Pakistan vs USA Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan secure comfortable 32-run victory against USA

Ehsan Adil to Sahibzada Farhan, FOUR! Sahibzada Farhan gets off the mark with a boundary! On a length, on middle and leg, Sahibzada Farhan stays in his crease and heaves it magnificently over mid-wicket for a boundary. 

Ehsan Adil to Sahibzada Farhan, Hits the deck hard, outside off, Sahibzada Farhan punches it to the point fielder.

Ehsan Adil to Sahibzada Farhan, Wide! Sprays it down the leg side, Sahibzada Farhan tries to flick it but misses. Wided.

Ehsan Adil to Sahibzada Farhan, A touch fuller, on middle and leg, Sahibzada Farhan flicks it to the fielder at mid-wicket. 

Ehsan Adil to operate from the opposite end.

Saurabh Netravalkar to Saim Ayub, Good start from Saurabh Netravalkar despite the six. Length, on off, Saim Ayub pushes it to the fielder at cover. Just six runs off the over. 

Saurabh Netravalkar to Saim Ayub, Good length, shaping in, on off. Saim Ayub hops a bit and blocks it to the point fielder.

Saurabh Netravalkar to Saim Ayub, That's tight, but nothing from the umpire. Length, on middle and leg, Saim Ayub gets down on one knee and looks to whip it aerially, but misses and wears it on his pads. An appeal goes around for LBW, but is turned down. USA are confident and they send it upstairs to have a check. UltraEdge shows no spike and Ball Tracking shows that it was clipping the leg pole on umpire's call. The on-field call stands and it's NOT OUT!

Saurabh Netravalkar to Saim Ayub, SIX! LAUNCHED! On a length, on middle and leg, Saim Ayub takes a step forward and clatters it over long on for a biggie. Saim Ayub and Pakistan are underway.

Saurabh Netravalkar to Saim Ayub, On a length, on off, Saim Ayub drives it but finds the fielder at extra cover.

Saurabh Netravalkar to Saim Ayub, Starts with a dot! Short of a length, outside off, Saim Ayub shimmies down the ground and looks to loft it but misses. Intent straightaway by Ayub.

Right. The anthems are sung. It is now time to get down to real business in Colombo. Monank Patel leads his men out to the middle as the USA players spread across the park and take their spots on the field. Sahibzada Farhan ​​​and Saim Ayub are the two Pakistani openers. Ayub is marking his guard and will take the strike. Saurabh Netravalkar has the new ball and is raring to go. Had a very rough stint with the ball against India and will look to make amends right away. A slip in place. It is time to play...

The giant flags of both countries are unfurled in the middle as it is time for the national anthems. Both sets of players walk out along with the match officials and get lined up. It will be USA's first, followed by that of Pakistan's.

PITCH REPORT - Ramiz Raja calls it heavenly and cricket-perfect weather in Colombo. About the dimensions, he points out that the straight boundary is a very long one, measuring 80 meters, with the square boundaries being almost equidistant with 68 meters and 69 meters. Russel Arnod joins him and straightaway mentions that this is the third game at this venue and a fresh pitch is being used for this match. He also mentions that the extra bounce at this venue has caught everyone by surprise, pointing out that this surface has produced the highest bounce seen in the competition so far. However, he expects conditions to return closer to the usual SSC nature, suggesting teams need not read too much into what happened in the previous game, where batters were undone by shorter deliveries and extra bounce. Adds that several batters committed too early, taking the ball on the front foot, assuming a waist-high bounce, and overplayed as a result. Takes a closer look at the pitch and mentions that there is a good amount of grass on the surface, around three millimetres, and the pitch has been well rolled, making it look far better. Overall, he feels, it should be good for batting, with the ball coming nicely onto the bat and more runs on offer. Stresses that batting first or second is not a major factor, with execution being key. Expects the first innings score to be around 175 and that it would be a competitive one.

The captain of Pakistan - Salman Agha confirms one change to the XI, with Usman Tariq coming into the side in place of Salman Mirza, who misses out. He terms it a tactical call, adding that the team wanted to give Usman an opportunity, backing him as a match-winner. Agha also admits that there were areas that need serious improvement, revealing that the team addressed those aspects during a lengthy discussion in the team meeting.

The captain of the USA - Monank Patel says that they will bowl first as it looks like a good track and details that there is a good breeze blowing across as well. Adds once they know the target, they can chase it down. Mentions two changes in their side. Adds that they got a lot of positives from the last game and they need to do good with both bat and the ball. Adds that they have played against Pakistan before and they are full of confidence in this game.

USA (Playing XI) - Andries Gous (WK), Shayan Jahangir (In for Saiteja Mukkamalla), Monank Patel (C), Milind Kumar, Shubham Ranjane, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Saurabh Netravalkar, and Ehsan Adil (In for Ali Khan).

Pakistan (Playing XI) - Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (C), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (WK), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq (In for Salman Mirza), and Abrar Ahmed.