T20 World Cup 2026: India defeat Pakistan by 61 runs 

Colombo (Web Desk): Pakistan were handed a heavy 61-run defeat by India in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 group match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, as India booked their place in the Super Eights with an impressive all-round display.

Chasing 176 for victory, Pakistan never really settled and were bowled out for 114 in 18 overs.

The trouble began right away. India’s fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya struck inside the first two overs, removing Sahibzada Farhan for a duck, Saim Ayub for six and captain Salman Ali Agha for four.

With just 13 runs on the board and three wickets down, Pakistan were under severe pressure.
Wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan tried to rebuild the innings from No.5. He added 21 runs with Babar Azam before Babar was bowled by Axar Patel for five in the fifth over.

Usman then put together a steady 39-run stand with Shadab Khan, but just when things looked slightly stable, Patel struck again to end Usman’s resistance.

Usman was Pakistan’s top scorer with 44 off 34 balls, hitting six fours and a six. After his dismissal, the innings quickly fell apart. Mohammad Nawaz managed only four, while Shadab made 14 before departing, leaving Pakistan struggling at 78/7 in 12.1 overs.

A small 19-run partnership between Faheem Ashraf (10) and Shaheen Shah Afridi offered brief resistance, but Varun Chakravarthy removed Afridi and then dismissed Abrar Ahmed for a golden duck in the same over to make it 97/9. Pandya ended the match by bowling Usman Tariq.

India’s bowling effort was well shared. Bumrah, Patel, Pandya and Chakravarthy took two wickets each, while Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak Varma chipped in with one apiece.

Earlier, Pakistan had opted to field first, but the decision did not go as planned. India posted 175/7 in their 20 overs. Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha made an early breakthrough by dismissing top-ranked T20I batter Abhishek Sharma for a four-ball duck.

After that early wicket, Ishan Kishan took control. He dominated an 87-run second-wicket partnership with Tilak Varma that came off just 45 balls. Kishan played an attacking knock of 77 from 40 deliveries, smashing 10 fours and three sixes before Saim Ayub finally got him out.

Following Kishan’s departure, Varma and Suryakumar Yadav slowed things down and added 38 runs for the third wicket. Saim then struck twice in quick succession, dismissing Varma for 25 off 24 balls and Pandya for a duck to give Pakistan some hope.

With India at 126/4 in 14.3 overs, Shivam Dube joined captain Yadav. The pair added 33 important runs to keep the scoreboard moving. Yadav scored 32 off 29 balls with three boundaries before falling in the penultimate over, while Dube made a quick 27 off 17 balls, hitting three fours and a six before getting out on the second-last delivery.

For Pakistan, Saim Ayub was the most successful bowler with 3 for 25 in four overs, while Agha, Afridi and Tariq claimed one wicket each, but it was not enough to stop India from sealing a comfortable win.

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