Despite all the pre-game talk of high-stakes battle and a clash of the titans, the India v Pakistan match at the 2026 T20 World Cup turned out to be a thoroughly one-sided affair as the defending champions eased to a 61-run win in Colombo.
Pakistan made a few tactical errors in the match at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, electing to field first despite the pitch expected to slow down further in the second innings and with the team in green having a plethora of quality spin options.
India opener Ishan Kishan was in devastating form, smashing 77 from just 40 balls as India posted an above-par total of 175-7.
Pakistan's faint hopes of overhauling the target were extinguished in the powerplay as India's seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya decimated their top order.
India spinners then took charge to dismiss Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs.
The result extended India's unbeaten run in T20 World Cups to 12 matches, and took their record against their rivals in all World Cup contests to 16-1.
For Pakistan, the defeat was doubly painful as it has put extra pressure on them for their last match of the group stage.
Pakistan's qualification chances for the Super 8
Pakistan are currently third in Group A behind leaders India (six points from three wins) and USA (four points from four matches).
The team in green also have four points from three matches with their last group game against Namibia on Wednesday.
However, the south Asian side did themselves no favours with the margin of defeat to India. The heavy loss saw Pakistan's net run rate plummet from positive to negative 0.403, thus pushing them below USA (0.788).
It means Pakistan have to defeat Namibia to qualify for the next stage as a loss will leave them stranded on four points with USA and put them outside the top two due to an inferior net run rate.
However, even a washout will work for Pakistan as they would then jump to five points and secure their spot in the Super 8 stage.
Record day for India
For India, it was another commanding performance against their rivals on the world stage. Suryakumar Yadav's team registered their biggest win over Pakistan in the T20 format and made it 8-1 in the T20 showpiece event.
Even more incredible is India's record in ICC tournaments. Over the past four major events, India have lost just one of 27 matches across the 2023 ODI World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup, 2025 Champions Trophy and this year's T20 event.
That one defeat was the final of the ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad.
Even so, it is easily the most dominant performance by any team across formats and tournaments in ICC events.
