Pakistan vs India: Hottest ticket in cricket sparks T20 World Cup fever
Emotions are expected to be high as every ball and shot is cheered or jeered in this high-stakes showdown between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours, whose dispute over Kashmir often spills onto the field.
Excitement is hitting fever pitch in Colombo and across South Asia after Pakistan decided to play against India in the T20 World Cup, reigniting the most lucrative match in cricket.
The hottest tickets in world cricket were hard to come by, despite Sunday evening's game in the Sri Lankan capital only being confirmed late on Monday.
The 35,000-capacity R.Premadasa Stadium was sold out, sources told AFP news agency, with tickets going for at least four times face value on the black market.
Prices of flights and hotel bookings to Colombo, Sri Lanka, have soared, with the cost of a room climbing as high as $660 a night from a typical price tag of about $100-$150 per night, multiple booking sites showed.
Flights from Chennai, which is about one and a half hours away, have more than tripled to around $623 - $756 while flights from Delhi are up more than 50 percent to roughly $666.
Nalin Jayasundera, President of Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) said hotels were booked out. "Most fans are coming on all-inclusive packages that could be $1,500-$2000 or even higher depending on ticket, hotel, and flight prices," Jayasundera said.
Buddhika Hewawasam, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, told Reuters news agency that in the first 10 days of February, roughly 20 percent of the 100,000 visitors to Sri Lanka were there for the India-Pakistan cricket match.
Hundreds of millions more will watch the match, which has given the tournament a shot in the arm, on television in India, Pakistan and beyond.
Kashmir tensions
Emotions are expected to be high as every ball and shot is cheered or jeered in this high-stakes showdown between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours, whose rivalry remains rooted in the 1947 partition of British India, subsequent wars, including those in 1947, 1965, 1971, and 1999, and ongoing disputes over Kashmir.
Both teams have two wins out of two in Group A, meaning the winner should be assured of a place in the Super Eights round.
The two bitter rivals only meet in global or regional tournaments these days and only on neutral territory.
It has been more than 18 years since India and Pakistan last met in a Test match, and 13 years since either side crossed the border to play a bilateral series.
They met three times in the T20 Asian Cup in Dubai last September, with India triumphant each time, including the final.
The TV audience for Sunday's clash has been tipped to break all records.
Wild estimates of a billion-plus watching are often bandied about for India v Pakistan games.
However, according to verifiable figures from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the most-watched match was the 2011 50-over World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka in Mumbai, which had 558 million unique viewers.
India's win over Pakistan in the semi-final of that tournament is second, with 495 million.
The match will likely generate multi-millions of dollars in advertising, broadcast rights, sponsorship and tourism.
However, the biggest and most lucrative clash in world cricket was only revived after a frantic weekend of negotiations.
The governments of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both wrote to their counterpart in Islamabad on Monday urging it to change its stance and allow the game to go ahead. They got their wish just before midnight.
After "multilateral discussions, as well as the request of friendly countries, the Government of Pakistan hereby directs the Pakistan National Cricket Team to take the field on February 15", the Pakistan government said.
The decision had been taken with the aim of "protecting the spirit of cricket", it said.
'No handshake' policy
The 20-team tournament had been overshadowed by an acrimonious political build-up.
Bangladesh, who refused to play in India after citing security concerns, were replaced by Scotland.
As a protest, the Pakistan government ordered the team on the eve of the tournament not to face India, which is co-hosting the tournament with Sri Lanka, before relenting eight days later.
The enduring India-Pakistan rivalry manifests in off-field tensions, notably India's 'no handshake' policy from 2025.
On September 14 2025, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav declined the customary pre-toss handshake with Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha, and following India's seven-wicket victory, the entire Indian team walked off without engaging in post-match handshakes, leaving Pakistani players waiting on the field.
Yadav later explained the decision as a deliberate stance aligned with the Indian government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which holds considerable influence over the ICC.
Pakistan expressed disappointment, with coach Mike Hesson calling the snub "disappointing" and not in the spirit of the game, while captain Agha skipped the post-match presentation in protest during one game.
The incident recurred in later Asia Cup matches, such as on September 21 2025, further straining relations.
India's last cricket tour of Pakistan was in 2008, for the Asia Cup. Since then, the Indian team has not visited Pakistan for any cricket fixtures, including bilateral series or multilateral tournaments.
As a result, India-Pakistan cricket encounters have been limited to neutral venues in major ICC or Asian cricket events.
Meanwhile, Lahore local Mian Sultan is looking forward to his trip to Sri Lanka to watch the game.
"I think it’s going to be a great experience," said Sultan, who spent $800 on a front-row seat to watch the game alongside a friend, who is flying in from New Zealand. "I’m really excited about this match."
Sultan added he thought Pakistan "absolutely" could come out on top on Sunday.