T20 World Cup 2026: India vs Pakistan Highlights, Match 27 - Stats, Player of the Match & More

Match Overview

India and Pakistan locked horns in the 27th match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, February 15. Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Agha opened the bowling in a masterstroke that brought about the dismissal of Abhishek Sharma for a duck. But, Ishan Kishan counterattacked with a six off Shaheen Afridi's first ball. The left-hander was unstoppable as he overshadowed his partner, Tilak Varma. Kishan not just farmed most of the strike but also scored at a much higher rate than Varma. India ended the powerplay at 52/1 with more fireworks from Kishan yet to come.

The wicketkeeper-batter completed his ninth T20I fifty off just 27 balls on a wicket which was not easy to play strokes on. The Jharkhand boy's swashbuckling innings was the highlight of the day, however, it came to an end in the ninth over with Saim Ayub conjuring up a much-needed breakthrough.

Captain Suryakumar Yadav and Varma then consolidated in the middle overs with a 38-run partnership before Varma was trapped in front by Ayub for his second wicket. Suryakumar played the anchor innings while Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh provided a late flourish which took India to a competitive 175/7.

Pakistan had a disastrous start as they lost their top three in the first two overs for just 13 runs courtesy of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. But, the wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan counterattacked and propped up the run rate gradually. With Shadab, the 30-year-old formed a crucial 39-run partnership which kept Pakistan in the game but the rising asking rate brought about the dismissal of Usman in the 11th over.

Pakistan suffered a collapse of sorts thereafter and the writing was on the wall for them. In the end, India won the game by a big margin of 61 runs making it three wins out of three in the tournament.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the Match

Ishan Kishan

Kishan played a knock for the ages. On a wicket where the ball stopped and turned, stroke-making was tricky. But Kishan showed as if he was playing on a different track. After Abhishek's dismissal in the first over, India were on the back foot. But, the 27-year-old took on the mantle and backed himself to play his shots. The southpaw did not spare any bowler and found the gaps with ease in almost every over. In the end, it was his innings which was the ultimate difference between the two teams.

Turning Point

The second-wicket partnership of 87 runs off 46 balls between Kishan and Varma provided India with an excellent platform. The stand negated the effects of Abhishek's dismissal for a duck and brought India into a position of superiority. Pakistan were left clueless at one stage during this partnership as Kishan just went bonkers. The wicketkeeper-batter dominated the partnership so much that Varma faced just eight deliveries and scored 11 runs. All in all, this solid stand was the real difference on a tricky Khettarama wicket.

What the captains said

Winning Team Captain, Suryakumar Yadav (IND)

"I think this is for India. We played the same brand of cricket what we wanted to play. Batting first was a better option on this wicket. Ishan thought something out of the box. After 1/1, someone had to take responsibility and the way he took it was amazing. (On target) It's difficult to say when you're batting first. Because you never know if there will be dew or how the pitch will play under lights. But we felt it was 15 above par. 155 could've been a tight game. (On bowlers) It was great to see everyone contributing with the ball. We'll go back, have a good time together as a team and then think about the other games when we take the flight to Ahmedabad."

Losing Team Captain, Salman Ali Agha (PAK)

"Our spinners had an off day. Execution was missing in some parts. We believe in our spinners, they've done well in the last six months. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay with the bat. (On pitch) In the first innings it was tacky, the ball was gripping as well. The execution was missing with the ball. The pitch played better in the second innings than it did in the first. (On emotions) In these kind of games, the emotions are always going to be high. Have to deal with it. Have played enough games like that. Have a game in two days' time, have to look forward to that. Need to win that game and qualify for the Super Eights. Then it's a new tournament again."