ISLAMABAD (Monitoring):- India confirmed its qualification for the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage following a 61-run victory over Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Defending champions India posted a total of 175-7, anchored by a 40-ball 77 from opener Ishan Kishan. Despite a record-breaking strategy from Pakistan—becoming the first team to employ six different spinners in a T20 World Cup match—India managed to set a challenging target on a pitch that offered significant assistance to the slow bowlers.
Pakistan’s bowling effort was highlighted by captain Salman Ali Agha, who opened the attack himself to dismiss Abhishek Sharma early, and Saim Ayub, whose 3-25 included the consecutive wickets of Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya. These breakthroughs successfully restricted India’s scoring in the latter half of the innings, preventing them from crossing the 200-run mark despite Kishan’s rapid half-century.
The run chase began with immediate setbacks for Pakistan, who fell to 13-3 within the first two overs. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah dismantled the top order early, leaving Pakistan at 38-4 by the end of the powerplay. While Usman Khan provided some resistance with a team-high 44 runs, he was eventually stumped off the bowling of Axar Patel, and the team was ultimately dismissed for 114 in 18 overs.
The match took place following a period of administrative uncertainty after Pakistan reversed an earlier decision to boycott the fixture. That initial stance had been taken in solidarity with Bangladesh, who declined to tour India over safety concerns and were replaced in the tournament by Scotland. Tensions remained visible at the start of the game, as captains Salman Ali Agha and Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands during the toss.
With this result, India maintains an undefeated streak with three consecutive wins in Group A. Pakistan now faces a more difficult path to the next round as the tournament moves into its final group-stage fixtures.
