&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "India vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2026 Preview: Arch-rivals resume rivalry in Colombo under rain threat")
The spotlight of the cricketing fraternity will be on Colombo as India and Pakistan will take the field for the ninth time in the T20 World Cup on Saturday (Feb 15). Maintaining a hot record in the fixture, India will walk into the Group A contest as the favourites, while Pakistan will look to record just their second senior men’s World Cup win over India. However, there could be an uninvited member on Sunday as rain could play spoilsport. Ahead of the high-octane clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, here are all the details.
India vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup preview
After clouds of uncertainty over the fixture as early as last Tuesday, the India vs Pakistan 2026 T20 World Cup clash is all set to go ahead despite the latter’s threat to boycott. However, quick fire round of meetings in Lahore saw the International Cricket Council (ICC) make a breakthrough and get the fixture back on track. India will walk out as the favourites to win the match, having won seven out of the eight matches in the past, while Pakistan’s solitary win came in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
India are likely to field Abhishek Sharma back into the Playing XI after he was passed fit and traveled to Colombo with the rest of the squad. While captain Suryakumar Yadav did not confirm his availability, he is likely to get back into the Playing XI, replacing Sanju Samson. Samson will be the obvious choice to be dropped from the Playing XI, having been on a poor run of form. Although Samson showed intent with his 22 off 8 balls, his performance in the build-up to the T20 World Cup is likely to see him warm the bench.
Pakistan is likely to go with four specialist bowlers -- two spinners and two pacers. Head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha were keen to go into the match with both specialist spinners, Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq and also two specialist fast bowlers in Shaheen Shah Afridi and Salman Mirza. The team management is also likely to make a call on dropping one all-rounder from among Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf.
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IND vs PAK Head-To-Head In T20Is
Total Matches: 16
India: 13 (1 via bowl-out)
Pakistan: 3
Tied: 1 (India won via bowl-out)
No Result: 0
IND vs PAK Head-To-Head In T20 World Cup
Total Matches: 8
India: 7 (1 via bowl-out)
Pakistan: 1
Tied: 1 (India won via bowl-out)
No Result: 0
IND vs PAK Predicted Playing XIs
India Predicted XI: Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.
Pakistan Predicted XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed.
Where to watch India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match live?
Live streaming of the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match will be available on JioHotstar in India, whereas the live telecast will be available on Star Sports Network TV channels in India.
The match is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. IST with toss taking place 30 minutes prior if no delays are recorded after rain expected to play spoilsport.
