India outsmart Pakistan to qualify Super 8 of World T20

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Feb, 2026) In a much anticipated encounter between the arch rivals Pakistan and India in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Colombo, India outsmart Pakistan in all departments and beat the Green Shirts by a large margin of 61 runs.

It was a clinical display with the bat and the ball that saw India qualify for the Super 8 stage of the T20 tournament.

Defending 176, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah were on the mark as they duo shared three wickets between them in their opening burst to help India mount early pressure on Pakistan.

Pandya, who started the proceedings for India with the ball, managed to dismiss Sahibzada Farhan for a duck in his first over.

Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah, got the better of Saim Ayub and Pakistan captain Salman Agha. Axar Patel then made it four wickets for India in the power play, removing the seasoned Babar Azam out of the equation.

With the wickets continuing to tumble at one end, wicket-keeper-batter Usman Khan led the recovery for Pakistan, collecting boundaries against the run of play.

Scoring 44 off 34 deliveries, Khan consolidated six fours and a six to keep Pakistan in the play in Colombo. However, just as he was looking to turn the tide in Pakistan's favour, Axar Patel struck with the ball once again.

Luring the right-hander into coming down the crease, Axar got one past him and Ishan Kishan completed the stumping.

Not too later, Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak Varma also got into the thick of it. Kuldeep got rid of Mohammad Nawaz with Shivam Dube completing the catch. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma snapped wicket of Shadab Khan in his first over. Varun Chakaravarthy then nabbed a quickfire brace to reduce Pakistan to nine wickets down.

But it was Hardik Pandya, who wrapped thing up with the final wicket, sealing a 61-run win for the co-hosts and the defending champions.

Earlier, courtesy of a whirlwind start by Ishan Kishan, India posted 175/7, the highest score in an India v Pakistan contest at the T20 World Cup in Colombo.

After electing to field first, Salman Agha surprised many as he opened the bowling. And the Pakistan captain's gamble paid off as he dismissed Abhishek Sharma while conceding only one run in the over. It was Sharma's second duck of the tournament.

India responded well after the early wicket, grabbing 15 runs off the second over by Shaheen Shah Afridi. Unstoppable since coming back to the Indian team, Kishan was on a roll against Pakistan as well. His innings was a heady mix of power and smarts, as he piled on 77 off 40 balls, with the help of three sixes and 10 fours to give India just the jumpstart they needed.

On a slowish wicket, where Pakistan used six spinners, leg-break bowler Saim Ayub was Pakistan's trump card. He castled Kishan, limiting the damage, and then sent off Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya off successive balls and narrowly missed a hat-trick. Usman Tariq, Agha and Shaheen Afridi picked up a wicket each.

While Suryakumar Yadav (32) and Tilak Varma (25) kept the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs, Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh's cameos at the end pushed India past 170-mark.

India had opted for an extra spin option, bringing in Kuldeep Yadav for Arshdeep Singh.

Pakistan's downfall was of its own doing as Salman Agha won the toss and elected to field on a placid pitch and lost the advantage of putting the opposition under pressure but Pakistan surrendered the advantage.