Politics

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake attended the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match at the R Premadasa International Stadium in Colombo. He was joined by important officials, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath and Minister of Sports Sunil Kumara Gamage. The VIP box also hosted Shammi Silva, the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the President of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Mohsin Naqvi, and the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). In the match, Pakistan won the coin toss and chose to bowl first against India. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Ali Agha, during the toss in front of a full crowd at the Premadasa Stadium. Both teams have played two matches in the tournament, earning four points each. However, India is at the top of the points table due to a better net run rate, placing Pakistan in second. Historically, India leads their matchups in T20 format, with 13 wins out of 16 meetings, while Pakistan has won three times. This game marks the first meeting between the two teams since the Asia Cup final last year, which occurred amid military tensions that nearly led to war between the two nuclear-armed nations. The match comes after a recent period of uncertainty when Pakistan briefly threatened to boycott the tournament, which nearly affected this key fixture.