Colombo: Defending champions India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 61 runs in a blockbuster match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the R Premadasa Stadium here on Sunday.
Batting first, a superb half-century from opener Ishan Kishan saw the holders post a mammoth total of 175/7 in their 20 overs.
Kishan led India’s recovery after losing his opening partner Abhishek Sharma (nil) with 10 fours and 3 sixes in the first over with 77 off 40 balls.
His efforts were supported by captain Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 32 off 29 balls with 3 fours, while Thilak Verma (25) and Shivam Dubey (27) made significant contributions.
Saeem Ayub was the standout bowler for Pakistan, conceding just 25 runs in his four overs and claiming 3 wickets, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Tariq and skipper Salman Ali Agha managed a scalp each.
Chasing a target of 176 runs, Pakistan’s batting line-up struggled against a disciplined Indian bowling attack and amassed 114 runs before being bowled out in 18 overs.
Wicketkeeper batsman Usman Khan remained the top scorer for the Green Shirts with 44 off 34 balls, while Faheem Ashraf (10) and Shaheen (23 not out) scored double figures.
For India, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakraborty took 2 wickets each, while Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak Verma took one wicket each.
The 61-run victory was India’s third in as many games, cemented their top spot in the Group A standings and advanced to the Super Eight with a match scheduled against the Netherlands on Wednesday.
On the other hand, it marked Pakistan’s first defeat in the T20 World Cup 2026 and reduced their net run rate, resulting in them being replaced by the United States (USA) who have four points but have played all their group-stage matches.
| Teams | Competitions | succeeds | Losses | points | Net flow rate |
| India | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3.050 |
| America | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.788 |
| Pakistan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -0.403 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1.352 |
| Namibia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -2.443 |
The 2009 champions face Namibia in their final group-stage match on Wednesday, a must-win game now to qualify for the Super Eights, while a defeat would send the USA through to the next stage.
Namibia, bottom of Group A with zero points after three matches, crashed out of the Super Eight race following a crushing defeat to the United States earlier today.