T20 World Cup blockbuster: Pakistan elect to bowl first against India

KATHMANDU: In one of the most eagerly awaited fixtures of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and chose to bowl first against arch-rivals India national cricket team at the R. Premadasa Stadium on a thrilling night in Colombo.

The decision was driven by early bowling-friendly conditions, with Agha pointing to a tacky surface and the potential for assistance in the opening overs. “We want to bowl first.

The pitch looks a bit tacky and should help the bowlers early on. The ground is bigger than SSC and the surface is slower. We’re relaxed as a group and excited for this challenge,” Agha said, confirming Pakistan are going in with an unchanged XI.

The blockbuster Group A encounter carries major implications for qualification, with both sides pushing for top spot ahead of the knockout stages.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his team was happy with either outcome at the toss, revealing they had been planning to bat first regardless. “Not at all, we wanted to bat first anyway. We’ve defended well in our last two games, so we didn’t want to change our approach. It’s a big occasion and a high-stakes match — this sport teaches you a lot,” Surya said.

India rang in two changes for the marquee clash, with Abhishek Sharma returning to the XI and Kuldeep Yadav coming in for Arshdeep Singh.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan (w), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq

India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah