Team India will face arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling encounter at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, during the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Both teams remain unbeaten in the tournament.
India and Pakistan will compete on 15th February at 7:00 PM IST in the headline match of the event. Initially, there were concerns about a Pakistan boycott in solidarity with Bangladesh, who had to be replaced by Scotland due to security issues in the T20 event hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Following Pakistan’s U-turn on their boycott decision, fans have scurried at the chance of catching a glimpse of the biggest cricketing spectacle in the Indian sub-continent as flight and hotel bookings in Colombo have experienced a massive surge.
The match will be witnessed
by a sold out crowd at the Premadasa, while the prices of hotel around matchday have skyrocketed, facing a nearly 6-fold increase. Packed flights from across the metropolitan areas of India are expected to land in Colombo, despite the air fares facing a three-time spike.
“Most fans are coming on all-inclusive packages that could be $1,500-$2000 or even higher depending on ticket, hotel, and flight prices,” President of Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators, Nalin Jayasundera said.
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Buddhika Hewawasam, revealed that a sizeable chunk of tourists who have flocked in to the island nation, known to be a traveler’s haven for its scenic beauty and relative cheap cost of living, since the beginning of the month travelled down to get a sight of the top-billed clash.
“This is clearly showing confidence in Sri Lanka as a neutral cricket venue. Whether it’s India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, this is a welcome message to all South Asian countries that they can play cricket in Sri Lanka,” Hewawasam said.
Sri Lanka also cite this as an opportunity to prove their virtue as a neutral venue, which has the bandwidth to host the heated rivalry, going forward.
India began their campaign with a victory over the USA, followed by a win against Namibia in their second match. Meanwhile, Pakistan narrowly escaped a defeat against the Netherlands in the opening game before securing a convincing win over the USA in their next Group A match.
