New Delhi: India will face arch-rivals Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, February 15. Suryakumar Yadav and Co. have won their first two matches of the T20 World Cup, beating the USA and Namibia, while Pakistan also emerged victorious in their opening two games of the T20 World Cup.
After the brilliant win against Namibia in Delhi, the Men in Blue have displaced Pakistan and climbed to the top of the Group A points table with four points on the basis of a better Net Run Rate.
There is a lot of buzz for the clash between the arch-rivals this time around, after the off-field controversy with Pakistan earlier deciding to boycott the T20 World Cup match, but then agreed to play after a tripartite meeting in Lahore with the ICC and BCB.
What happened when India and Pakistan last met in T20 World Cup?
India defeated Pakistan by 6 runs in the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 9. The match was mostly dominated by the ball on a challenging pitch, with India proving their mettle under high pressure.
The start of the match was delayed due to rain in New York. Pakistan got off to a great start after opting to bowl first as Nassem Shah dismissed Virat Kohli for 4 in the second over of the innings, and Shaheen Afridi removed Rohit Sharma for 13 runs.
After their dismissal, Rishabh Pant played a vital knock and scored 42 runs off 31 balls with the help of six boundaries. He forged two crucial partnerships with Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav. India’s middle and lower order struggled against the bounce and movement. The Men in Blue eventually bowled for 119 runs in 19 overs.
Chasing a low target on a difficult pitch, Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam batted carefully, stitching a 26-run partnership for the opening wicket. Bumrah removed Babar for 13 runs in the fifth over. Rizwan then stitched a 31-run partnership with Usman Khan as Pakistan were cruising at 57/1 in 10 overs.
But, Bumrah returned to the attack and bowled an incredible spell to dismantle Pakistan’s middle-order. Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel also played a crucial role with the ball, helping the Men in Blue make an incredible comeback and restrict Pakistan to 113/7 in 20 overs. India registered their seventh victory in 8 matches of the T20 World Cup against the arch-rivals.