T20 World Cup: Ishan Kishan blitz guides India to big win over Pakistan
Salman Ali Agha's side found itself clueless against a formidable India bowling attack and were bowled out for 114, chasing 176
India continued their dominance over Pakistan in cricket as they defeated the arch-rivals in the T20 World Cup 2026 by 61 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday (February 15), to advance to the tournament's Super Eight stage from Group A.
The Green Shirts, on the other hand, saw themselves pushed to the third position in the table after the loss, trailing the United States in the net run rate (-0.40 against +0.78) despite having an equal number of points (four). They would have to beat Namibia in their final group fixture comprehensively to make the Super Eight.
Coming to Sunday's clash, batting first, the defending champions and co-hosts put up a total of 175 for 7 in 20 overs after Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and asked them to bat first. In reply, Pakistan never looked to be in the race and was bowled out for 114 in 18 overs. India have now extended their lead over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup to 8-1.
Also read: Ind vs Pak: Photos from India’s training session in Colombo
Pakistan had their worst possible start to the chase as they lost explosive opener Sahibzada Farhan in the very first over to Hardik Pandya for nought while ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, after conceding a 'mistimed' six to Saim Ayub, picked him as well as Agha, leaving the opponents reeling at 13 for 3, a precarious position from which they never recovered.
Axar Patel (2/29) compounded Pakistan's woes by clean bowling Babar Azam (5) and later dismissing the well-set keeper-batter Usman Khan (44 off 34 balls), as the innings lurched from one setback to another.
Usman and Shadab Khan (14) had sparked a brief resurgence with a 39-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but the former's dismissal triggered yet another collapse in the Pakistan innings. In bowling, India produced a team effort with every bowler, barring Rinku Singh, who bowled one over, picking wickets.
Also read: Why Pakistan withdrew boycott of India T20 WC game, and who won | AI With Sanket
While Pandya, Bumrah, Axar and Varun Chakravarthy claimed two each, Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak Varma had one apiece. Varun came close to a hat-trick by claiming his wickets (Faheem Ashraf and Abrar Ahmed) in successive balls.
Ishan Kishan led India's charge
Earlier, in-form opener Ishan Kishan hit a brisk 77 off 40 balls as India posted a total of 175 for 7 in 20 overs.
Despite his cramps, the southpaw slammed 10 fours and 3 sixes in his knock on a track that didn't look to be a batting paradise, taking the attack to Pakistan's spin-heavy battery. Captain Suryakumar Yadav made 32 off 29 balls while Varma, the hero of India's Asia Cup triumph against the same opponents last September, scored 25.
Also read: T20 World Cup: How India-Pakistan boycott exposes cricket’s fragility
Play was briefly halted as Kishan required attention from the team physio due to discomfort in his right leg. But he did not last long after that as off-break bowler Saim Ayub castled him.
The partnership between Kishan and Varma yielded 87 runs, stabilising the innings after the early setback.
Ayub struck again later, removing Varma and a dangerous Hardik Pandya in successive balls and also almost took a hat-trick as his delivery came too close to Shivam Dube's (27) bat and the stumps. Dube, who got run out in the final over due to a misunderstanding with Rinku Singh, hit three fours and one six to push the India total close to 180.
A hot fixture of T20 WC
The current game has emerged as a hot focus after all the drama around the subcontinent’s cricket, with Pakistan first refusing to play India and then taking a U-turn following hectic parleys between their board and the International Cricket Council (ICC) and even the Bangladesh Cricket Board, which also refused to send its team to India on security grounds.
Also read: T20 World Cup 2026: Full schedule, groups, venues, format after Bangladesh exit
And like a previous occasion, India continued its no-handshake policy, a fallout of the Pahalgam terrorist attack last year, with Suryakumar and his Pakistani counterpart Agha avoiding the usual courtesy during the toss.
Follow live updates of the India vs Pakistan game here.
Live Updates
- 15 Feb 2026 6:50 AM IST
BJP MLA demands forensic test of Karnataka CM's signature amid fake note row
A day after police registered a case over a fake note purportedly issued from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) in Karnataka, BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar escalated his attack on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday, demanding a forensic probe into the document and questioning the CMO's functioning.
Police registered the case against an unidentified person on Friday, following a complaint from the CMO over the circulation on social media of the fake note, which falsely claimed that a district health and family welfare officer in Mandya was posted as the deputy commissioner of excise in Mysuru.
The case was lodged at the Vidhana Soudha police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provisions relating to forgery and the use of forged documents. The CMO has alleged that the act was carried out with malicious intent to bring disrepute to the chief minister and the Congress government in the southern state.
"If the letter bearing the Chief Minister's signature itself is fake, should we not reflect on how the Chief Minister's Office is functioning?" Kumar asked in a post on X a day after the case was filed. The BJP MLA from Karkala said the controversy raises serious questions on administrative oversight.
- 15 Feb 2026 6:48 AM IST
Zelenskyy says questions remain for allies over security guarantees for Ukraine
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked his international allies for their support but suggested there was still questions remaining over the future security guarantees for his country.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday, Zelenskyy repeatedly thanked American and European allies for helping Ukraine by providing air defence systems that protect infrastructure like power plants and "save lives".
Previous US-led efforts to find consensus on ending the war, most recently two rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, have failed to resolve difficult issues, such as the future of Ukraine's Donbas industrial heartland that is largely occupied by Russian forces.
Later with reporters, Zelenskyy questioned how the concept of a free trade zone — proposed by the US — would work in the Donbas region which Russia insists Kyiv must give up in order to get peace. He also said the Americans want peace as quickly as possible and that US team wants to sign all the agreements on Ukraine at the same time whereas Ukraine wants guarantees over the country's future security signed first.
European nations, including the UK and France, have already said they will commit troops to Ukraine to guarantee its future security. The US is also expected to be involved and discussions are currently ongoing about the nature of America's support.
- 15 Feb 2026 6:47 AM IST
Four new astronauts arrive at International Space Station to replace NASA's evacuated crew
The International Space Station has returned to full strength with the arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns.
SpaceX delivered the US, French and Russian astronauts on Saturday, a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral.
Last month's medical evacuation was NASA's first in 65 years of human spaceflight. One of four astronauts launched by SpaceX last summer suffered what officials described as a serious health issue, prompting their hasty return. That left only three crew members to keep the place running — one American and two Russians — prompting NASA to pause spacewalks and trim research.
Moving in for eight to nine months are NASA's Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France's Sophie Adenot and Russia's Andrei Fedyaev. Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former military pilot, have lived up there before. During her first station visit in 2019, Meir took part in the first all-female spacewalk.
- 15 Feb 2026 6:45 AM IST
At least 6,000 killed over 3 days during RSF attack on Sudan's el-Fasher, UN says
More than 6,000 people were killed in over three days when a Sudanese paramilitary group unleashed “a wave of intense violence … shocking in its scale and brutality” in Sudan's Darfur region in late October, according to the United Nations.
The Rapid Support Forces' offensive to capture the city of el-Fasher included widespread atrocities that amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, the UN Human Rights Office said in a report released on Friday.
“The wanton violations that were perpetrated by the RSF and allied Arab militia in the final offensive on el-Fasher underscore that persistent impunity fuels continued cycles of violence,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
The RSF and their allied Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, overran el-Fasher, the Sudanese army's only remaining stronghold in Darfur, on Oct. 26 and rampaged through the city and its surroundings after more than 18 months of siege.
The 29-page UN report detailed a set of atrocities that ranged from mass killings and summary executions, sexual violence, abductions for ransom, torture and ill-treatment to detention and disappearances. In many cases, the attacks were ethnicity-motivated, it said.
- 15 Feb 2026 6:43 AM IST
US, Iran to hold new round of nuclear talks in Geneva, says Swiss govt
Iran and the United States will hold a second round of talks over Tehran's nuclear programme next week, the Swiss Foreign Ministry has said.
Oman, which welcomed the first round of indirect talks on February 6, will host the talks in Geneva, the Swiss ministry said on Saturday, without specifying which days. After the first discussions, US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that failure to reach an agreement with his administration would be "very traumatic".
Similar talks last year broke down in June as Israel launched what became a 12-day war on Iran that included the US bombing Iranian nuclear sites. Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to constrain its nuclear programme. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump also has threatened Iran over its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests there.
Gulf Arab nations have warned any attack could spiral into another regional conflict. Trump said Friday the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, was being sent from the Caribbean to the Mideast to join other military assets the US has built up in the region. He also said a change in power in Iran "would be the best thing that could happen".
