Ishan Kishan struck 77 from 40 balls, including 10 fours and 3 sixes, guiding India to 175/7
His 27-ball half-century was the fastest in an India-Pakistan T20 World Cup match
Pakistan’s spin-heavy attack applied pressure early, but Kishan countered on tricky surface
IND vs PAK, ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Ishan Kishan played the innings of his life under immense pressure as India thumped Pakistan by 61 runs in the all-important group game in Colombo on Sunday.
On an R. Premadasa pitch that gave little assistance to the batters, Kishan played a superb knock of 77 off 40 balls to power India to an above-par total of 175/7.
Asked to bat first by Pakistan, India’s innings began in the worst possible way after Abhishek Sharma was dismissed in the first over for a four-ball duck. A spin-heavy Pakistan threatened to derail India’s innings, but that’s where Kishan stepped up to the task.
The knock began in a nervy manner. After a big six towards the leg side, Kishan almost dragged a delivery from Shaheen Shah Afridi onto his stumps, but instead, it ran away for four.
That slice of luck remained on Kishan’s side throughout the innings. The batter didn't always time or middle his shots, but they landed in the right places anyway.
The southpaw powered his way to a 27-ball half-century – the fastest fifty in an India-Pakistan match at a T20 World Cup. It is also the fastest by an Indian in any World Cup meeting between the two sides, overtaking a previous record held by Virat Kohli.
Ishan Kishan was finally castled by the brilliant Saim Ayub towards the end of the ninth over, with the batter departing having hit ten fours and three sixes.
After the match, Kishan’s strike partner, Tilak Varma, was all praise. “The wicket was slightly tricky, but the way Ishan Kishan batted was terrific. It was brilliant to watch. The way he played his shots, it looked like he was batting on a different pitch.”
“I told him to keep batting the same way, and that if a wicket fell, I would handle it at the other end and rotate the strike,” he added. “To be frank, once we got the start, we were thinking of getting to 200 instead of settling at 175.”
Ultimately, 175 proved to be a bridge too far for the Pakistani batters, who were bowled out for just 114, sealing the massive win for the Men in Blue.
