Colombo, February 15 – Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha won the toss and chose to bowl first against India in a high-stakes Group A match at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup. As has been the case in India-Pakistan clashes, both captains did not shake hands at the toss.
Both sides are unbeaten in Group A so far, with India at the top of the standings due to a superior net run-rate. India overcame a slow start against the United States of America (USA) in their opening game in Mumbai, before sweeping aside Namibia in New Delhi. Pakistan, who have been based in Colombo, had a tough time against the Netherlands before producing a more assured performance in beating the USA.
Defending champions India have brought back Abhishek Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav in place of Sanju Samson and Arshdeep Singh for the crucial match. Abhishek had been hospitalised in New Delhi due to a stomach infection and missed the match against Namibia due to his recovery.
“We were looking to bat first. We’ve seen the results here, and we’ve batted in the last two games and won both games defending, so we don’t want to change anything. I think it’s easy to say that it’s just another game, but it is an occasion. These games are always very high stakes, but at the same time, you’ve got to know what you want to do.
“That’s more important. Stay in the present, back your skills, put your A game forward and be yourself. This sport teaches you a lot of things. On a given day, if you're going well, then anyone can have a good day,” said India captain Suryakumar Yadav.
Pakistan, meanwhile, are fielding an unchanged playing eleven. “It looks a bit tacky, so we feel it will assist the bowlers for the first few overs so we want to use that. We are relaxed in our group and excited for this challenge. Bigger ground than SSC and the pitch is slower than SSC,” said Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha.
India have won seven of their eight Men’s T20 World Cup meetings against Pakistan, whose sole victory came in 2021 when openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan powered them to a 10-wicket triumph in Dubai. All three matches in the World Cup at this venue have been won by the side batting first.
In his pitch report, former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja said speculation over rain disrupting the game had eased with conditions holding steady. He added that there’s an 84-metre straight boundary while square boundaries are at 70 and 74 metres respectively.
Recent matches at the venue have favoured the bowlers, with Blessing Muzarabani and Nathan Ellis both claiming four-wicket hauls as batters struggled against deliveries banged into the pitch.
Playing XIs
India: Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Tariq, and Abrar Ahmed
