Colombo, Sri Lanka – India continued its dominant run at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, defeating Pakistan by a comprehensive 61-run margin on , and securing their place in the Super 8s. The victory, achieved with a total of 175 for 7, represents the highest ever team total in a T20 World Cup contest between the two rivals.
The match, played at the Premadasa Stadium, saw a particularly impactful performance from Indian opener Ishan Kishan, who struck a blistering 77 off 40 balls. Kishan’s innings was characterized by a conscious effort to improve his off-side game, a facet of his batting he admitted to working on extensively. “I did work a lot on my off-side game,” Kishan said after being named Player of the Match. “It will give me the balls where I want them [opposition bowlers] to bowl if I play good shots on the off side.”
Facing a challenging, turning pitch, Kishan recognized the need to exploit the larger boundaries and find gaps in the field. “So, I was just trying to hit the gaps because it’s a big boundary and when it’s a big ground, you get bigger gaps,” he explained. “I was just trying to keep it simple, trying to hit the gaps, trying to at least take two runs because the wicket was not easy. I had that in mind that we need to put a total like 160-170 runs and it will be a very good total for us.” He ultimately exceeded that target, contributing significantly to India’s eventual score.
India’s innings wasn’t without its challenges. After losing Abhishek Sharma early, Kishan took control, building an 87-run partnership with Tilak Varma. While Varma’s contribution was more measured, Kishan’s aggressive strokeplay set the tone. He targeted both pace and spin, dispatching Pakistan captain Salman Agha and Saim Ayub for boundaries, and effectively neutralizing the threat of Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan. Reaching his half-century in just 27 balls underscored his dominance.
A mid-innings wobble saw India lose Kishan, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya in quick succession, slipping from 126 for 2 to 126 for 4. However, a steadying partnership between Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube, coupled with a strong finish that yielded 15 runs from the final over bowled by Shaheen Afridi, propelled India to their record-breaking total.
India’s seam attack then quickly dismantled Pakistan’s chase. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya combined to reduce Pakistan to 13 for 3 within the first two overs, dismissing Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, and Salman Agha. This early collapse proved insurmountable for Pakistan, who were eventually bowled out for 114.
Kishan praised the effectiveness of Bumrah and Pandya’s bowling. “I think they bowled tremendously well,” he said. “When I was batting [and] when Shaheen was bowling, I didn’t feel like the ball was doing much for the pace bowlers. But at the same time looking at them bowl two beautiful overs… so, yeah it was a plus point for us and especially we know how Jassi [Jasprit Bumrah] can bowl whether he has a new ball in his hand and whether he’s bowling in the death overs. Credit goes to Hardik Pandya for keeping it on the tight areas, bowling what we planned before the game and executing his plans pretty well.”
The Premadasa pitch heavily favored spin, with Pakistan utilizing 18 overs of it. However, even the spin bowlers struggled to contain India’s scoring rate. The two overs of pace from Shaheen Afridi proved costly, conceding 31 runs, highlighting the impact of India’s seamers at the start of Pakistan’s innings.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav highlighted Kishan’s crucial role in stabilizing the innings after the early loss of Sharma. “Ishan thought something out of the box. After 0 for 1, there had to be someone taking responsibility in the powerplay,” Suryakumar said. “He took that responsibility and he was amazing. We were very ahead in the powerplay. There was a little bit of slump between [overs] 7-15, but that’s the beauty of T20 cricket.”
With this victory, India tops Group A and advances to the Super 8s with a perfect three-win record. Pakistan, now facing elimination pressure, will need to defeat Namibia in their final group stage match to have any chance of progressing to the next round.
