Colombo, Feb 15 (IANS) Defending champions India brushed aside Pakistan by 61 runs in their high-stakes Group A clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, a result that also confirmed their place in the Super Eights. Ishan Kishan’s blistering 77 had set the tone earlier in the evening, and India’s bowlers ensured the target of 176 was always out of reach as they dismissed Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs.
Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah struck early, with Pakistan’s top order also undone by poor shot selection. Usman Khan offered resistance with a fluent 44, but his dismissal to Axar Patel extinguished any lingering hopes, as the rest of the bowling attack was disciplined throughout and never let go of the pressure on the batters.
For Pakistan, the collapse was another reminder of their batting frailties in high-pressure contests. Their total of 114 was their third-lowest in T20 World Cup history, behind the 82 against West Indies in 2014 and 113 against India in 2024. India, meanwhile, will take heart from Kishan’s fireworks, providing the platform for the win, while the bowlers executed their plans with precision.
Hardik Pandya set the tone with a wicket maiden opening over, denying Sahibzada Farhan any scoring opportunities before forcing him into a mistimed pull that ballooned to mid-on and dismissed him for a four-ball duck.
Jasprit Bumrah then struck twice in quick succession — first deceiving Saim Ayub with an inswinger after hitting a streaky six, and then removing Salman Agha when he chipped tamely to mid-on. At 13/3 inside two overs, Pakistan’s chase was already in disarray.
Usman Khan briefly lifted spirits with a pair of elegant inside-out boundaries off Axar Patel, but Babar Azam’s dismissal on the slog-sweep left Pakistan tottering at 34/4 in the fifth over. Usman, however, stood tall, striking four more boundaries to reach 43 off 31 balls.
Yet the equation remained steep for Pakistan, with 105 runs needed from the final 10 overs. Kuldeep Yadav’s miserly 10th over proved to be decisive. Having denied Usman a boundary, he forced the batter into hitting riskier strokes against Axar in the following over. Axar anticipated the charge and fired one in to have Usman stumped for 44 off 34 balls.
With that, Pakistan’s faint hopes of acing the uphill chase evaporated. The procession continued as Kuldeep removed Mohammad Nawaz with a full toss, before Tilak Varma struck with his very first ball to have Shadab Khan hole out to long-off.
At 78/7 in 12.1 overs, Pakistan’s chase had unravelled completely, as India’s spinners and seamers combined to leave the contest all but decided in favour of the defending champions. Varun Chakaravarthy got two wickets while Pandya, after seeing catches being dropped off his bowling twice, knocked back Usman Tariq’s middle stump to ensure India hammered Pakistan in the T20 World Cup yet again.
Brief scores:
India 175/7 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 77, Suryakumar Yadav 32; Saim Ayub 3-25, Salman Agha 1-10) beat Pakistan 114 all out in 18 overs (Usman Khan 44, Shaheen Shah Afridi 23; Hardik Pandya 2-16, Varun Chakaravarthy 2-17) by 61 runs
–IANS
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