COLOMBO: Cricket fans will get a chance to witness history as the Sinhala Sports Corporation (SSC) stadium hosts its first international floodlit match on Tuesday.
Pakistan will face USA in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the match is scheduled to start at 19:00 local time.
Gates 5 and 7 will open at 17:00 and fans will be given free entry to the main event.
The stadium has already hosted two World Cup matches, including the opening match of the tournament on February 7, when Pakistan faced the Netherlands, which the Green Shirts won.
Meanwhile, USA has replaced Jasdeep Singh in their squad ahead of the clash with Pakistan-origin fast bowler Ehsan Adil.
The Event Technical Committee (EDC) of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup approved Adil’s inclusion after Jasdeep was ruled out due to a right shoulder injury sustained during the practice match against New Zealand on 5 February.
Adil, who has previously represented Pakistan in three Tests and six ODIs, is yet to make his debut for the US but was included in the squad following the ETC’s mandatory approval of all match changes.
Historically, Pakistan and USA have met only once in T20 cricket. The encounter took place during the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas.
Babar Azam 44 and Shadab Khan 40 scored Pakistan 159/7.
Monak Patel’s half-century saw the USA level at 159/3.
The thrilling contest went to a super over, where the USA were 18/1, restricted Pakistan to 13/1 and secured a historic win – widely regarded as one of the biggest defeats in T20 World Cup history.
Groups:
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (catch), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faqar Zaman, Khawaja Nafe, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shatab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Khan.
USA: Monak Patel (catch), Jesse Singh, Andries Gouse, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milind Kumar, Shayan Jahangir, Saideja Mukamala, Sanjay Krishnamurthy, Harmeet Singh, Nostush Kenjike, Shotley van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netrawalkar, Ali Khan, Mohames Ranja, Mohammad Ebson, Mohamed Ranja.
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