For decades, it has been marketed as cricket’s ultimate rivalry. From TV screens to social media, an India-Pakistan match is not just a game— the contest transcends sport, carrying the weight of history,
politics, pride and partition-era memory on every delivery bowled.
However, if one strips the numbers of emotion, the statistics tell a far less dramatic story where the scales of victory are overwhelmingly tipped in India’s favour on the sport’s biggest stages.
Sunday was no different as India put on a commanding performance to beat Pakistan by 61 runs in a Group A match at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium. In the highly anticipated clash at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, India’s Ishan Kishan was the standout with a blistering 77 off 40 balls as bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel chipped in with wickets and kept Pakistan under pressure. The neighbour collapsed early, losing key wickets and failing to build partnerships. Their innings ended at 114 all‑out in 18 overs—61 runs short of the target.
India vs Pakistan rivalry explained pic.twitter.com/5mmSA4M1Bp
— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) February 15, 2026
Numbers Show Who Rules The Roost
Over decades of World Cup clashes, India has consistently emerged on top, cementing a legacy of supremacy. The proof lies in the statistics.
At the ICC Cricket World Cup, the record is a staggering 8-0 in India’s favour, starting from 1992 through 2023. Pakistan have never defeated India in a 50-over World Cup match. In the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the imbalance is nearly as stark: India lead 8-1, with Pakistan’s lone victory coming in 2021. Even in the ICC Champions Trophy, often cited as more competitive, the head-to-head stands level at 3-3, though India have won the majority of high-pressure encounters outside Pakistan’s famous 2017 final triumph. Overall, in ICC tournaments, India lead 19-4.
Team India 🇮🇳 well done . India vs Pakistan is only hype no contest. Fan made rivalry but one way traffic on the field ….. Again . JAI HIND
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) February 15, 2026
A closer look reveals that across all formats combined—Tests, ODIs and T20 Internationals—the aggregate numbers are historically closer but still nuanced. Pakistan hold a narrow overall edge in total wins, largely built during the 1970s through early 2000s when bilateral cricket between the sides was more frequent. In Test cricket, Pakistan lead 12-9, though 38 of 59 matches ended in draws, reflecting an era of attritional contests. In One-Day Internationals, Pakistan’s 73 wins to India’s 58 give them the advantage numerically. But the modern T20 format flips the script decisively as India lead 12-3.
Since the early 2000s, particularly in white-ball cricket, India’s win ratio against Pakistan has surged, coinciding with India’s broader rise as a cricketing powerhouse.
The numbers reveal that while the emotion and the spectacle of an India-Pakistan match may still attract millions, statistically, especially in ICC tournaments, India are not just ahead but are comfortably, convincingly ahead.
Team India 🇮🇳 well done . India vs Pakistan is only hype no contest. Fan made rivalry but one way traffic on the field ….. Again . JAI HIND
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) February 15, 2026
What Rivalry?
Not just numbers, India’s captain too feels there’s not much “rivalry” left between India and Pakistan. Addressing the media during last year’s Asia Cup, Suryakumar Yadav, while responding to a reporter’s question, said: “I would like to say one thing on this question. I feel that you should stop asking this question on the rivalry.”
He added: “Standards and rivalry are the same. According to me, if two teams play 15-20 matches and if [head-to-head] it is 7-7 or 8-7, then that is called a rivalry. But 13-0, 10-1… I don’t know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry anymore. But yeah, I feel we played better cricket than them.”
SKY Was Absolutely Right When He Said There Is No Rivalry Between India 🇮🇳 And Pakistan 🇵🇰
India Is Simply Ahead Of Pakistan At The Moment. India Is Operating At A Different Level, In A Different League, And Right Now, Pakistan Is Not Even Close.#INDvsPAK #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/N0IKCsZDu6
— Laiba Abbasi 🏏 (@abbasiilaiba) February 15, 2026
On Sunday, vice-captain Axar Patel echoed the sentiment. “See, we are seeing them as a team. So, we are not thinking about these rivalry or whatever. So we are playing against one team, and we are just focusing on cricket. I treat it as one match against an opponent. So I’m not thinking about any rivalry or whatever.”
Other cricketing legends shared the view. Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh mocked the notion of an India-Pakistan match being the “greatest rivalry”, editing out the word “greatest” and calling it increasingly one‑sided due to India’s dominance in recent years.
Danish Kaneria, former Pakistan spinner, also said the hype around the rivalry has “faded” because Pakistan’s standards have dipped and India now appear far stronger, even without some of their star players.
Not just cricketers, but across all walks of life, celebrities questioned the one-sided nature of the contests. Actor Paresh Rawal took to X to say: “WHAT RIVALRY!”, capturing the feelings of many fans.
Actor Ajay Devgn praised the Indian team’s performance, sharing, “This brilliant team makes winning look like a cakewalk. Kya khela hai (What a game)!”
Ayushmann Khurrana echoed the sentiment about the contest’s lopsided nature, writing, “Aath Ek! The most anticipated match of the tournament was ironically the most one sided one. #INDvsPAK #worldcup.”
SKY Was Absolutely Right When He Said There Is No Rivalry Between India 🇮🇳 And Pakistan 🇵🇰
India Is Simply Ahead Of Pakistan At The Moment. India Is Operating At A Different Level, In A Different League, And Right Now, Pakistan Is Not Even Close.#INDvsPAK #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/N0IKCsZDu6
— Laiba Abbasi 🏏 (@abbasiilaiba) February 15, 2026
Filmmaker Kunal Kohli too chimed in, saying: “This has to go down in history as the most boring #INDvsPAK match EVER. Too one-sided. #Pakistan is nowhere near this #India team. This is not the greatest rivalry ever. Their previous teams were much better & put up close fights and great games. This team wouldn’t beat most of our IPL teams.”
With Sunday’s victory, India sealed their place in the Super 8 stage, while Pakistan now must win their remaining game (against Namibia) to have any chance of progressing.
