Pakistan opt to bowl first against India in blockbuster T20 World Cup game in Colombo

Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the blockbuster 2026 T20 World Cup encounter at the R Premadasa International Stadium in Colombo.

Meanwhile, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav continued his team’s policy of not shaking hands with his Pakistani counterpart Salman Ali Agha at the toss before a packed Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Both Pakistan and India have so far played two matches in the tournament, gaining four points each; however, the Indian side currently tops the points table courtesy of their net run rate, with Pakistan in the second spot.

Historically, the two teams have faced each other 16 times in the shortest, with India leading the head-to-head record with 13 wins, while Pakistan emerged victorious thrice.

The match will mark the first time both teams will be facing each other since last year’s Asia Cup final, a tense event staged following military conflict between India and Pakistan that nearly escalated into a fully-fledged war between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

The latest meeting comes against the backdrop of a tumultuous fortnight in which Pakistan’s boycott threat — later reversed — nearly blew a hole in the tournament’s marquee fixture.

Playing XIs

India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah.

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan(w), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq.