ICC Men’s T20 WC 2026 | Match 12: Pakistan vs USA | Preview and Predictions

Two teams who went through a roller-coaster of a game in their respective opening games sees Pakistan take on the United States of America in Colombo with Pakistan looking to build on their winning start while the USA are looking for their first win in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. 

Here, we present our preview and predictions for the game.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 12: PAK vs USA | 19:00, February 10, 2026

The Pakistani team had a near-nightmarish start to their T20 World Cup 2026 after barely escaping from the jaws of defeat against Netherlands in their opening game. Choosing to field first, the Pakistani bowlers were on top from the get go as on a slow Colombo strip, the likes of Salman Mirza, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed and even Saim Ayub had a strong outing, staying economical and amongst the wickets. Playing their games in Colombo also means that the Pakistani team has an added advantage over the other teams and would get used to the conditions better than the rest.

While the bowlers started strong for Pakistan, the batters almost let them down. After a brisk start from Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan suffered a stunning collapse, going from 98-2 to 114-7. The middle and lower order had no answer to the slow and turning ball and if it wasn’t for Faheem Ashraf’s late game-changing cameo, the Pakistani team would be in dire conditions right now.

The United States of America meanwhile, almost pulled off a stunning upset also but fell short and weren’t able to capitalise on their early onslaught. The USA had co-hosts, India, reeling at 77-6 on a turning and two-paced Wankhede pitch with the American spinners causing all sorts of trouble for the storied Indian batting lineup. While their bowling unit had a stunning outing with Shadley van Schalkwyk stepping up with a big four-wicket haul, USA will be sweating on their pacer Ali Khan’s fitness with the right-arm quick going off the field after his two overs and wasn’t able to complete his quota, despite impressing with a quick opening spell.

The batting meanwhile struggled against a strong bowling attack but there were some positives with the way the likes of Milind Kumar, Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Shubham Ranjane got runs under their belt.

The Colombo ground was a slow and gripping track in its opening game and expect more of the same with the spinners to have a big game. While Pakistan are the higher ranked team, the United States have already shown that they can take down Pakistan on their day and we have the underdogs as the surprise winners in this encounter after putting up a spirited showing against India.

Fantasy XI: Andries Gous (wk), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam (c), Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan (vc), Shubham Ranjane, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Ali Khan, Shadley van Schalwyk, Salman Mirza

Venue: Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo
Winners Prediction: USA