IND vs PAK 27th T20I WC Preview: The stage is set for another high-intensity battle between India and Pakistan. The 27th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is set to bring the biggest rivalry in world cricket as the India national cricket team faces the Pakistan national cricket team on Sunday, February 15, at the iconic R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The contest will begin at 7:00 PM IST.
India, who are also the defending champions, will be pushing hard to secure their third T20 World Cup title. In the first two matches, the team have already shown resilience in this campaign, as they recovered from a top-order collapse against the USA and then dominated Namibia in their next outing.
On the other hand, Pakistan have gained confidence after back-to-back wins against the Netherlands and UAE. Their top order has provided early momentum, and their controversial spin department has been effective in the middle overs.
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Match Context and Team News
India is likely to welcome back Abhishek Sharma. Abhishek Sharma was recently hospitalised due to a stomach bug, and he has since been discharged. The team management is also considering adding wrist spin by bringing in Kuldeep Yadav.
Pakistan will rely heavily on the attacking intent of Sahibzada Farhan. Moreover, Captain Salman Ali Agha will be eager to contribute more with the bat after modest returns so far.
India Probable Playing XI
- Abhishek Sharma
- Ishan Kishan (wk)
- Tilak Varma
- Suryakumar Yadav (c)
- Shivam Dube
- Hardik Pandya
- Axar Patel
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Varun Chakravarthy
Pakistan Probable Playing XI
- Sahibzada Farhan
- Saim Ayub
- Salman Ali Agha (c)
- Babar Azam
- Usman Khan (wk)
- Shadab Khan
- Mohammad Nawaz
- Faheem Ashraf
- Shaheen Afridi
- Abrar Ahmed
- Usman Tariq
Pitch Report – R. Premadasa Stadium
The Colombo surface is known to offer some assistance to the spin. With Pakistan having 5 spin options, they are likely to offer a tight fight to India. However, weather forecasts suggest that rain could interrupt the India vs Pakistan clash, though a complete washout is unlikely.
IND vs PAK Match Prediction
India are the outright favourites thanks to their deeper batting unit, superior bowling variety and big-match experience. On the other hand, Pakistan has quality spin options, and they can put India under pressure. The contest is expected to be tightly fought, and it will be interesting to see who will win the match.
If we look at the last 10 head-to-head matches, the Indian team is leading with a huge 8 victories; on the other hand, the Pakistan team holds only 2 wins.
