T20 World Cup 2026: Can USA trump Pakistan again?
What's the story
Pakistan and the USA will clash in Match 12 of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on February 10. Both teams are coming off contrasting performances in their opening matches of the tournament. While Pakistan narrowly defeated the Netherlands, the USA lost to India despite a valiant effort from India's Suryakumar Yadav. Notably, the USA upset Pakistan as co-hosts in the 2024 event.
Match preparation
Pitch report and weather update
Pakistan played their first match at this venue, the SSC, which has been bowling-friendly. The surface will continue to be slow. Anything over 150 could be a decent score here. Even the Zimbabwe-Oman encounter was low-scoring, with Oman perishing for 103. Notably, the stadium could have a cloud cover throughout the match, but rain is unlikely to be an entrant.
Pakistan
Pakistan need to up the ante
Although Pakistan beat the Netherlands, their win looked highly unconvincing. They were reeling at 114/7 while chasing a modest 148. The match highlighted their vulnerability and lack of confidence in the ICC tournaments. Despite a stellar performance by Faheem Ashraf, the team's middle order remains a major concern. Babar Azam needs to come out of his run-a-ball shell. They could perish against the strong USA bowling attack, which shone against India.
USA
USA eye first points on board
The USA, who pulled off a major upset against Pakistan two years ago, are eyeing their first points in the 2026 edition.They came close to upsetting India in their last match but fell short. The encounter was at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This means the USA will have a different challenge in Colombo with contrasting conditions. Notably, they could miss the services of Ali Khan, who sustained an injury during the India game.
Probable XIs
A look at likely XIs
Pakistan (Likely XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, and Abrar Ahmed. USA (Likely XI): Andries Gous (wicket-keeper), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Monank Patel (captain), Milind Kumar, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Shubham Ranjane, Harmeet Singh, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Jasdeep Singh, and Saurabh Netravalkar.
Stats
Milestones approaching and notable numbers
The USA made a big leap after stunning Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup in Dallas. They won the Super Over after restricting Pakistan to 159/7. Meanwhile, the impending encounter could see Monank Patel become the first USA player to 1,000 T20I runs (currently at 920). Nawaz requires four more to complete 100 wickets in the T20 World Cup.