India vs Pakistan Prediction & Betting Tips - ICC Men's T20 World Cup
World - ICC Men's T20 World Cup
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by Sridhar Bhamidi | in ICC T20 World Cup Predictions
It’s the mother of all battles as arch rivals India and Pakistan meet in the group stages of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Sunday in Colombo. After the initial boycott by Pakistan and the subsequent retraction, this Group A match between the first-placed ‘Men in Blue’ and the second-placed ‘Green Shirts’ comes with our prediction of a Pakistan win.
Both teams have made winning starts to the campaign, registering two wins each from the first two matchdays. India have a slight edge in terms of net run rate, thanks to their massive win over Namibia. That shouldn’t mask their inability to play out the middle overs, which was evident against the USA and also Namibia.
Pakistan started with a nervy win over the Netherlands but have shown their worth in the comfortable victory over the United States. With a chance to post just their second win ever in the T20 World Cups against India, can Pakistan rise up to the occasion? Read more for our analysis, team news, and match predictions.
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India - Pakistan: Form Analysis
India defeated the United States by 29 runs in Mumbai and then blitzed past Namibia by 93 runs in the second match in Delhi. Both the matches saw the hosts go hard in the powerplay overs, although of concern would be their middle-order wobble.
Suryakumar Yadav (96 runs) had the most runs as a batter for the home team, while Ishan Kishan (SR 202.50) has been going hammer and tongs at the top. With the ball, Varun Chakravarthy (four wickets, ER 5.16) has been their best bet.
Varun has taken 2+ wickets in six of his last nine T20Is.
Pakistan started with a nervous three-wicket win over the Netherlands, where they were tested till the end. They followed it up with a confident 32-run win over the United States, with both games played at the SSC ground in Colombo.
Opener Sahibzada Farhan (120 runs, SR 166.66) has been Pakistan’s leading batsman and struck seven maximums in the tournament. Bowling duties have been shared, as four regular bowlers took three wickets each.
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India & Pakistan Squad Analysis
India had a few injury scares in the tournament with Jasprit Bumrah missing the first game and Abhishek Sharma missing the second. Questions remain over Abhishek’s availability, while Washington Sundar has rejoined the squad and is available for selection.
The ‘Men in Blue’ will wait till the last minute on Abhishek, but his absence will see Sanju Samson get another game. Conditions could dictate if they go with an additional spinner, in which case Washington may sneak in place of Shivam Dube or Rinku Singh.
Bumrah has 2+ wickets in three of his last four T20Is against Pakistan.
Pakistan have no injury concerns with their team selection in the tournament dictated solely by strategy. Salman Mirza played the first match while mystery spinner Usman Tariq played the second game.
There may be a discussion around unleashing the aggressive Khawaja Nafay in place of Usman Khan to give their middle-order a bit more power. Unless there’s a pacey pitch on offer, Abrar Ahmed and Tariq should line up as the spinners.
India - Pakistan Key Points
- India lost two of their last four T20Is played in Sri Lanka, excluding one settled via the Super Over.
- Pakistan have lost six of the eight T20Is they played against India in the World Cups, with one ending in a tie.
- Pakistan won five of their last six completed T20Is played in Sri Lanka.
- Pakistan won their last five T20Is.
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Our India vs Pakistan Prediction
Playing at a neutral venue adds a new dimension for this fixture, but for a change, Pakistan have an advantage. They are based out of Colombo for the tournament and have been playing all their games here. India had to shift between venues and will have to make a quick adjustment. The ‘Men in Blue’ also showed a few vulnerabilities in playing spin. That could give Pakistan a chance to upset the odds.
If the pitch takes a turn, it is an advantage for Pakistan, so our India vs Pakistan prediction is Pakistan wins.
India vs Pakistan Alternative Predictions
Usman Tariq Pakistan Top Bowler
There’s so much discussion around Usman Tariq, not just because of his unusual pause at the time of delivery. The mystery spinner can create doubts in the minds of the batsmen, and looking at India’s recent struggles in playing spin, Tariq could fancy his chances of leading the bowling charts.
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India vs Pakistan - FAQs
Disney Star is the licensee for this tournament in India. Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, and the other Star Sports regional channels will be broadcasting this match live. Jio Hotstar will stream the match live. In Pakistan, the match will be broadcast via PTV Sports and Geo Super, while Myco, Tamasha, AYR Zapp, and Tapmad are the online services streaming the game.
You can follow the game through our live scores. Check out our 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Livescore page!
The 20 teams were divided into four groups of five teams each.
Group A: India, Pakistan, United States, Netherlands, and Namibia.
Group B: Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Oman.
Group C: England, India, Pakistan, Italy, and Scotland.
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, and United Arab Emirates.
The 20 qualifying teams were divided into four groups of five each. In the group stage, each team plays each of the other teams in the group once in a round-robin format, and the top two teams in each group will advance to the Super 8 stage.
In the Super 8s, the teams would be placed into two groups of four teams each. Prior to the tournament, the ICC announced the eight seeded teams based on the ICC T20I rankings, who will be placed in predetermined positions in the Super 8 stage, irrespective of their position in the group stage. If an unseeded team qualifies at the expense of a seeded team, it will take the position of the corresponding seeded team that fails to qualify from their group. In the Super 8 stage, each team will play against each of the other teams in the group once. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage, which consists of two semi-finals, the winners of which face off in the final. No points would be carried over between stages.
All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
