India thrashed Pakistan by 61 runs in the T20 World Cup 2026 Group A clash in Colombo.
The Pakistan government made a dramatic U-turn last week, directing its men’s cricket team to play the T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage match against India.
Earlier, the Men in Green were asked to boycott the lucrative fixture as an act of solidarity with Bangladesh after the ICC replaced the Tigers with Scotland in the 20-tournament for refusing to travel to India citing 'security concerns'.
After days of negotiations involving the ICC, PCB and BCB, Pakistan reversed the decision and confirmed it would take the field against India.
The marquee fixture went ahead as scheduled on February 15 in Colombo, where India defeated Pakistan by 61 runs.
Two days after the game, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi publicly credited Sri Lanka’s president Anura Kumara Dissanayake for resolving Pakistan's indecision about playing India in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Addressing Dissanayake directly during a formal meeting in Colombo, Naqvi said: “Actually, this yesterday match, you were the actual hero because 2 billion people were entertained because of you… So, it is only because of you that we played the match.”
“We were having several issues regarding playing with India… there was a decision of 50-50. But as soon as the Prime Minister received your call, he called me up and he said, there is no more issue… we have to play the match. That’s it,” he added.
“So, it is because of just you that you managed and got this done… I am very thankful to you that you played a very critical role in this,” the PCB chairman further remarked.
Coming to the match, India outplayed Pakistan in all facets of the game at R.Premadasa Stadium to make it 8-1 against the arch-rivals in T20 World Cups.
Riding on Ishan Kishan’s swashbuckling 77 off just 40 balls, the defending champions racked up 175/7 on the board. Suryakumar Yadav (32 off 29), Shivam Dube (27 off 17), Tilak Varma (25 off 24) and Rinku Singh (11* of 4) also made handy contributions with the bat on a tacky wicket.
In reply, Pakistan’s innings folded for a mere 114 in 18 overs. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy picked up two wickets each for India, while Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak returned with scalp apiece.
With this win, India sealed their place in the Super 8s. They will face Netherlands in the last group-stage fixture in Ahmedabad on February 18. On the other hand, Pakistan cannot afford any slip-up against Namibia if they want to qualify for the super eight phase of the tournament.