IND vs PAK Score Highlights: T20 World Cup 2026: India book Super 8 spot with 61-run win over Pakistan in Colombo

Ishan Kishan broke multiple records with his stellar performance during the high-stakes IND vs PAK battle.
He scored the third fastest fifty in India vs Pakistan in T20Is in terms of balls faced. Ishan got to the milestone in 27 balls. The record for this is currently held by Mohammad Hafeez, who had got to his fifty in 23 balls against India in Ahmedabad.

India thrashed Pakistan by 61 runs in Colombo in their biggest T20I win over the rivals, prompting Amit Shah’s viral post: “Dates change, result remains consistent.” Read here

VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal, while speaking to ANI, stated that India's win exposed Pakistan's "hate-filled mindset," highlighting their initial refusal to play and the tensions surrounding the match. He congratulated the Indian team, especially Ishan Kishan, and called the match, though not a final, one of great global significance.

India have been assigned the designation ‘X1’, and are part of a potential group of death in the Super 8 stage.

Their fellow members in Group X, as it were, are set to be Australia, South Africa, and West Indies – the first two being amongst the favourites for the trophy alongside India themselves, while West Indies look like the strongest dark horse candidate in this tournament.

India - who rolled Pakistan for 114 in a chase of 176 - have won eight of their nine games against their rivals across all editions of this competition, and 16 from 17 if 50-over World Cups are also included, with the only blemish a 10-wicket drubbing in Dubai in 2021, Sky Sports reported.

India’s comfortable win over Pakistan in Colombo was followed by an awkward flashpoint on the field, after Hardik Pandya and captain Suryakumar Yadav were seen confronting Kuldeep Yadav immediately after the final wicket. In a video circulating widely on social media, Hardik appeared visibly upset during the handshakes, gesturing emphatically at Kuldeep as Tilak Varma looked on, concerned. Rinku Singh stepped in quickly, seemingly trying to defuse the situation.

The frustration appeared to stem from a dropped catch by Kuldeep in the final over of Pakistan’s chase. On the second ball of Hardik’s over, Shaheen Afridi pulled a short delivery towards long-on, where Kuldeep, stationed near the boundary rope, got both hands to the ball but spilled it for a six. Though Pakistan were dismissed in the same over, the moment sparked speculation about tension within the Indian camp.

India vs Pakistan Live Score: India thrashed Pakistan by 61 runs in Colombo in their biggest T20I win over the rivals, prompting Amit Shah’s viral post: “Dates change, result remains consistent.”

India were briefly checked early after losing a wicket, but Ishan Kishan’s response was immediate and aggressive, stabilising the innings while simultaneously raising its ceiling.

“We played the same brand of cricket we wanted to play. Batting first was the 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.” said captain Suryakumar Yadav.

"The powerplay was where India took the game away from them. Ishan Kishan in the first innings, and the clinical bowling we saw in the second innings, made all the difference. We were always in the driver’s seat. India rocked it tonight!," said Sachin Tendulkar.

"I think winning against Pakistan by 61 runs is a big achievement, this gave me confidence to say that we will definitely win the world cup... We have a large pool of talent, sometimes Abhishek fires, sometimes Kishan, so we a very strong team, we will definitely win the world cup," said BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has congratulated the Indian team.

Surya: I think this is for India. We played the same brand of cricket what we wanted to play. 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.

Salman Agha: Our spinners had an off day. Execution was missing in some parts. We believe in our spinners, they've done well in last six months. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay with the bat. In the first innings it was tacky, the ball was gripping as well. The execution was missing with the ball. Pitch played better in the second innings than it did in the first. In these kind of games, the emotions are always going to be high. Have to deal with it. Have played enough games like that. Have a game in two days time, have to look forward to that. Need to win that game and qualify for the Super Eights. Then it's a new tournament again.

I think the wicket was not that easy in the beginning, but sometimes you just have to believe what you want to play, what shots are on, and you have to just focus on your strength. So I was just keeping it simple and watching the ball and playing with the field, maybe trying to make them run as much as they can, but yeah, I think it worked pretty well on my side. I think I did work a lot on my offside game and it will give me the balls where I want them to bowl if I play good shots on offside. So I was just trying to hit the gaps because it's a big boundary and when it's a big ground you get a bigger gap. So I was just trying to keep it simple, like I said, trying to hit the gaps, trying to at least take two runs because the wicket was not easy. I had that in mind that we need to put a total like 160-170 runs and it will be a very good total for us. (Relief for the team for the rest of the tournament after winning against Pakistan?) 100 percent. India v Pakistan is always a special game not only for us but for our country as well. So we had to win this one because it was a very important game and they had pretty good spinners in their side and we were just supposed to play the good shots and yeah, winning this against Pakistan team... it will give us a lot of confidence going ahead in the tournament and we'll try to just keep the momentum going. (On the start Hardik-Bumrah gave) I think they bowled tremendously well. Pace bowlers... when I was batting and Shaheen was bowling, I didn't feel like the ball was doing much for the pace bowlers. But at the same time, looking at them (India's new ball bowlers) bowl two beautiful overs. So yeah, it was a plus point for us, especially we know how Jasprit Bumrah can bowl, whether he has new ball in his hand and whether he's bowling in the death. Credit goes to Hardik Pandya for keeping it on the tight areas, bowling what we planned before the game and executing his plans pretty well.

OUTTT!!! Hardik Pandya takes the final wicket as India beat Pakistan by 61 runs to qualify for the Super 8 stage. India extend their record over Pakistan to 8-1.

Rinku Singh is brought into the attack. 100 runs come for Pakistan with a four by Shaheen Shah Afridi. It's been all India today. PAK 106-9 (17)

OUTTT!!! Varun Chakaravarthy is on a hattrick after he dismisses Faheem Ashraf and Abrar Ahmed in consecutive balls. India's win is just a matter of time.

PAK 97/9 (15.4)

The match is all over for Pakistan as they need a massive 87 runs from 36 balls with just three wickets in hand. Inia are well on top and are inching slowly to 8-1 head-to-head record in T20 World Cups over Pakistan. The gulf between the two teams once again come to the fore.

PAK 89-7 (14)

OUTTTT!!! Tilak Varma comes out to bat, and strikes on the first ball. Shadab Khan tries to go over long off, and is caught by Shivam Dube. PAK 78-7 (12.1)

OUTTT!!!! Two wickets in two overs for India. Kuldeep Yadav, playing his first match, strikes. Mohammad Nawaz tries to go over the top, but Shivam Dube takes a good running catch at the boundary. Faheem Ashraf comes in.

PAK 78/6 (12)

OUTTT!!!! Axar Patel gets the prized wicket of Usman Khan. Pakistan are sliding down in chase. The pressure was getting on Usman. He dances down the track and makes room for himself. Seeing Usman coming down the track, Axar bowls wide and Ishan Kishan does the rest behind the stumps. Usman goes bcak for 44.

PAK 73.5 (11)

Usman Khan is putting pressure back on India with ac couple of fours off Axar Patel. OUTTTT!!! Axar goes through the gates of Babar Azam. Axar celebrates with arms wide open. Pakistan lose four wickets inside the powerplay.

PAK 34/4 (5)

OUTT!!! After being hit for a six on the first ball, Jasprit Bumrah bowls on the slot as Saim Ayub is plumb in front. Ayub takes a review but to no avail. What a start by India today. Bumrah is elated so as the whole Indian dugout. OUTTT!! Another Pakistani batter bites the dust. Salman Ali Agha decides to take the aerial route but holes out to Hardik Pandya.

PAK 13/2 (2)

OUTTT!!!! What a start by India and Hardik Pandya. Sahibzada Farhan goes for a pull after Pandya bangs short, gets the top edge only for Rinku Singh to take a simple catch. Faran goes for a duck.

PAK 0/1 (1)

Shaheen Shah Afridi to bowl the final delivery. Shivam Dube welcomes him with a straight drive down the ground for a four. Four more from Dube two balls later. HUGEEE from Rinku Singh. Afridi misses the yorker and Rinku smashes over the mid-wicket. Two wickets in the final two balls for Pakistan. Dube and Rinku are dismissed. India manage 175/7

OUTTT!! After sending Usman Tariq for a boundary, Suryakumar Yadav tries to send him to the stands, but is caught by Saim Ayub on the boundary line. Tariq gives a kissing sendoff to SKY.

IND 159/5 (19)

India have played Usman Tariq with due respect, not taking too much risks against the bowler, who bowls after a pause. With just three overs to go, India need to open their arms, if they want to get past 170 on this wicket. Abrar Ahmed comes into the attack. Suryakumar Yadav welcomes him with a backfoot loft towards four. HUGEEE!!! Easy picking for Shivam Dube as he hits hard for a 88m six.

IND 154-4 (18)

OUTTT!!! Saim Ayub gets the breakthrough again for Pakistan. Tilak Varma goes for the sweep shot, but misses the line as the ball hits his back leg. The umpire raises his finger. Tilak discusses whether to go for a review with Suryakumar, but decides to walk away. Hardik Pandya walks out to bat and departs immediately. Pandya goes for a big shot, gets the top edge and Babar Azam takes the catch. Ayub in a hattrick. Shivam Dube comes out to bat. Dube misses the ball Pakistan go upstairs for a caught behind. TV replays show no bat involved. Dube survives.

IND 126/4

Poor fielding from Shadab Khan. Suryakumar Yadav goes behind square only for Shadab to pick up and throw the ball. But the Pakistan spinner makes a mess of it and was lazy to bend in time. The ball bounced in front of him and goes to the boundary. Mohammad Nawaz can't believe it.

IND 125-2 (14)

100 comes up for India with a six from Tilak Varma. Having been silent so far, Varma goes inside out and carves Mohammad Nawaz over extra cover. Suryakumar Yadav misses the line completely while trying to sweep. The ball hits his back leg. On naked it looks out, but umpire Kumar Dharmasena remained unmoved. Salman Ali Agha goes upstairs immediately. TV replays show the ball was pitched outside leg stump.

IND 108/2 (12)

Usman Tariq comes into the attack. Suryakumar Yadav welcomes him with a boundary on the first ball. A lot has been spoken about Usman about his sidearm and his pause before releasing the ball. Notably, Usman is playing his fifth T20I today. The Indian players will play him on a cautious note.

IND 98/2 (11)

OUTTT!!! Pakistan needed a breakthrough and Saim Ayub does what the doctor ordered. Ishan Kishan tries to make some room, and is cleaned up. Heartbreak for Kishan. No celebration for Ayub. Kishan departs for 77 off 40 balls with 10fours and three sies. Suryakumar Yadav joins Tilak Varma in the middle.

IND 88/2 (8.4)

Looks like Ishan Kishan has pulled his hamstring while playing the sweep shot in the last over. He is down on the ground as the physios are out in the middle. He is wincing in pain. The good news is that Kishan is on his feet and is gearing up once again.

BANGGG!!!! Ishan Kishan is unstoppable in Colombo. The left-hander slams Shadab Khan for a slog-sweep in the crowd, followed by another sweep behind square for a four. Salman Ali Agha looks clueless. Usman Tariq is yet to be introdced by Pakistan.

IND 82-1 (8)

Fifty for Ishan Kishan in just 27 balls, his ninth in the format. The whole Indian dugout stands up to applaud. In fact, in the powerplay, Kishan's 42 runs is most by a batter in IND vs PAK T20Is.

IND 65-1 (7)

JUSST over Shaheen Shah Afridi. Ishan Kishan attempts the same shot as of Abhishek Sharma and the ball travels just over Afridi. Four more to India. Four more to India as Tilak Varma gets an outside edge which runs away to the third man boundary.

IND 52-1 (6)

Abrar Ahmed comes into the attack and Ishan Kishan welcomes him with a sweet six. The Indian goes down on one leg and slog sweeps over backward square. Four more from Kishan, this time the Indian goes on backfoot and cuts through the covers. 11 off the over.

IND 41/1 (5)

With today's duck, Abhishek Sharma joined the likes of Ashish Nehra and Imrul Kayes to be dismissed for zero in the first two games in T20 World Cups. In fact, both Nehra and Kayes scored no run in their World Cup careers. Saim Ayub comes to bowl in the powerplay, Pakistan's second spin option. DIRECT HIT!! Kishan pushes the ball towards the long on and goes for a quick single. Shaheen Shah Afridi hits the bull's eye but the players doesn't look interested.

IND 30/1 (4)

Ishan Kishan puts pressure back on Pakistan by smashing Shaheen Shah Afridi for a six and a four in the his opening two balls. The left-hander gets on Salman Ali Agha with a first ball four in the third over. IND 25/1 (3)

OUTTT!!!!!! Abhishek Sharma tries to go over the top and is caught for a duck by Shaheen Shah Afridi just inside the circle. two matches two duck for Abhishek. This is a mighty blow for India. Ideal start for Pakistan. IND 1/1 (1)

Time for National Anthems. Players of both India and Pakistan along with the match officials walk out. Pakistan go first, followed by India. With National Anthems done and dusted, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan walk out to bat. CaptaiSalman Ali Agha will open the attack for Pakistan. This is the second time Salman is opening the bowling in T20Is for Pakistan.

It's interesting to see Salman Ali Agha's decision at the toss. So far, three games have been played at this venue in this edition of the T20 World Cup 2026. In all the matches, the teams batting first have won the games, including Zimbabwe's upset of Australia. Good toss to lose for India's Suryakumar Yadav?

Suryakumar Yadav | India captain: (Do you mind batting first?) Not at all. We were looking to bat first. We've seen the results here, and we've batted in the last two games and won both the games defending, so we don't want to change anything. (On the big occasion) I think it's easy to say that it's just another game, but it is an occasion. These games are always very high stakes, but at the same time, you've got to know what you want to do. That's more important. Stay in the present, back your skills, put your A game forward and be yourself. (Does form count?) This sport teaches you a lot of things. On a given day, if you're going well, then anyone can have a good day. Two changes. Abhishek Sharma comes in and Kuldeep Yadav comes in for Arshdeep Singh.

Salman Agha | Pakistan captain: We want to bowl first. It looks a bit tacky, so we feel it will assist the bowlers for the first few overs so we want to use that. It's a big game. We all know that. But in our group we all are very, very relaxed now. And we're just focusing on the game and we're very excited for this challenge. Bigger ground than SSC and the pitch is slower than SSC. But we have been playing on these kind of pitches for the last six months. So we have an idea how to play on these pitches as well. Same team for us.

It's time for the toss. India's Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha walk out for the toss at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Pakistan have won the toss and opt to bowl first. Pakistan are playing with a same team. Two changes for India. Abhishek Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav come in for India, replacing Sanju Samson and Arshdeep Singh.

We are just minutes away from the toss. Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha will make their way out for the toss at 6:30pm. Meanwhile, ICC chairman Jay Shah and BCCI's Arun Dhumal and Rajeev Shukla were spotted inside the stadium. PCB's Mohsin Naqvi and Salman Naseer were spotted in a different VVIP enclosure.

We are just less than 10 minutes away from the all important toss. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is at the Indian dugout, meeting all the players. Meanwhile, Grok has predicted the winner of today's game.

“Ah, the IND vs PAK T20 World Cup match today in Colombo! India are strong favorites based on recent form, head-to-head record (6-1 in T20 WCs), and odds. Pakistan's pace attack could turn it, though. My prediction: India wins a close one. Enjoy the game!” it said.

Hanumakind has already set the stage on fire in Colombo. unlike other venues, no stage has been set up as Hanumakind is performing on the field itself.

Both teams are on the field. While Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube are marking their run-ups, Pakistan players and coaching staff are standing silent in a huddle. If Kuldeep Yadav is replacing a seamer today, Shivam Dube will need to bowl today.

According to a Cricbuzz report, approximately 2000 police personnel have been deployed for the India vs Pakistan clash. There's also military checkpoints around and heard from a few locals how they barely remember anything like this at the venue.