Ahmedabad: India and Pakistan could meet again in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, after their group-stage clash in Colombo on February 15, which India won by 61 runs.
Pakistan, having sealed their Super 8 qualification with a record win over Namibia, are placed in Group B alongside England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. India are in Group A with South Africa, Zimbabwe and West Indies.
With the Super 8s played in a round-robin format and Groups A and B kept separate, there is no possibility of an India–Pakistan meeting at this stage.
The earliest the teams can meet again is in the semi-finals or the final. A semi-final meeting would require one team to top its group and the other to finish second, given the 1-versus-2 crossover format.
In that case, the semi-final involving India, scheduled for Mumbai, would be shifted to Colombo under the agreed hybrid model.
If both teams progress by winning their respective semi-finals against other opponents, a potential final between India and Pakistan would also be relocated from Ahmedabad to Colombo.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav has downplayed the rivalry, noting that the teams meet infrequently and that India hold an 8–1 advantage over Pakistan in World Cup meetings.
Yet, the fixture continues to carry enormous commercial and emotional weight among fans.
The group-stage contest itself followed a prolonged phase of political posturing involving the Pakistan government and
PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan’s interior minister. Any further meeting in the tournament would heighten the
spectacle and narrative around the competition.
Pakistan’s campaign began with a narrow three-wicket win over the Netherlands before the 61-run loss to India. They rediscovered momentum with a 102-run victory over Namibia, powered by Sahibzada Farhan’s unbeaten 100 off 58 balls and Usman Tariq’s four for 16 — their biggest win in T20 World Cup history.
India, by contrast, enjoyed a more settled group phase. Their batters produced competitive totals on what the captain described as “tricky T20 wickets”, and their
bowlers defended those scores effectively, winning all three matches against USA, Namibia and Pakistan.
India are expected to shift gears in the Super 8s, as assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate indicated, while Pakistan will look to build on the rhythm they found in their emphatic win over Namibia.