COLOMBO: Pakistan slipped to third place in Group A of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after suffering a 61-run defeat against arch-rivals India at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Defending champions India secured their third consecutive victory in the tournament, booking a place in the Super Eight stage with a commanding all-round performance.
Put into bat first, India posted a formidable 175 for seven in the allotted 20 overs, powered by a brilliant half-century from opener Ishan Kishan. The left-handed batter scored 77 off 40 deliveries, hitting 10 fours and three sixes after India lost Abhishek Sharma for a duck in the opening over.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav contributed 32 runs, while Tilak Varma (25) and Shivam Dube (27) added useful runs to strengthen the total.
For Pakistan, Saim Ayub was the standout bowler with figures of three for 25, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Tariq and captain Salman Ali Agha claimed one wicket each.
Chasing 176, Pakistan’s batting lineup struggled against India’s disciplined bowling attack and were bowled out for 114 in 18 overs. Wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan top-scored with 44, while Faheem Ashraf (10) and Shaheen (23 not out) were the only other players to reach double figures.
India’s bowling was led by Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy, who took two wickets each, while Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak Varma picked up one apiece.
The victory consolidated India’s top position in Group A standings and confirmed their qualification for the Super Eights, with one group match remaining against the Netherlands.
Pakistan, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the tournament, which dented their net run rate and pushed them to third place behind the United States, who also have four points but have completed all their group-stage fixtures.
The 2009 champions will now face Namibia in their final group-stage match on Wednesday in a must-win encounter to secure a place in the Super Eight stage.