Team India are taking on Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in a Group A clash of T20 World Cup 2026. The Men in Blue are currently on top of the table in Group A, with four points and a net run rate of +3.050. Pakistan are in second place, with four points and a net run rate of +0.932. Both teams are well placed to qualify for the Super 8 round.
The Men in Blue began their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a 29-run win over USA in Mumbai. In their second group match, they beat Namibia by 93 runs in Delhi. India will begin the clash against Pakistan as favorites. They beat their Asian rivals thrice in the Asia Cup last year. However, spin-friendly conditions could aid Pakistan’s slow bowlers provided the rain stays away in Colombo.
India have had their issues against slow bowlers in the two matches they have played so far. In the match against Namibia, Gerhard Erasmus troubled the Men in Blue batters with his unconventional off-spin, claiming 4-20. There is plenty of curiosity over how India will handle the mystery of Usman Tariq. India’s batting effort will also be under the scanner with an eye on the Super 8 stage.
Today’s IND vs PAK toss result
Pakistan have won the toss and have opted to bowl first. Salman Agha said:
“The pitch looks a bit tacky, so we feel it will assist the bowlers for the first few overs.”
Pakistan are going in with an unchanged playing XI. For India, Abhishek Sharma comes back in and Kuldeep Yadav is in for Arshdeep Singh.
IND vs PAK – Today’s match playing XIs
India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan (w), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
Today’s IND vs PAK pitch report
As per Pakistan skipper, the pitch looks a little bit tacky, so there might be some assistance for the bowlers, especially early on.
Today’s IND vs PAK match complete players list
India squad: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson
Pakistan squad: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah, Salman Mirza, Khawaja Nafay
IND vs PAK – Today’s match umpires
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Illingworth
Third umpire: Chris Gaffaney
Match Referee: Richie Richardson
Edited by Renin Wilben Albert
