cup that will be played in Colombo today. The Indian Express understands from those in the know that the team will maintain a status quo on the hand shaking tradition, with captain Suryakumar Yadav unlikely to extend his hand for the formal handshake with Pakistan counterpart Salman Agha.
At the practice nets flanking the Premadasa stadium square, something peculiar unfolded on Saturday afternoon. Suryakumar Yadav ran in to bowl, then stopped mid-stride—frozen for a heartbeat—before releasing the ball. Washington Sundar did the same.
Again and again, India’s batsmen faced this stuttering delivery, preparing their eyes for a challenge unlike any they’ve encountered: Usman Tariq’s unique pause-and-release action. (Read more from Venkata Krishna B)
According to multiple weather models rain is expected between 1-7 pm on Sunday as Colombo wakes up to cloudy skies on Sunday
Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed.
Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav
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.
Relations between India and Pakistan were not as strained as it is today, social media warfare didn’t exist, fans from either side were largely cordial (though they remain incident-free in the stands even now). In those mellower times, players shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Imagine the outrage today if a Pakistan captain made his Indian counterpart wait. (Read more from Nihal Koshie)
Gabby Whight, the owner of Cricket Cafe, a popular watering hole in the posh Colombo 7 neighbourhood, is gearing up to welcome her regular clientele for what is expected to be a long and busy Sunday night. A short distance from R Premadasa Stadium, the venue of the eagerly anticipated India versus Pakistan T20 World Cup group-stage match, the social hotspot in the heart of Colombo is a “neutral ground” within a neutral venue for the both sides. (Read more)
At Premadasa, where the outfield is huge, India’s scoring pockets will be vastly different from where they usually target. To disrupt the spinners, what batsmen have done on this surface in the three matches here is to use the sweeps to good use. In this regard, Suryakumar holds key for India, as being a right-hander, he can neutralise three of their spinners, who all bring the ball in. If he does that, it will also take the pressure away from the left-handed batsmen in the team.
While Pakistan’s openers hold the key for them in batting, their middle-order still tends to play old-fashioned cricket. The onus will be on Varun to ensure a choke in the middle-overs and pile the pressure through dot balls. Though they have six-hitters at the top, in the middle-order, Pakistan still lack the firepower and given the form he is in, Varun can break their back in the middle-overs.
India's ace left-handed opener is known to give the kind of starts that can win games inside the powerplay. Opponents, however, have not challenged him by bringing the spinners early on. But Pakistan could change that as they have shown so far in two matches, where spinners are frequently used early on. Abrar’s mystery spin will be a perfect card for Pakistan to throw against Abhishek and possibly make a few early inroads.
In three innings against Bumrah, Farhan has scored 51 runs at a strike rate of 150, which includes six boundaries and three sixes. Being the in-form Pakistan batsman, a lot rides on Farhan’s shoulders to provide the rapid start before the middle-order takes over. Having made his intentions clear about taking on the opponent’s best bowler, he has walked the talk against Bumrah. If the pacer takes the new ball, his primary job will be to keep Farhan under check and get off the mark against the opener.
Live visuals from Colombo indicate that the skies are grey with plenty of cloud cover over the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
After weeks of a metaphorical cloud over the India vs Pakistan clash, we now have literal clouds over the game.
Here is what Salman Ali Agha said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
On spinners role: "It could be a game where spinners dominate. But fast bowlers will have a big role to play. Will have to use them well."
On India vs Pakistan being dictated by spinners, especially Usman Tariq: "Every player is important to us. He is of course bowling well in leagues. He will be our trump card."
On Tariq's action: "It doesn’t make a difference. He also doesn’t care about it."
While talking about Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq, India captain Suryakumar Yadav called him a 'question that is out of syllabus'.
“Sometimes there is a question in the exam that’s out of syllabus,” Suryakumar explained with characteristic calm at his press conference on Saturday. “We can’t leave that question unanswered. We have to try something, adopt our own way. Yes, he is a different character when he comes to bowl, but we cannot just surrender to him.”
Speaking on the highly-anticipated fixture between India and Pakistan, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said there will be pressure, which the team can’t run away from. “Whatever game you play, there is pressure. When you play Pakistan, it is about the occasion. Whatever you say, we don’t play them often, so when we do, it becomes an occasion. We will try to keep it simple and put our best foot forward,” Suryakumar said.
At last September’s Asia Cup, cricket turned into an Indo-Pak cold war in colour-clothing and under floodlights, coming just days after the real one in fatigues under the cover of darkness, writes Sandeep Dwivedi in his weekly newsletter.
As another India vs Pakistan Sunday nears, the pre-match apprehensions are now tragically non-cricketing. Will the teams shake hands? Will Suryakumar Yadav offer tributes to the armed forces at the press conference? Will Pakistan players be mimicking fighter jets in free fall or using bats like guns?
Former India cricketer and national team coach Ravi Shastri had said after Pakistan's narrow win over the Netherlands in their T20 World Cup opener that Babar Azam is fighting the weight of expectations that come along with being at the “stage of his career” that Babar is in.
“When you are at that stage of your career, there’s baggage,” said Shastri in a conversation with Ricky Ponting and Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review. “There’s a weight of expectation. People expect you to go out there and deliver. Get out there (and) in your first five balls, I don’t care if you get out, but I want you to make an effort to hit a couple of boundaries. Choose your spot, get into good positions, anticipate what the bowler is doing. You will feel a lot better and things might change.”
Ahead of the India vs Pakistan game, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav faced the press, answering questions about the game. Here's what he had to say:
On the build up: "As I said before coming we were preparing for the game. We were always prepared for the game. We were focused only on that."
On playing the conditions in Colombo and the uncertainty: "I feel weather is not in our control. What is in our control is to play good cricket. It is a sub continent condition. We have these type of pitches in India as well."
Will they, won't they? It's cloudy in Colombo with the chance of no handshakes yet again between India and Pakistan teams.
At their press conferences on Saturday, both Pakistan's Salman Agha and India's Suyakumar Yadav were asked about the possibility of captains and players shaking hands during the group stage game on Sunday after the triple snub at the Asia Cup last year from India.
Salman Agha said: "You need sportsmanship. It is up to them what they want to do."
Suryakumar Yadav, meanwhile, opted to keep his cards close to his chest.
"Wait for 24 hours. Eat well, sleep well, we will see tomorrow," he answered first.
When pressed about the handshake again, he retorted: "We will break the suspense tomorrow. Is the game important or this? Wait for 24 hours."
At the ongoing T20 World Cup, a new name from the Pakistan cricket team has dominated headlines: spinner Usman Tariq. Tariq's unique "pause and sling" action has made the world pause and take notice, with understandably, India skipper being asked multiple questions about it in his press conference before the Pakistan game.
“During exams, there will be some questions that will be out of the syllabus. But that doesn’t mean we skip that. Usman is unique and we will not surrender to him. We have been preparing for him,” Suryakumar said.
After Pakistan almost lost to the Netherlands in their opening game at the T20 World Cup, Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting had claimed that talisman Ricky Ponting had "lost a bit of his power".
“It just to me looks like he’s lost a bit of his power, his ball striking ability, like taking on that spinner on the way he did and not being able to even go close to clearing it,” Ponting said in a conversation with Ravi Shastri and Sanjana Ganesan on the The ICC Review.
“If you’re 15 off 18 balls, you’re not just putting pressure on yourself, you’re putting pressure on the guy at the other end,” Ponting continued. “The guy at the other end knows that he’s got to be the one to take up the boundary scoring. Babar needs to hit boundaries early on. He needs to get off and going, he needs two boundaries in his first six balls, otherwise the whole momentum of the game is going to change every time he goes in.”
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has said that he is hoping---nay, praying--- for rain!
“Meri toh dua hai Allah Ta’ala baarish kar de (My prayer is that Allah Ta’ala makes it rain.)”
Ali insisted that he wasn’t scared that Pakistan would lose the match, but wished for rain to play spoilsport because ‘both teams get a point each’. When the interviewer said he ‘wanted a full match’, Ali repeated: “I want rain.”
According to AccuWeather, the forecast for Colombo on Sunday is ‘cloudy with a few showers,’ with a 93% chance of rain. Showers are expected at various points throughout the day.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the India vs Pakistan group stage game at the T20 World Cup. It's a game that almost did not go ahead, with Pakistan Cricket Board being defiant about not playing against India, before hectic negotiations with ICC led to PCB reconsidering its stance.
The India-Pakistan cricket rivalry is defined by a unique psychological intensity, where fan anxiety—a blend of "wishful thinking" and "gnawing dread"—centers on the high-stakes opening minutes of a match. Historically, these encounters are often decided by the initial face-offs between legendary Indian openers and elite Pakistani fast-bowlers, a pattern seen from the era of Gavaskar and Imran Khan to the modern-day duel between Rohit Sharma and Shaheen Afridi. These early confrontations act as the definitive "what-if" moments, serving as a historical microcosm for a rivalry that dictates the emotional state of millions long before the final ball is bowled. (Read more from Sandeep Dwivedi)
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