Ishan Kishan in action vs Pakistan (Source: AFP Photos)
After all the drama and chaos, India humbled Pakistan in Match 27 of the T20 World Cup 2026 at R. Premadasa Stadium, turning the high-voltage clash into a one-sided affair with a 61-run victory. Ishan Kishan’s explosive knock, coupled with a combined bowling effort by India, made the contest look like Men against Boys.
India Batting Highlights: Ishan Kishan Takes Centre Stage; SKY, Tilak Fail
Earlier in the game, Salman Agha had won the toss and asked India to bat first. The Men in Blue suffered a massive setback immediately after, as the returning Abhishek Sharma fell for a four-ball duck, that too against the Pakistan captain.
However, record-breaker Ishan Kishan showed no mercy to the Pakistan attack, stacked with spinners from top to bottom. The southpaw smashed 10 fours and three sixes in a swashbuckling 40-ball 77, lighting up Colombo before Saim Ayub trapped him leg-before.
Ayub did not stop there, dismissing Tilak Verma and Hardik Pandya in consecutive deliveries to bring Pakistan back to the attack. Both Tilak (25 off 24 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (32 off 29) struggled to get going on a tricky Premadasa Stadium pitch, which did not allow them to a massive total.
Nevertheless, Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh gave India a fiery finish, taking India to 175/7 at the end of 20 overs. While Dube made 27 off 17 balls, Rinku scored 11 off 4 balls, courtesy of smashing one six and one four in the last over.
Pakistan Batting Highlights: Men In Green Tumble All Over The Place
Coming to chase, Pakistan lost both Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub within the first eight balls of the innings, against Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, respectively. Salman Agha did not last long either, as Bumrah made him pay as early as inside the second over.
With Hardik beginning to defend India’s total with a wicket-maiden over, India could not have asked for a better way to kick off the proceedings in Colombo.
Babar Azam had the chance to live up when it mattered most, but he too failed, as Axar Patel cleaned him up inside the Powerplay. However, despite wickets tumbling in regular intervals, wicket-keeper batter Usman Khan did not give up, with Shadab Khan playing as a second fiddle.
Axar, coming to bowl the last over of his spell, got the big wicket of Usman, as Ishan Kishan stumped him with all the time in the world after a 34-ball 44. Shadab failed to convert his start (14 off 15 balls), while Mohammad Nawaz could not even manage to get going.
Pakistan never really recovered from the damage they had suffered earlier, as Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya took little time to finish things off before bowling them out for 114 in 18 overs.
India, the first team to be qualified for Super 8 from Group A, will next play against the Netherlands on Wednesday (February 18), while Pakistan will face Namibia on the same day in their last group league fixtures.
