IND vs PAK: India march into T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 with 61-run hammering of Pakistan, Men in Blue extend 8-1 record
With three wins in three games, India marched into the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2026. On the other hand, Pakistan need to win their final game against Namibia to qualify for the next round.
IND vs PAK: India marched into the Super 8 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a comfortable 61-run win over Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday. The win gave India six points from three matches, while Pakistan dropped to third in Group A behind the United States of America (USA). Earlier in the day, the USA defeated Namibia.
The result extended India's record against Pakistan in T20 World Cups to 8-1, underlying their dominance in the rivalry.
Pakistan will now need to win against Namibia or hope for a rain washout to qualify for the Super 8 stage.
India's innings
Sent into bat, India lost Abhishek Sharma in the first over of the play.
However, it was Ishan Kishan's supersonic 77 (40 b) on a tacky Premadasa pitch that lifted India to a competitive 175/7. Although Pakistan bounced back with Saim Ayub's twin strike in an over, captain Suryakumar Yadav's 32 ensured India crossed the 170-run mark. Ayub was Pakistan's top performer with the ball.
Pakistan's reply
Chasing 176, Pakistan needed a strong start but were rocked early. Jasprit Bumrah (2/17) and Hardik Pandya (2/16) jettisoned big-hitting Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha to reduce them for 13/3 inside the first four overs. Babar Azam's horrendous slog sweep off Axar Patel saw his stumps getting rearranged as Pakistan were tottering at 34/4 inside the first six overs.
Kuldeep Yadav, Tilak Varma and Varun Chakravarthy also took wickets as Pakistan were all out for 114 in 18 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav dedicates win to India
Meanwhile, Suryakumar dedicated the win to Indian fans at the stadium and back home. “I think this is for India. We played the same brand of cricket what we wanted to play,” Suryakumar said after the match. He also heaped high praise on Kishan, who turned the match in India's favour.
"Batting first was better option on this wicket. Ishan thought something out of the box. After 0/1, someone had to take responsibility, and the way he took it was amazing. It's difficult to say when you're batting first. Because you never know if there will be dew or how the pitch will play under lights. But we felt it was 15 above par. 155 could've been a tight game. It was great to see everyone contributing with the ball. We'll go back, have a good time together as a team and then think about the other games when we take the flight to Ahmedabad,” added the Indian captain.
T20 World Cup 2026 Group A points table
| Rank | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Points | NRR |
| 1 | India (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +3.050 |
| 2 | USA | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.787 |
| 3 | Pakistan | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.403 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.352 |
| 5 | Namibia (E) | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.443 |
Catch the live action of the T20 World Cup 2026 with the complete T20 World Cup 2026 Schedule, and the T20 World Cup 2026 Points Table. Also, know who currently leading the charts for Most Runs in T20 World Cup 2026 and Most Wickets in T20 World Cup 2026.
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