India beat Pakistan by 61 runs in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on February 15, 2026, at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The win confirmed India’s place in the Super 8 stage of the tournament. This was India’s biggest ever victory margin against Pakistan in T20 internationals.
India scored 175 for 7 in their 20 overs. Pakistan were bowled out for just 114 in 18 overs. The 61-run gap marked India’s eighth win over Pakistan in nine T20 World Cup meetings.
Ishan Kishan Powers India to 175
Ishan Kishan scored 77 runs off 40 balls to give India a strong total. He hit 10 fours and 3 sixes. Kishan reached his fifty in just 27 balls. He scored 42 runs in the powerplay alone, which is the most by any Indian batter against Pakistan in the first six overs of a T20 international.
Suryakumar Yadav added 32 runs off 27 balls. Tilak Varma made 25, while Shivam Dube hit 27 off 17 balls late in the innings. Rinku Singh finished with 11 runs from 4 balls. India were 52 for 1 after the powerplay and reached 92 for 2 at the halfway mark.
Pakistan used six bowlers who could spin the ball. Saim Ayub took 3 wickets for 25 runs. Salman Ali Agha and Usman Tariq picked up one wicket each. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Abrar Ahmed went for runs in the final overs. Pakistan bowled 18 overs of spin in total, but the plan did not work on a slow surface where India’s batters found gaps on the large square boundaries.
Suggested read: How to Watch ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Live: TV Channels & Streaming Guide
Pakistan Collapse to 13 for 3
Pakistan’s chase fell apart in the first two overs. Hardik Pandya bowled a wicket maiden in the opening over. Jasprit Bumrah then took two quick wickets to leave Pakistan at 13 for 3. Sahibzada Farhan was out for a duck off four balls. Babar Azam scored just 5 runs before getting dismissed.
Pakistan never came back from that start. They were 34 for 4 at the end of the powerplay. Usman Khan fought back with 44 runs off 34 balls, but he did not get support from the other end. Shadab Khan made 14 off 15 balls before Tilak Varma got his wicket.
Hardik Pandya finished with figures of 2 for 16. Bumrah took 2 for 17. Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel both picked up 2 wickets each. Kuldeep Yadav also took one wicket as India’s bowlers kept pressure throughout the innings.
India Now 8-1 Against Pakistan in T20 World Cups
India have now won eight out of nine Group matches against Pakistan in the T20 World Cups. Pakistan’s only win came in 2021 when they won by 10 wickets. Since then, India beat Pakistan by 4 wickets in 2022 and by 6 runs in 2024. The 61-run win in 2026 is the largest gap between the two teams in this format.
India are the second team after West Indies to reach the Super 8 stage. Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and chose to bowl first. India captain Suryakumar Yadav made two changes to his team. Abhishek Sharma replaced Sanju Samson, and Kuldeep Yadav came in for Arshdeep Singh.
The match was played under heavy security. Around 2,000 police personnel were deployed at the venue. There were earlier reports of Pakistan-USA tensions over a boycott threat linked to the Bangladesh solidarity issue, but the match went ahead without problems.
Ishan Kishan was named Player of the Match. He said the team targeted a score between 160 and 170. Kishan added that he worked on his offside shots and focused on hitting gaps because the ground was large.
India will now play their remaining Group A matches before moving to the Super 8 round. Pakistan must win their next games to stay in the tournament.
Follow JeetNews Sports for live cricket updates, match reports, and breaking sports news from India and around the world.
