Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first against India in their marquee T20 World Cup 2026 clash at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, adding fresh intrigue to the storied rivalry.
The Indian team management made two alterations to the starting XI. India reinstated Abhishek Sharma in place of Sanju Samson and brought in spinner Kuldeep Yadav for pacer Arshdeep Singh. Pakistan retained the same combination that featured in their previous fixture.
India has enjoyed a clear upper hand over Pakistan in T20 World Cup contests. Of the eight meetings between the sides in the tournament’s history, India have triumphed seven times, with Pakistan registering their only win in 2021.
Across all T20 internationals, the neighbours have faced off 16 times. India has secured 12 victories, while Pakistan have claimed three wins.
India also holds a strong record at the R Premadasa Stadium, having won 11 of their 15 T20 matches at the venue. During the 2012 ICC T20 World Cup, India featured in five matches here, winning four and suffering a solitary defeat against Australia.
Rain could also influence proceedings in Colombo, and the pitch is anticipated to provide significant assistance to spin bowlers as the match progresses.
India currently leads the Group A standings after opening their campaign with a 29-run victory over the USA, followed by a commanding 93-run win against Namibia.
Pakistan began with a narrow three-wicket success against the Netherlands and then overcame the USA by 32 runs, placing them second in the group table.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq.
Also Read: India Bank On Spin Strength Ahead Of High-Stakes Pakistan Clash In Colombo
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