India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup LIVE: Fans create electrifying atmosphere at Premadasa Stadium

The squads of India and Pakistan arrived at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday ahead of their much-anticipated clash in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The India-Pakistan rivalry, regarded as one of the most intense contests in international cricket, has once again captured global attention. With both sides eyeing a crucial win in the tournament, expectations are soaring for a thrilling, fiercely contested battle on the field. -- ANI

Cricket - ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 - Group A - India v Pakistan - R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka - February 15, 2026 India fans lineup in a queue as a vendor sells India and Pakistan flags outside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Lahiru Harshana

Cricket enthusiasts have gathered in large numbers at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, generating an electrifying atmosphere ahead of the much-anticipated showdown between India and Pakistan in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Waving flags, chanting slogans and wearing their team colours, fans from both sides were seen cheering enthusiastically as they awaited the start of the high-voltage contest.The Premadasa Stadium has been reverberated with excitement as supporters expressed confidence in their respective teams.

The India-Pakistan rivalry, known for its intensity and passionate fan following, once again drew massive attention, with the stadium turning into a sea of blue and green.

As the teams prepared to take the field, anticipation and energy reached a fever pitch among spectators eager to witness another thrilling chapter in cricket’s most celebrated rivalry.

As excitement peaks around the much-awaited encounter between India and Pakistan, an Indian cricket fan in Colombo shared his enthusiasm ahead of the marquee encounter.

Expressing emotional anticipation, the fan said, “It was a big dream of our lives to witness India’s victory over Pakistan, and today we are going to witness India’s victory again after defeating Pakistan. The voice should reach Lahore.”

A Pakistan cricket fan said, “The voice will reach Delhi... Get out of the movies, and no dialogue will work here. We are sure that these people will lose today.

An Indian cricket fan, Mohd Afsar, said, “We are here to support our team. There is no rivalry between us, but India will win. If we look at the last 10-15 years, we have been winning only. There is a lot of excitement.” -- ANI

Under-19 World Cup-winning cricketer Khilan Patel expressed excitement ahead of the highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Sunday, saying he hopes the contest lives up to expectations while backing India to emerge victorious.

Speaking about the high-voltage clash, Patel said he hopes the contest lives up to expectations while backing India to come out on top. “I just want the match to be good and for India to play well and defeat Pakistan,” he told ANI.

The young cricketer also expressed strong faith in key Indian players, naming Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya as potential game-changers. Patel believes both players are capable of delivering impactful performances in the crucial fixture. “Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya will play well today.” -- ANI

Shivam Dube’s record against spinners, especially wrist spinners has been phenomenal. The muscular big bodied left-hander has a strike rate of 193 plus in T20s while facing all kinds of slow bowlers in 2025. When it comes to leg-spinners, Dube has been severe on the likes of Ish Sodhi in the recently concluded T20I series. Abrar Ahmed and Shahdab Ahmed, the two wrist spinners in Pakistan line-up could be meted for special treatment.

In the form of his life, Ishan Kishan can actually launch into Shaheen Shah Afridi with his range of strokes and the left-arm speedster’s propensity to bowl deliveries moving away from the southpaw. It would be compelling to watch if Shaheen uses the short-ball ploy effectively against Kishan, who isn’t very tall. How Kishan counters that would be a story in itself.

If any batter among the Indians has the best chance of demolishing the mystique surrounding Usman Tariq’s stop and sling action, it has to be Pandya. It will be interesting to see how Salman Ali Agha uses Tariq and if it’s in the middle overs between 7 to 16, there are high chances that there will be a duel.

While Tariq’s pause at the crease can upset a batter’s plan, Pandya’s advantage is his back-lift, stable core and even for big hits, he can generate same bat speed even if its a split second later. Pandya doesn’t have pronounced trigger and only moves after a ball is bowled. -- PTI

Kuldeep Yadav has never bowled to Babar Azam in a T20I game but in ODIs, the left-arm wrist spinner got Babar out twice in three games and the highly-rated Pakistan right-hander managed only 28 runs in 52 deliveries across those games.

Kuldeep’s record against Pakistan has been phenomenal even in Asia Cup T20s when Babar didn’t feature in the line-up. He got 8 wickets in 3 Pakistan games including four in the final. However for Kuldeep vs Babar to happen, Gambhir has to include Kuldeep in the playing eleven instead of Arshdeep Singh. -- PTI

The last time that the two were pitted against each other, Farhan came up trump and became one of the rare international batter to hit Bumrah for two sixes in a single T20I game. Such was the hype around Farhan that he did an advertorial documentary gloating about the sixes that he hit against the Indian maestro in Dubai.

Against Namibia, Bumrah wasn’t bowled in the Powerplay but it will be interesting to see what will be Gambhir’s ploy against Pakistan. The data reads — Farhan faced 34 balls and scored 51 runs without being dismissed in three games. -- PTI

In modern day T20s, data plays an important role and hence the match-ups become integral to discussions of the coaching staff of top international teams. For both Gautam Gambhir and Mike Hesson, it would be very important to zero in on the match-ups based on the available data which won’t be big in terms of volume if one looks at the paucity of Indo-Pak contests.

The PTI presents five possible mouth-watering match-ups which promises to be pulsating for the fans provided rain doesn’t play spoilsport. -- PTI

At 4 p.m., weather in Colombo seems to be fine but a touch overcast. India and Pakistan are playing at Colombo in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. -- K.C. Vijaya Kumar

According to AccuWeather, Colombo will experience 100% cloud cover on Sunday, with a roughly 13% chance of rain in the evening. The India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match is set to start at 7:00 p.m. local time, with the toss scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Notably, at 6:00 p.m., an hour before the match, Colombo faces a 49% chance of rain.

At 7 p.m., AccuWeather forecasts there to be a 9% probability of precipitation and a 100% cloud cover in Colombo. The conditions are expected to be the same till 11:00 p.m. local time. If the game is washed out, both teams will be awarded one point each as the India vs Pakistan group-stage match does not have a reserve day. -- ANI

Fans from across India expressed their excitement for the upcoming India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium, cheering for the Men in Blue to defeat arch-rivals Pakistan in both teams’ third group-stage fixture. A young Indian cricket team supporter, Nirak Ghare, said he expects a fun and challenging India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match, predicting India will bat first and play well as usual. “It will be fun to see today’s match. India will bat first and play good cricket. The game will be tough, but India will play well as usual,” Nirak Ghare told ANI in Mumbai.

Cricket fan Nishant said he’s excited for the match, confident India will win and emphasised that sportsmanship is important regardless of the teams, though he noted the Indian cricketers shouldn’t shake hands with Pakistan.

“I am very excited about the match, but we all know the result, and that is India will win as always. Matches should be allowed because sports are very important, irrespective of which country is playing. Sportsmanship must go on despite any circumstances. We should not shake hands with them (Pakistan cricket team),” Nishant said.

A fan from Kolkata, Farhan, said India is the stronger T20 team, and while some Pakistani players are good, their confidence falters against India, making an Indian win likely. “Indian team is best in T20, so there is no comparison. Some of the Pakistani players are good, but their confidence goes away in front of India. India is sure to win,” Farhan said. Another cricket fan, Sandeep Pote, said India is likely to win the high-voltage T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan and that fans can expect an exciting match.

“Obviously India will win because the Indian team right now is very impressive and all players are good. As we all know, India-Pakistan always considered a high-voltage match. So, it will be fun, and everyone will enjoy it,” he said.

Cricket fan Manoj Reddy expressed hope that India would defeat Pakistan decisively in the T20 World Cup match, saying fans are excited and have high expectations for the team’s performance.

“I hope India defeats Pakistan badly today. We should get revenge today, not shake hands with them, and show them their place... We are super excited about this match. It’s a good thing the match is happening, but we have high hopes for the Indian team to play well,” Manoj Reddy told ANI in Delhi. -- ANI

Cricket fans outside Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium expressed their excitement for the much-awaited India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match on Sunday.

India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, and Pakistan, led by Salman Ali Agha, will face each other in their third group-stage match at the marquee tournament.

Fans of both teams flocked to the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo even hours before the match.An Indian fan, Kuldeep Singh, while speaking to ANI, said that he travelled from India out of excitement and is confident India will win, as they have in the past.

“The excitement has pulled me to come here all the way from India. We have full belief that India will win, like they always have in the past,” he said.

Another Indian fan, Mohammad Afsar, said there is great excitement for the India vs Pakistan match, with supporters coming to cheer the team, noting India’s strong record in the recent times and expressing eagerness to watch Indian opener Abhishek Sharma play.

“There’s a lot of excitement for the match. We have come here to support our team. If you look at the history of records of the last 10-15 years, we have won. We are excited to see Abhishek Sharma,” he said.

A Pakistani fan, on the other hand, warned that Pakistan will dominate India, citing historical head-to-head records and claiming India’s overconfidence could cause their downfall.

“Pakistan fans will wash you away like a cyclone. Take a look at the complete history of India-Pakistan matches, and you will see who has dominated more. India’s overconfidence will lead to their downfall,” he said. -- ANI

Former India cricketer Kiran More expressed hope for India’s victory in the much-awaited clash against Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday (February 15, 2026).

The former BCCI selector More is contesting the election for the post of Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) President from the Revival Group.

Speaking to ANI, he said, “India is a very strong team. They will have an upper hand. I think India is going to win it.”

He also expressed his desire to see Baroda’s Hardik Pandya perform in the crucial match as India seeks to confirm their place in the Super Eights with a win on Sunday.

Speaking about Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, More said, “Pandya is a very good player. He is a big match player, and in big occasions, he ensures India’s victory.” -- ANI

Former Indian cricketer Nayan Mongia backed Team India as the favourites to win Sunday’s much-awaited India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium. He also hailed the Indian star all-rounder Hardik Pandya as one of the best in the T20 format and lauded his recent form.

Former India wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia praised Hardik Pandya as one of the best T20 all-rounders, highlighting his batting and bowling. He said India start as favourites against Pakistan but must be cautious on Sri Lanka’s slow, spinner-friendly pitches.

“The India has been performing in the ICC tournaments. Hardik Pandya is my all-time favourite. He is one of the best all-rounders in the T20 format. The way he’s batting and the way he’s performing with the ball, he is doing brilliantly. It will be fun to watch if he performs against Pakistan. They are playing in Sri Lanka; the wicket is slow, and spinners will dominate. While India start as favourites, they will have to be careful,” Nayan Mongia told ANI.

As India takes to the field against Pakistan at Colombo, there is a lot of chatter about how the ‘Men in Blue’ will take on their rivals’ spin attack, which has as many as five players. However, the key also would be to play out the left-arm pace really well, especially during the powerplay.

Amid all the hype about Usman Tariq’s sidearm action which comes with a pause and the trio of Abrar Ahmed, Mohammed Nawaz and Saim Ayub which has delivered timely strikes and brought in a fear factor, the left-arm quick Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has taken two wickets in the tournament so far and his partner-in-pace Salman Mirza, who bowled an economical spell of 3/24 against Netherlands, have done a rather decent, if not great, job in powerplay.

During both their clashes against Netherlands and USA, the powerplay scores of the oppositions were 50 each. Netherlands had lost two wickets in that phase, with Mirza getting one scalp for 21 runs in three powerplay overs and Shaheen going for 23 runs in two overs.

Against USA, while Mirza did not feature, Shaheen went for 17 runs in his two powerplay overs, with USA being 50/1 at the end of powerplay.

However so far, India’s game against left-arm pace has been exceptional.

Against USA in their campaign opener, Indian batters, despite being far, far away from their best, managed to make their lead left-armer Saurabh Netrawalkar bleed runs. He gave away 23 runs in his two powerplay overs, including two fours and sixes and was taken to cleaners by skipper Suryakumar Yadav later on during death overs phase, giving away a total of 65 runs in four overs, including seven fours and five sixes.

In the second clash against Namibia, India brutalised their left-arm pacers, Ruben Trumpelmann and JJ Smit. During the powerplay, the duo collectively leaked 61 runs in four overs, including six fours and five sixes.

While later on Namibia managed to contain Team India courtesy a four-fer from skipper Gerhald Erasmus, the final figures of both lefties were not very respectable, with Ruben going for 38 runs in his four overs, with four boundaries and a six and Smit getting a wicket, but leaking 50 in his four overs, with four boundaries and sixes each.

In all, India belted Namibia’s left-armers for 88 runs in eight overs, including eight fours and five sixes. -- ANI

With a momentary pause in his delivery and his statue-like pose at the crease, Pakistan spin bowler Usman Tariq has created plenty of attention at cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup.

Just enough, it seems, to throw off opposing batters.

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Now that Pakistan have taken the expected U-turn and are playing India on Sunday in the World T20, it might be tempting to declare that all’s well that ends well. But the realisation that yet another country can resort to blackmailing the International Cricket Council may not be such good news for the sport. Bangladesh, dropped from the tournament, probably got the most from the negotiations, but administrators have long memories and there is no telling who gets their comeuppance from whom.

In 2012, the Woolf Report — commissioned by the ICC and mostly ignored — said that “Cricket is a great game. It deserves to have governance, including management and ethics, worthy of the sport. This is not the position at the present time.” Nor is it at this present time.

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The scrutiny over Usman Tariq’s bowling action and the pressure of playing India, were the recurrent themes when Salman Agha faced the media at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday (February 14, 2026).

“ICC has tested him and cleared him twice, I don’t know what the fuss is all about. Anyway, he doesn’t get bothered,” the Pakistan skipper said while backing his off-spinner, whose pause in the delivery stride stirred debate.

T20 World Cup: Ind vs Pak | Pakistan captain Salman Agha backs spinner Usman Tariq over bowling action

ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2026: India vs Pakistan match in Colombo on February 15, 2026. Salman Agha press conference

The highly anticipated clash at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium may be affected by rain. According to Sri Lanka’s Department of Meteorology, Colombo, where the India-Pakistan World Cup match is scheduled to take place, is likely to experience showers or thundershowers after 2:00 p.m. local time.

The India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match is set to start at 7:00 p.m. local time, with the toss scheduled at 6:30 p.m.

Colombo is expected to reach a high of 34°C and a low of 24°C, with relative humidity ranging from 85% to 50%. A weather advisory from the Department of Meteorology, Sri Lanka, for February 15 also reads “Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts during the early hours of the morning.” -- ANI

Rehan Fernando is excited during a 20-minute drive to the Premadasa— not precisely by the thoughts of an India vs Pakistan match that keeps millions of fans busy across the stadium, living rooms, pubs and social media.

“I am going to get a lot of Uber requests on Sunday (February 15, 2026) for stadium drop-offs and pick-ups. Need to keep Suzuki Every fuelled and ready for the rush hours,” Fernando sing-songs.

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PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi will be in Colombo for Sunday’s (February 15, 2026) Pakistan-India T20 World Cup encounter, with the visit also expected to include talks with ICC officials following a brief boycott episode that threatened the marquee fixture.

A source said senior PCB officials, including Pakistan Super League CEO Salman Naseer and Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmed, will accompany Naqvi to Sri Lanka for the Group A clash, which is slated to start in the late evening at the R Premadasa Stadium.

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Suryakumar Yadav was in a chirpy mood. Cheeky remarks were made, serious replies were registered too, and all through he had a big grin. The Indian skipper’s demeanour belied the pressure that underpins clashes against Pakistan.

Speaking to the media at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday (February 14, 2026) evening, Suryakumar admitted that at the back of their minds, he and his players would still be conscious about Sunday’s (February 15, 2026) T20 World Cup game against Pakistan. “We knew we had this game on the 15th, and we have prepared for it. But we want to play good cricket. When you play an India-Pakistan game, it’s more about the occasion. It’s a big platform, obviously,” he said.

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In warm Colombo, the cricketing ice between India and Pakistan will briefly thaw on Sunday (February 15, 2026) night. The prelude to this ICC T20 World Cup Group A match has been about theatrics and subcontinental angst, before Pakistan decided to finally play against its neighbour.

While sport and politics inexplicably mix, this amalgamation is at an extreme level in contests involving India and Pakistan. Hopefully, the leap across the Palk Strait and into ​​Sri Lanka​​, will soften the political edges even if sporting tension is high.

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Off-spinner Tariq’s outing against Indian batters at the Premadasa will be keenly watched because of the pause ahead of delivery and slinging action.

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There was never any likelihood of the T20 World Cup match between archrivals India and Pakistan not taking place. But when politics enters the scene and politicians try and earn brownie points, there will always be drama created by leaks and innuendos and a lot of hot air.

To the credit of both teams, they remained focused on the tasks at hand. They wanted to best the emerging teams in their group and ensure qualification to the next stage of the tournament. The manner in which both won their first two matches is, in itself, an indicator that we might get to witness a cracker of a game.

We could witness a cracker of a game

Sunil Gavaskar writes: On the T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan

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