Defending champions India are set to face arch-rivals Pakistan in a high-octane group stage clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
This will be the ninth meeting between the two teams in T20 World Cup history. India have clearly dominated this rivalry on the world stage, winning seven of the previous eight encounters, and they will be eager to extend that impressive record.
Both teams have won their opening matches in the tournament, but their journeys have been quite different. Pakistan had a nervy start and were pushed to the brink by the Netherlands in their opener. In contrast, India have looked commanding. The Men in Blue became the first team in Men’s T20 World Cup history to register 10 consecutive wins, following a comprehensive 93-run victory over Namibia.
The 2024 T20 World Cup champions have been in excellent form, delivering strong performances with both bat and ball. Abhishek Sharma, who missed the Namibia game, is set to return against Pakistan. In terrific form lately, he will be keen to provide India with the explosive start they needed.
India will also take confidence from their success in last year’s Asia Cup, where they defeated Pakistan three times. However, they will be cautious of Usman Tariq, whose bowling has been a major talking point ahead of this tournament.
Pakistan, on the other hand, will be determined to rewrite their World Cup script against India, having managed just one win out of 8 matches against them in T20 World Cup history — back in 2021. Sahibzada Farhan has been in fine touch, playing a key role in Pakistan’s two victories so far. Spinner Usman Tariq could also pose a significant challenge to India’s strong batting line-up.
On paper, India appear to have the edge, thanks to their deep and powerful batting order featuring Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. With Varun Chakaravarthy’s spin and Jasprit Bumrah’s pace leading the bowling attack, India will aim to dismantle Pakistan’s batting and continue their winning streak in this iconic rivalry.
The Match will start today at 7 PM IST.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
