COLOMBO: India launched their T20 World Cup title defense in commanding fashion, thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan by 61 runs in Colombo to seal a place in the Super 8 stage.
Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India followed up comfortable wins over the United States and Namibia with a dominant performance against Pakistan in Group A. The victory confirmed India’s qualification for the next round.
Pakistan, meanwhile, remain in a tight race to advance. With two wins and one defeat from three matches, they sit third in the group, level on points with second-placed United States.
Pakistan must beat Namibia on February 18 at the R. Premadasa Stadium to keep their Super 8 hopes alive.
India and Pakistan regularly meet in ICC and Asian Cricket Council tournaments, but the intensity of their rivalry never fades. The latest result has once again fueled global interest in a potential rematch later in the tournament.
Under the tournament format, the top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the Super 8 stage. The eight qualifiers split into two groups, where each team plays the others in a round-robin format. The top two sides from each group progress to the semifinals.
Before the tournament, the ICC seeded the top eight ranked teams directly into designated Super 8 groups. Under this structure, India and Pakistan were placed in separate Super 8 groups to avoid an immediate rematch and to maintain competitive balance.
As a result, the two rivals can now only meet again in the knockout stage.
A semifinal clash becomes possible if both teams reach the last four and one finishes first in its Super 8 group while the other qualifies as runner-up.
Also Read: India beat Pakistan by 61 runs in World Cup match
An even bigger showdown could unfold in the final on March 8. If both sides top their respective Super 8 groups and win their semifinals, the title decider would produce a historic India-Pakistan final — a match certain to draw record global television audiences.
