ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026: India Thrash Pakistan by 61 Runs in Group Clash

India and Pakistan went head-to-head on the 15th of February in the group stage of the ICC Men's T20WorldCup2026 tournament. In this particular match, the Indian cricket team beat Pakistan by 61 runs. This is the eighth win of the Indian cricket team against Pakistan in the T20World Cup tournament series. The two teams have played against each other nine times in the T20 World Cup tournament series so far, with India winning eight matches and Pakistan winning one. Pakistan won this particular match in 2021 by 10 wickets.

After this defeat at Colombo on February 15th, the Pakistani team started to face a lot of criticism. Some people suggested a change in the team, and some people questioned the selection in the team. Shahid Afridi even suggested leaving his own son-in-law, Shaheen Shah Afridi, out of the team. Several former legendary cricketers even said they had already told Pakistani fans not to watch TV.

On the other hand, Pakistan secured a place in the Super 8s by winning their third group stage match. Before the Super 8s, all-rounder Shadab Khan held a press conference and gave a befitting reply to critics. He said that many legendary cricketers have played against India in the World Cup, and even they haven't been able to defeat India.

Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan said, "They are great players, but even they haven't defeated India in the World Cup." Talking about the criticism, he said, "Since I came back, there has been only one over which is being criticized. However, they have their own thinking. Our former cricketers have their own thinking. We defeated the Indian team in 2021. They did not even do that."