India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup: Sahibzada Farhan fires warning before ‘normal’ clash against Men in Blue
Farhan was speaking after Pakistan beat the USA by 32 runs at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club on Tuesday to maintain their winning momentum in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. His attacking knock set up the victory and kept Pakistan at the top of the group.
Now, the focus shifts to February 15, when Pakistan face India in a high-voltage group-stage fixture. Farhan made it clear that his team is ready for the occasion.
“When you win two matches and are at the top of the table, you feel confident. The upcoming match is not such a big deal; we’re not playing against them for the first time. We’ve played before, and this time we’ll play with a different mindset,” he said during the post-match press conference, according to the ICC.
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Farhan struck 73 off 41 balls, hitting six fours and five sixes, as Pakistan posted 190/9. Shadab Khan’s all-round performance then sealed a comfortable win over the USA.
Talking about the total, Farhan said, “The pitch was amazing, but making 190 on such a pitch was also a big deal. As you have seen over the last 5-6 months, we have been comfortably making 190-200 runs. We have put a lot of effort into it.”
He also spoke about his conversation in the middle, saying, “After the first over, I told Saim that you have to utilise the circle, just like I did. So 190, definitely in terms of this pitch, was very good.”
With two wins from two matches, Pakistan sit on four points and lead Group A. They now face India on Sunday in what is widely seen as the biggest contest of the first phase.
When asked if the India-Pakistan match could be one-sided, Farhan replied, “We didn’t play a one-sided match till the end, and hopefully this time again we’ll play a wonderful game.”
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On his own form ahead of the clash, he said, “I think when you make runs, you are confident. I am also very confident, and the way the last two innings have gone, I’m very confident. It’s a normal match. We’ll play like a normal match. We won’t put it in our head that this is an India-Pakistan match; it is a normal match, and we will play it like a normal match.”
Earlier, after Pakistan confirmed they would play the fixture, Farhan said: “The match is on and we are in a confident mood.”
Looking back at last year’s T20 Asian Cup, where India beat Pakistan three times on the way to lifting the trophy in Dubai, Farhan said, “This time it will be different and we will give a strong performance.
“We lost all three matches including the final to India in the Asia Cup but they were not one-sided.”
On the Indian side, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said Tuesday it would be “a challenge” to face a “quality” Pakistan team in Colombo after Islamabad reversed its earlier decision and agreed to play the February 15 match.
The Pakistan government late Monday ended a week-long stand-off by withdrawing its order for the team to boycott the game.
“It’s great that the game is back on, we kind of never changed the preparation,” said Ten Doeschate.
India will play their second Group A match against Namibia on Thursday in New Delhi before flying to Sri Lanka, making it a quick turnaround before Sunday’s clash.
“It’s going to be a challenge going to Colombo where Pakistan have been for the last two weeks,” Ten Doeschate said.
“We are delighted to have another chance to play against a quality side in the first phase of the tournament.
“We are fully focused on just bringing our best game to that fixture.”
Pakistan’s decision to go ahead with the match was welcomed on Tuesday as an outbreak of “good sense” and described as “good for cricket”.
A busy weekend of talks saw International Cricket Council and Bangladesh Cricket Board chiefs travel to Lahore on Sunday for discussions with the Pakistan Cricket Board. The governments of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both wrote to Islamabad on Monday, urging it to allow the match to go ahead.
For Indian fans, Sunday now promises another chapter in a rivalry that rarely follows a script.
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