India vs Pakistan in T20 World Cups: every meeting, and the one Pakistan won

India and Pakistan have met nine times at the men’s T20 World Cup. India have won seven, Pakistan one, and the very first meeting was tied and settled by a bowl-out that India also won.

The one Pakistan won is the one everybody remembers: ten wickets, in Dubai, in 2021. It came at the 13th time of asking across both World Cups, and it is still the only time Pakistan have beaten India at a World Cup of any kind.

The most recent meeting was in Colombo on 15 February 2026, and it produced the biggest winning margin the fixture has seen at a World Cup. Here is every one of the nine, in order.

India vs Pakistan in T20 World Cups: every result

Date	Stage and venue	Result
14 Sep 2007	Group, Durban	Tied, India won bowl-out 3-0
24 Sep 2007	Final, Johannesburg	India by 5 runs
30 Sep 2012	Super 8, Colombo	India by 8 wkts
21 Mar 2014	Group, Mirpur	India by 7 wkts
19 Mar 2016	Group, Kolkata	India by 6 wkts
24 Oct 2021	Group, Dubai	Pakistan by 10 wkts
23 Oct 2022	Group, Melbourne	India by 4 wkts
9 Jun 2024	Group, New York	India by 6 runs
15 Feb 2026	Group, Colombo	India by 61 runs

Seven wins, one defeat, one tie. For the wider picture across all three formats — where the all-time record actually favours Pakistan — see our India vs Pakistan head-to-head.

2007, Durban: the bowl-out

Put in to bat in a Group D match at Kingsmead, India made 141 for 9, Robin Uthappa top-scoring with a fifty. Pakistan finished on exactly 141 for 7, Misbah-ul-Haq making a half-century, and the match was tied.

There were no Super Overs in 2007. The tie-break was a bowl-out: five bowlers from each side aiming at an unguarded set of stumps. Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Uthappa all hit; none of Pakistan’s three did, and India won it 3-0 without needing the last two attempts.

It is the reason two different all-time head-to-head totals get published. Some record-keepers score it as an India win, others as a tie decided by a tie-break.

2007, Johannesburg: the first final

They met again eleven days later at the Wanderers, in the final of the tournament. Gautam Gambhir made 75 from 54 balls and Rohit Sharma 30 from 16 to lift India to 157 for 5.

Pakistan were beaten but not by much. Misbah-ul-Haq had taken them to within 13 runs off the last over and had just hit a six when he tried to scoop Joginder Sharma over fine leg and picked out Sreesanth. India were bowled out of it by five runs, and MS Dhoni’s side became the first world champions in the format.

2012 to 2016: three chases, all comfortable

The next three meetings followed the same shape. Pakistan batted first, did not make enough, and India knocked it off.

Colombo, 2012. Pakistan were bowled out for 128 in 19.4 overs in a Super 8 game. Virat Kohli made 78 not out from 61 balls and India won by eight wickets with three overs to spare.

Mirpur, 2014. Pakistan managed 130 for 7. Kohli and Suresh Raina finished it off, India winning by seven wickets with nine balls left.

Kolkata, 2016. Rain cut the match to 18 overs a side and Pakistan made 118 for 5 on a slow Eden Gardens pitch. India lost three quick wickets before Kohli’s 37-ball 55 settled it, six wickets in hand.

Three matches, three Kohli innings, and none of them finished.

2021, Dubai: the ten-wicket night

This is the one that broke the pattern, and it broke it completely.

Shaheen Shah Afridi removed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul inside the first three overs and finished with 3 for 31. Kohli’s 57 got India to 151 for 7, which looked defendable and was not. Mohammad Rizwan made 79 not out from 55 balls and Babar Azam 68 not out from 52, and Pakistan chased it down without losing a wicket, with 13 balls to spare.

It was Pakistan’s first win over India at a World Cup, counting both formats, and it remains their only one. It is also the only ten-wicket result in the fixture’s history.

2022, Melbourne: Kohli’s 82 not out

Pakistan made 159 for 8 and had India 31 for 4 inside seven overs in front of more than 90,000 people at the MCG. What followed is the innings Kohli has said is the best he has played: 82 not out from 53 balls, including two shots off Haris Rauf in the 19th over that are still replayed constantly, and a finish that went to the final delivery.

India won by four wickets. Kohli’s 82 is the highest individual score anyone has made in an India-Pakistan T20 international, at a World Cup or anywhere else.

2024, New York: 119 defended

The Nassau County drop-in pitch made this the lowest-scoring meeting of the nine. India were bowled out for 119, Rishabh Pant top-scoring with 42, and Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah taking three each.

Pakistan needed 120 and could not get there. Jasprit Bumrah took 3 for 14 from his four overs and India won by six runs, with Pakistan finishing on 113 for 7. It is the only time either side has successfully defended a total under 150 in this fixture.

2026, Colombo: the biggest margin yet

The most recent meeting nearly did not happen. The Pakistan government initially instructed the team not to take the field for the Group A game at the R Premadasa Stadium on 15 February, which under ICC regulations would have handed India the points by forfeit. The instruction was reversed and the match went ahead.

India made 175 for 7, the highest total either side has posted in the nine meetings, with Ishan Kishan hitting 77 from 40 balls and taking the Player of the Match award. Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 18 overs, with Bumrah, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy and Hardik Pandya taking two wickets each.

India won by 61 runs and went on to win the tournament, beating New Zealand in the final at Ahmedabad for a third T20 World Cup title.

The records inside these nine matches

• Highest team total: India 175 for 7, Colombo, 2026. The second highest is India’s 160 for 6 at the MCG in 2022.
• Lowest team total: Pakistan 113 for 7, New York, 2024. India’s 119 all out in the same match is the second lowest.
• Biggest win by runs: India by 61, Colombo, 2026.
• Biggest win by wickets: Pakistan by 10, Dubai, 2021 — the only ten-wicket result.
• Highest individual score: Virat Kohli 82 not out, Melbourne, 2022.
• Best bowling: Mohammad Asif 4 for 18, Durban, 2007.

The number that describes the fixture best is a low one. Across the nine matches there have been eighteen innings, and seven of them finished under 130. For a fixture that carries this much noise, it has produced remarkably little scoring — until Colombo, no side had reached 161.

Virat Kohli’s record against Pakistan at T20 World Cups

Kohli scored 312 runs in six innings against Pakistan at T20 World Cups, at an average of 156. He was dismissed twice in the six: for 57 in Dubai in 2021 and for 4 in New York in 2024. The other four are 78 not out, 36 not out, 55 not out and 82 not out.

Four half-centuries, no hundred, and the highest score in the history of the fixture. He retired from T20 internationals after the 2024 tournament, so the record is closed.

When do India and Pakistan next meet at a World Cup?

The next global tournament is the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October and November 2027. The schedule has not been released. India and Pakistan have met at every ICC global tournament since 2013, so a fixture is the safe assumption rather than a certainty.

The next men’s T20 World Cup is due in 2028. Neither board has played a bilateral series against the other since 2012-13, so World Cups and the Asia Cup remain the only places these two meet.

India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup: quick answers

What is the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup head-to-head? Nine matches: India 7, Pakistan 1, one tie that India won on a bowl-out.

Has Pakistan ever beaten India at a T20 World Cup? Once, by ten wickets in Dubai on 24 October 2021.

What is the highest score in an India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match? India’s 175 for 7 at Colombo in February 2026. The highest individual score is Virat Kohli’s 82 not out at Melbourne in 2022.

Who won the 2007 bowl-out? India, 3-0, after the group match at Durban finished tied at 141 apiece.

Looking at the markets before the next one? Our cricket betting guide covers where to follow the fixture, and we keep a running list of the highest T20 scores for context on the totals above.

Featured photo: ALEXANDER JOE / AFP