In a one-sided clash at the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Colombo on Sunday, Pakistan suffered a crushing 61-run defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India. India posted a formidable 175/7 in 20 overs after being asked to bat, with Ishan Kishan blasting a blistering knock of 77 off 40 balls to set the tone on a slow surface, giving India the momentum they needed after an early wicket of Abhishek Sharma.

Despite deploying a heavy spin attack, with six bowlers sending down 18 spin overs, Pakistan couldn’t bring the game in their favour, and their batters struggled to build partnerships. They were never in the game from the very outset after being bowled out for 114 in 18 overs. Speaking on Pakistan's defeat, head coach Mike Hesson revealed that players were pretty disappointed in the dressing room.

"We know that it's a huge event, Pakistan against India. We obviously won five games on the bounce, so we were confident, but today we got outplayed. But in terms of preparation, they guys prepared well. It's a pretty disappointed dressing room in there at the moment because they know how much it means to Pakistan. And we are really disappointed we didn't play as well as we could, but we're also part of the tournament, and we know in tournament play that it's not always going to go your way. So our job is to pick ourselves up and make sure that we're very good in two or three days," Hesson said at the press conference.

India’s bowling attack was incredible. Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya struck early in the powerplay, reducing Pakistan to 13/3. For Pakistan, only Usman Khan’s 44 offered resistance, as other batters failed to perform under pressure. Giving his assessment of the team's performance, Hesson said that there will be times when the team will be put under pressure.

"When the guys are putting you under pressure, are you going to stick to your basics, or are you going to go away from that?" Hesson asked. "And that's going to be a real challenge as the tournament progresses: we'll be put under pressure again, and that's how we respond when you are under the pump."

"All these guys are international players, they're all good players, but when the pressure comes on, are they going to trust the decision-making, or are they going to probably go outside? And today, pressure made us go outside there, and that's something that, for us to progress further in this tournament, it's something we are going to have to get better at," Hesson added.