The electrifying India-Pakistan T20 World Cup encounter kicks off with Pakistan gaining the upper hand. At R Premadasa Stadium, they won the toss and chose to bowl, setting India to bat first under partly cloudy skies.
Strategic shifts for India: Abhishek Sharma reclaims his spot over Sanju Samson for dynamic opening, and Kuldeep Yadav edges out Arshdeep Singh, signaling faith in spin amid forecast spin assistance and rain risks.
Pakistan fields the same winning combination. History tilts heavily towards India—7 of 8 World Cup wins, 12 of 16 overall T20Is. In Colombo, India boasts an 11-4 record, peaking in 2012 with four victories.
Group A heats up: India leads with emphatic wins over USA (29r) and Namibia (93r). Pakistan trails closely, beating Netherlands (3w) and USA (32r).
Full India lineup: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
Pakistan: Sam Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.
With spinners poised to dominate and weather in play, this match promises twists. India’s top-table position faces Pakistan’s momentum in a blockbuster group decider.