Colombo, Feb 15 (IANS) On a tacky, spin-friendly pitch at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Ishan Kishan rose above conditions to continue his purple patch and smash a sensational 77 off 40 balls to set up India’s 61-run win over Pakistan in the Men’s T20 World Cup Group A clash in Colombo and seal their place in the Super Eights stage.
Kishan’s knock, laced with 10 fours and three sixes, proved to be decisive in a contest in which18 of the 20 overs bowled at India were spin. His audacity ensured the defending champions finished with 175/7, a total that looked 30 runs above par. Pakistan’s chase never recovered from the early blows inflicted by Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah to vindicate the sense that India had already done enough.
Usman Khan’s 44 off 34 was the lone bright spot, but his effort only kept the scoreboard moving rather than altering the course of the game, as Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 18 overs by a disciplined Indian bowling outfit executing its plans with precision.
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.
The impact of Kishan’s innings was stark in the numbers. After Abhishek Sharma fell for a duck to Salman Agha’s off-spin, the rest of India’s batting, including extras, managed just 98 off 80 balls – a return which is more reflective of the sluggish pitch on offer. Kishan’s fireworks, however, had already tilted the balance, and once Pakistan’s top order imploded in the power-play, India’s comprehensive win over their arch-rivals became inevitable.
India’s chase began on a nervy note as fit-again Abhishek Sharma miscued a chip to off Salman Ali Agha’s off-spin and departed for a duck. Kishan, however, wasted little time in asserting himself as he dispatched Shaheen Shah Afridi over square leg for six. A streaky inside edge brought him another boundary, while Tilak Varma opened his account with an edge going past slip for four, as 15 runs came off the second over.
Kishan greeted Salman with a lofted four over mid-on, before punishing a short ball from Saim Ayub over square leg for another boundary. Though a couple of deliveries stopped in the pitch, Kishan maintained his tempo by welcoming Abrar Ahmed with a towering six behind square before cutting him through cover for four.
Kishan survived a close call when mid-on almost took his catch, and got a boundary before finding another boundary via a cut. Tilak, meanwhile, edged one past short third for four as India ended power-play at 52/1. When Abrar came for his second over, Kishan opened his bat face for a deft glide past short third for four, before unfurling two commanding strokes – a lofted drive over the bowler’s head and a blistering extra-cover hit – to bring up his half-century off just 27 balls.
Shadab Khan’s introduction did little to halt the run-flow as Kishan swept him over fine leg for four and then launched a towering six over deep mid-wicket, with the sound off the bat echoing across the ground. But after unfurling a dazzling reverse hit over backward point, Kishan was undone by a ripper from Saim Ayub, which gripped and turned sharply from leg stump, as the opener backed away far too early and could see the ball crash into the stumps.
Suryakumar Yadav announced his arrival by pulling Usman Tariq’s first ball through the gap between long-on and deep mid-wicket for four. Soon after, Tilak Varma produced the stroke of the evening – a majestic lofted six off Mohammad Nawaz going over extra cover, before Suryakumar survived a tight lbw review off Nawaz.
India’s measured approach through the middle overs was disrupted soon after the drinks break as Ayub returned to trap Varma lbw, after being beaten while attempting a sweep. One brought two for Pakistan as Hardik Pandya, promoted to accelerate, miscued a carrom ball and holed out to long-off for a golden duck.
Ayub nearly had a hat-trick – getting one to dip, turn, and bounce past Shivam Dube’s defensive shot and missed the stumps by inches. Pakistan even wasted a review for a caught behind, as the ball had missed the edge comfortably.
From there, Suryakumar and Shivam Dube hit four boundaries between themselves before the former mistimed a slog to deep mid-wicket off Tariq. Dube and Rinku Singh hit three boundaries in the final over off Shaheen before the former and Axar Patel fell on the last two balls of the innings, as 35 runs came in the last three overs.
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 two 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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