Colombo, February 15 – India finished with 175/7 in their 20 overs against Pakistan in a crucial Group A match of the Men's T20 World Cup at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday. Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was the standout performer, scoring 77 off 40 balls with 10 fours and three sixes, while Saim Ayub's clever bowling of 3-25 kept Pakistan in the game.
Kishan's aggressive batting at the top gave India the advantage to play confidently in the middle overs. Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav added 57 off 53 balls, but their cautious approach reflected India's assessment that the pitch was not suitable for a score of 200 or more, especially with Pakistan bowling 18 overs of spin.
The innings was a tale of two halves: Kishan's bold batting in the first 10 overs, followed by Pakistan's spinners tightening the screws. The slow pitch made batting challenging, and in the final overs, India lost momentum as Pakistan took regular wickets.
Whether 175 will be enough remains to be seen, as on a pitch where spin has already been effective, Pakistan will need to bat with discipline and intent to chase down India's total against a formidable Indian spin attack.
India's chase began nervously as Abhishek Sharma miscued a shot to Salman Ali Agha's off-spin and was out for a duck. However, Kishan quickly asserted himself by hitting Shaheen Shah Afridi for six over square leg. Another boundary followed from an inside edge, and Tilak Varma also got off to a good start with a four off slip.
Kishan continued his aggressive batting, hitting a four over mid-on and a six over square leg off Saim Ayub. Despite a couple of balls stopping in the pitch, Kishan maintained his pace by hitting Abrar Ahmed for a towering six behind square and a four through cover.
Kishan narrowly avoided getting out when mid-on almost caught the ball, and he also hit another boundary with a cut shot. Tilak Varma also edged one past short third for four, and India finished the powerplay at 52/1. When Abrar bowled his second over, Kishan hit a six over short third and a four over extra cover, bringing up his half-century off just 27 balls.
Shadab Khan's introduction did little to slow down the scoring, as Kishan hit a four over fine leg and a six over deep mid-wicket. But Kishan was eventually dismissed by a sharp delivery from Saim Ayub, which turned sharply from leg stump after Kishan misjudged the shot.
Suryakumar Yadav then came into the attack, hitting a four through the gap between long-on and deep mid-wicket. Tilak Varma followed up with a majestic six off Mohammad Nawaz over extra cover, and Suryakumar also survived a tight lbw review.
India's measured approach in the middle overs was disrupted when Ayub trapped Varma lbw after he attempted a sweep. This brought two wickets for Pakistan as Hardik Pandya, who was promoted to accelerate, miscued a shot and was caught by long-off for a duck.
Ayub nearly got a hat-trick, getting one to dip, turn, and bounce past Shivam Dube's defensive shot, but the batsman missed the stumps by inches. Pakistan also wasted a review for a caught behind, as the ball had missed the edge comfortably.
Suryakumar and Shivam Dube then hit four boundaries between themselves before Suryakumar mistimed a slog to deep mid-wicket off Tariq. Dube and Rinku Singh also hit three boundaries in the final over off Shaheen, but the former and Axar Patel were dismissed in the last two balls of the innings, with 35 runs coming in the final three overs.
Brief Scores: India 175/7 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 77, Suryakumar Yadav 32; Saim Ayub 3-25, Salman Agha 1-10) against Pakistan.
