T20 World Cup Qualification Scenario: India carried on their winning chariot against Pakistan in ICC events to make it 8-1 in their favor in the ICC T20 World Cup by thumping Salman Agha’s team on Sunday evening in Colombo.
While the geopolitical tensions between the two nations do create hype in IND vs PAK matches, Suryakumar Yadav’s assessment from last year that India vs Pakistan “is not a rivalry anymore” remains affirmed.
Since 2011, India and Pakistan have clashed 15 times in men’s ICC tournaments. Of these, India won 13 games, and Pakistan managed only two victories.
It was also India’s sixth win on the trot over Pakistan in men’s T20I, a run that began following Pakistan’s famed triumph at the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.
IND vs PAK: Ishan Kishan and India bowlers blow away Pakistan
Coming to Sunday’s clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Pakistan landed the first blow by dismissing Abhishek Sharma for a duck in the first over. However, from the moment Ishan Kishan pulled Shaheen Afridi for a majestic six on the first ball of the second over, India gained ascendancy.
Knowing well that India needed to make the most of the powerplay as life would be difficult for batsmen on this tacky, spin-assisting pitch when the field restrictions lifted, Kishan played a thunderous knock.
The left-hander smoked 77 runs off 40 balls with the help of 10 fours and three sixes. No other batsmen across both teams reached the fifty-run milestone or played 40 deliveries. Kishan’s innings was truly outstanding.
India set Pakistan a target of 175. While Pakistan bowled only two overs of pace, India had them on the mat in the first two overs, bowled by seamers Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, as the duo combined to pick three scalps in 12 balls. The match was virtually decided when Babar Azam was cleaned up in the fifth over by Axar Patel.
The Men in Green were bamboozled for a paltry total of 114 runs, losing by a whopping 61 runs. This was India’s largest margin of victory in terms of runs against Pakistan in men’s T20Is.
With this result, India made three wins in three matches in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, becoming the first team from Group A to qualify for the Super 8 round.
T20 World Cup Qualification Scenario: How Can Pakistan Reach Super 8 After Losing To India?
Both Pakistan and USA have four points each. Due to the size of the defeat against India (61 runs), Pakistan slipped to the third position in the Group A points table below USA on net run rate. The USA have played all their group matches, whereas Pakistan have one game in hand – against Namibia on Wednesday.
The qualification scenario for Pakistan is straightforward: if they beat Namibia, Pakistan will advance to Super 8, and a loss will bring curtains to their campaign, with USA progressing to the next round. Additionally, if the Pakistan vs Namibia match gets washed out, then Pakistan will get a point, taking their points tally to 5 points, which will be more than the USA.
Putting it briefly: Pakistan need a win or a washout against Namibia to enter Super 8; a defeat would help USA.
Get the latest T20 World Cup 2026 Updates at IceCric.News. Follow for Live Updates – Facebook & Instagram.
