India outclass Pakistan to make it hat-trick of wins in T20 World Cup 2026

Team India made it a hattrick of wins in the 2026 T20 World Cup as they schooled Pakistan in what was a lopsided encounter in Colombo. Alongside the hattrick of wins, the Men in Blue also secured their 11th win in a row in T20 World Cups, establishing their dominance in the most unforgiving manner.

Winning the toss in Colombo, Pakistan opted to bowl first. There were two changes to the Indian side from the one that faced Namibia. Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma came in places of Arshdeep Singh and Sanju Samson. Much to India’s woes, they lost Abhishek Sharma (0) in the first over itself to Salman Ali Agha.

However, India’s immediate worries were put to bed as Ishan Kishan took over the reins and started regulating the innings sans any mercy. Tilak Varma (25) played a fine anchor at the other end as the duo added 87 runs for the second wicket from just 46 balls.

Kishan hammered 77 off 40, smashing 10 fours and three sixes before he finally fell off Saim Ayub’s bowling. Suryakumar Yadav walked into the center and looked good for his controlled knock of 32 from 29 balls as India found themselves in a fairly comfortable position. It was Saim Ayub who struck a double whammy to claim Varma and Hardik Pandya (0), landing India in some serious uncertainty.

Ayub almost clinched a hat-trick, delivering a peach to Dube but as fate would have it, there was an additional element of bounce, breaking the latter out of the immediate jeopardy. Dube (27) joined forces with his captain to come up with a crucial overhaul, propelling India to 159/5 at the end of 19 overs.

The last over was crucial for the Men in Blue with a chance of crossing the 170-barrier. Rinku Singh set foot on the gas, hammering 11* off four balls while Dube got himself a boundary on the first ball of the over too. It was more of an anti-climax for Team India as they lost two wickets in the last two balls of the innings, adding just a solitary run. India finished at 175/7 from 20 overs, which was a fairly fighting total on a track that showed signs of being a slow one.

India struck in the very first over itself as Hardik Pandya got the better of Sahibzada Farhan (0). Even before Pakistan could recover from the aftershock of losing Farhan, Bumrah delivered another thunderbolt, removing Saim Ayub (6) leg before wicket.

Up next in the long line of departees, it was the Pakistani captain, Salman Ali Agha (4) who fell in the same over as Bumrah left the Men in Green stranded. Usman Khan (44) put up a crucial knock of resistance at one end but at the other, it was just despair for Agha and company.

Axar Patel removed Babar Azam (5) with an under-cutter, reducing Pakistan to 34/4. Shadab Khan (14) did come up with somewhat of an anchoring stand at the other end to support Usman but it wasn’t enough to offer the much-needed oxygen to the chase.

Patel removed Usman Khan as Ishan Kishan affected a clean stumping and that marked the beginning of the end for Pakistan. Mohammad Nawaz (4), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf (10), Abrar Ahmed (0) and Usman Tariq (0) were all gone in no time.

Shaheen Shah Afridi came up with a late charge, staying unbeaten for 23 off 19. However, India were home without breaking a sweat. They secured a monumental win by 61 runs, bolstering their grip on the pole position with six points and a NRR of +3.050 as well as a spot in the Super Eights.

Ishan Kishan secured the Player of the Match award for his scintillating performance with the bat.