ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | India thrash Pakistan by 61 runs to book Super 8 spot

Colombo: As much as fans from the subcontinent and the powers that be that run cricket try to romanticise the India-Pakistan rivalry, the harsh reality is it exists only in their minds or on paper. India, especially in T20 cricket, have raced so clear of Pakistan that the match-up between the two sides, which every broadcaster craves for, hardly lives up to the billing nowadays.

So Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium was no different. Despite the ad nauseam drama surrounding this ICC T20 World Cup Group contest over the last fortnight, it turned out to be another lop-sided affair as defending champions India hammered Pakistan by 61 runs to secure their passage into the Super Eights with a game to spare. 

After riding on a smash-and-grab 77 off 40 balls from Ishan Kishan and some late fireworks from Shivam Dube (27, 17b) and Rinku Singh (11 n.o., 4b) to post a competitive 175/7, the entire bowling unit came to the party in grand style to dismiss Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs.     

Kishan, who has been batting like a man possessed since making a stunning return from nowhere to the national team last month for the New Zealand series, yet again laid the foundation with his breathtaking hitting. On a tacky pitch where the rest of his batting colleagues struggled to force the pace against the sextet of Pakistan spinners, the other-worldly Kishan dismantled them with utter ease.

His strategy was simple: take the attack to them in the opening two or three balls, force them off their lines and lengths instantly, and then cash in on the remaining part of the over. To deploy that game plan, he either stepped down the track or shuffled around the crease, and it worked to the hilt for him. Pulls, cuts, power-packed shots straight down the ground, Kishan absolutely bludgeoned everything in his path.

The way Kishan was toying with the Pakistani spinners, racing to 50 off 27 balls in the seventh over, it looked like he may well go on to bring up the first century of this World Cup as Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha looked forlorn of ideas with none of his bowlers able to contain the Jharkhandi.

Kishan, however, started to cramp up and received extensive treatment after the eighth over to his right leg. Four balls later, Kishan departed, missing the ball while trying to cut the impressive Saim Ayub (3/25) that rattled his stumps. It was the wicket which Pakistan desperately wanted and they started to apply the chokehold on India with the spinners rediscovering their mojo.

Ayub, Mohammed Nawaz,  and Usman Tariz bowled slower through the air, making things really hard for Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Varma looked ragged while Suryakumar, despite trying his best, could only find the odd boundary. As the big hits dried up, the run-rate started to dip, going below 9 for the first time after 14 overs.

Pressure started to mount on Varma and Suryakumar and something had to give. Varma went for a wild sweep off Ayub and was adjudged LBW and a ball later Hardik Pandya perished while attempting a big shot. At 126/4 in the 15th over, the wheels appeared to be coming off the Indian innings. 

The big reason behind their phenomenal success in this format over the last two years is their ability to find multiple heroes when they are under the pump. This time Dube and Rinku rose to the occasion, their late flourish powering India to a competitive total. The bowlers then completed the demolition job.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA 

Kishan b Ayub 77

(40b, 10x4, 3x6)

Abhishek c Afridi b Agha 0

(4b) 

Varma lbw Ayub 25

(24b, 2x4, 1x6)

Suryakumar c Ayub b Tariq 32

(29b, 3x4)

Pandya c Azam b Ayub 0

(1b)

Dube (run out) 27

(17b, 3x4, 1x6)

Rinku (not out) 11

(4b, 1x4, 1x6)

Axar c Ayub b Afridi 0

(1b)

Extras (LB-2, W-1) 3 

TOTAL (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 175  

Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Abhishek), 2-88 (Kishan), 4-126 (Pandya), 5-159 (Suryakumar), 6-175 (Dube), 7-175 (Axar).

Bowling: Agha 2-0-10-1, Afridi 2-0-31-1, Ayub 4-0-25-3, Abrar 3-0-38-0, Shadab 1-0-17-0, Nawaz 4-0-28-0, Tariq 4-0-24-1 (w-1).

PAKISTAN 

Farhan c Rinku b Pandya 0

(4b)

Ayub lbw Bumrah 6

(2b, 1x6)

Agha c Pandya b Bumrah 4

(4b, 1x4)

Azam b Axar 5

(7b)

Usman st Kishan b Axar 44

(34b, 6x4, 1x6)

Shadab c Dube b Varma 14

(15b, 1x4)

Nawaz c Dube b Kuldeep 4

(5b, 1x4) 

Ashraf c Rinku b Chakravarthy 10

(14b, 1x4)

Afridi (not out) 23

(19b, 2x4, 1x6)

Abrar lbw Chakravarthy 0

(1b)

Tariq b Pandya 0

(3b)

Extras (LB-1, W-3) 4 

TOTAL (all out, 18 overs) 114

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Farhan), 2-6 (Ayub), 3-13 (Agha), 4-34 (Babar), 5-73 (Usman), 6-78 (Shadab), 7-78 (Shadab), 8-97 (Ashraf), 9-97 (Abrar).

Bowling: Pandya 3-1-16-2 (w-1), Bumrah 2-0-17-2 (w-1), Axar 4-0-29-2, Chakravarthy 3-0-17-2, Kuldeep 3-0-14-1, Tilak 2-0-11-1, Rinku 1-0-9-0.

Result: India won by 61 runs

PoM: Ishan Kishan.

India’s next match: Vs Netherlands (Feb 18, Ahmedabad).