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ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026: In the T20 World Cup 2026, India once again defeated arch-rival Pakistan and not only added two important points but also changed the picture of Group A points table. With this one-sided victory of 61 runs, the Indian national cricket team has reached the top with six points and has confirmed its place in the Super-8. At the same time, Pakistan (Pakistan national cricket team) slipped to third place due to decline in net run rate, while USA (United States of America) came to second place.

Brief account of the match

Batting first, India scored a challenging score of 175 runs in 20 overs. The top order gave a solid start and the middle order maintained the run pace till the end. In reply, Pakistan’s innings could never get back on track. The series of wickets started from the initial overs and the entire team was reduced to 114 runs in 18 overs.

The Indian bowlers put in a collective performance—almost every bowler took a wicket. The disciplined line-length and the torrent of spin in the middle overs did not give Pakistan a chance to make a comeback.

India’s victory chariot intact

India has registered its third consecutive win in this tournament. Earlier, the team had defeated USA by 29 runs and Namibia by 93 runs. Now the 61-run victory over Pakistan has further strengthened the team’s confidence.

By registering three consecutive wins in three matches, India has collected 6 points and its Net Run Rate (NRR) has reached +3.050, which is the best in Group-A. If compared with other groups, only Sri Lanka is ahead of India in this matter, whose net run rate is +3.125 and remains at the top position in Group-B. However, the Sri Lankan team has not yet qualified for the Super-8.

Apart from this, in Group-C and Group-D, the teams of West Indies (Q) and South Africa have become table toppers by scoring hat-trick of wins.

Group-A Points Table: USA has advantage, Pakistan under pressure

After this match, there has been a change in the ranking of Group A. USA and Pakistan may have equal points (4-4), but due to Pakistan’s heavy defeat, its net run rate has gone down to -0.403, while USA’s is +0.788. This is the reason why USA has occupied second place. Whereas the teams of Netherlands and Namibia are in fourth-fifth place respectively.

Now the path to Super-8 is not easy for Pakistan. He has to play the last match of the group stage against Namibia. Namibia may have been out of the race after losing three matches, but with a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality, they can pull off a big upset.

increasing pressure on pakistan

In the match against India, Pakistan’s shortcomings in both batting and bowling departments were clearly visible. Wickets kept falling from the beginning and by the 18th over the team was all out. Even in bowling, failure to stop 175 runs had a deep impact on the net run rate.

Now Pakistan not only needs to win, but also needs to win by a big margin so that its net run rate can improve. On the other hand, the USA team will be hoping that somehow Namibia can pull off a big upset and defeat Pakistan on February 18.

the way forward

The situation is clear for India – ticket to Super-8 is confirmed. Now the team’s focus will be on maintaining the rhythm and further strengthening the combination. The real battle is for the second place in Group A, where USA and Pakistan face each other.

This stage of the tournament shows that a big defeat changes not just the points but also the net run rate equation—and this is the real challenge of the T20 format.