**India** on 15th February, 2026 by R. of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Defeated **Pakistan** by **61 runs** in the Group A match of **ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026** at Premadasa Stadium. The impressive win sealed India’s place in the Super Eights as the first team out of the group with a 3-0 record, taking its dominance over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup to 8-1.
After Pakistan opted to field, India scored **175/7** in 20 overs on a slow, spin-friendly pitch. **Ishan Kishan** scored a match-winning **77** off 40 balls (10 fours, 3 sixes), which included the third-fastest fifty (27 balls) in India-Pakistan T20Is. Despite Abhishek Sharma getting a four-ball duck, Kishan dominated the powerplay, scoring 42 of India’s 52 runs in the first six overs – mostly from boundaries – and facing most of the balls. He shared an 87-run partnership for the second wicket with **Tilak Verma** (who made a minor contribution before remaining unbeaten or being dismissed later; Suryakumar Yadav added 32 runs).
Tilak Verma humorously spoke about this partnership in the broadcaster chat after the match: “It was getting a little better at the bat in the powerplay. Still, the way Ishan batted, from the second end, I felt even, I didn’t get a strike in the powerplay. To mujhe bhi laga maar raha, it is good for the team. I said, ‘Bhai tu lage raho’. If the wicket falls at the second end, I will be careful. Will rotate.” (Translation: The ball came well in the powerplay, but Ishan was batting so hard that I felt I couldn’t get a strike. I thought it would be great for the team if he kept hitting—I told him, ‘Keep going; if a wicket falls at my end, I’ll take over and rotate.’)
Kishan, who was named Player of the Match, explained his approach: “The wicket was not that easy… I focused on my strengths, saw the ball, worked on my off-side game to set the line, hit the gaps on big grounds, and set a target of 160-170.”
Pakistan were bundled out for **114 all out** in 18 overs, their lowest total against India in the T20 World Cup. Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakraborty and Axar Patel each took two wickets. The win capped off a tremendous “rivalry day” for India, with the India A women’s team earlier winning over Pakistan.
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