India registered a flamboyant total on board of 175 for the loss of 7 wickets. It was a collective effort from Indian batters, Ishan Kishan set the tone earlier by smashing a barnstorming knock of 77 runs in 40 balls and hit 10 fours and 3 sixes. Pakistan have a steep task of chasing the target as the pitch has the tendency of getting slower in second innings.
Ishan Kishan’s blitz sets the tone in powerplay overs
Salman Ali Agha opted to bowl first against India. The inclusion of Abhishek Sharma might have given X factor to India but Salman Ali Agha in his very first over, got rid of him for a golden duck. Abhishek Sharma was cramped for room as in his 4 balls stay as Pakistan got crucial breakt-through. For a moment, Pakistani players rejoiced like they won the match as they were unaware of the storm which was waiting for them in form of Ishan Kishan.
Ishan Kishan’s bat swing and a wide range of shots shocked the Men in Green. Ishan Kishan was quite intrepid in his shot selection as he was targetting stands not the boundary rope which was fascintaing to see. Shaheen Afridi got brutal treatment as he conceded 15 runs in his first over. Ishan Kishan’s bat swing was quite commendable as the boundaries in Colombo aren’t that small. India scored 52 runs in their powerplay overs and lost sole wicket of Abhishek Sharma.
India solidify their position in middle overs
Tilak Varma & Ishan Kishan made sure that they don’t play a string of dot balls and rotated the strike regularly. It would sound very harsh but Salman Ali Agha’s body language was awful, it seemed as he relinquished the match before half stage. Tilak Varma was happy to play the role of the anchor as Ishan Kishan was pummelling the bowlers all around the park.
The parntership between Ishan & Tilak was looking threatening. In the 9th over Saim Ayub casetlled the stumps of Ishan Kishan as he just gave too much room to play inside out shot. At that time India’s score was 88-2 in 8.4 overs. Suryakumar Yadav was quite watchful in his approach as the ball was stopping and turning which made life harder for batters.
Pakistan clawed their way back in the game in 15th over when Saim Ayub got two back to back wickets of Tilak Varma & Hardik Pandya. It was astounding to see Hardik Pandya going berserk on the very first ball given he is the most and only senior player in the team who was a part of 2016 campaign. At the end of 15 overs, India’s score was 127-4.
Pakistan fightback but India in strong position
Usman Tariq was given a bit too much respect by Indian batters as his stop, pause and bowl threat was seen evidently. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma didn’t play any loose shots in the death overs and converted singles into doubles. In the 19th over, Suryakumar Yadav was foxed by Usman Tariq as a big shot at deep mid-wicket was misjudged. Suryakumar Yadav played a decent knock of 32 runs in 29 balls on a sluggish surface which can be match defining as he hit 2 fours.
Shivam Dube & Rinku Singh unleashed attack on Shaheen Afridi in 20th over. India managed to score 16 runs in that over. India’s death overs yielded 48 runs and lost 3 wickets in that phase. It was quite intriguing to see that Saim Ayub took 3 wickets and was the pick of the bowlers who conceded 27 runs in his 4 over spell. A part-time spinner has become premier spinner which can raise eyebrows but Saim Ayub needs to perform with bat as well if Pakistan has to give themselves best chance to win match.
Who’s winning, India or Pakistan?
India is still red hot favorites to win the match. India has the services of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy who can bamboozle Pakistani batters. The Men in Green used only 2 overs of fast bowling of Shaheen Afridi. Abhishek Sharma can also roll his arm if needed. Pakistan would need Sahibzada Farhan to give a rollicking start. It’s quite crystal clear that Pakistan has to capitalize powerplay overs and negate the threat of Jasprit Bumrah.
It’s quite tough to say who will win the match but Pakistan has a deep batting line up as they can fancy their chances but the pressure of chase can haunt them. Pakistan couldn’t chase 120 runs in 2024 T20 WC as that will also be at their back of mind and they also lost all 3 matches of Asia Cup 2025 but they were defending in all matches. Pakistan can take inspiration from 2021 T20 WC win over India where they chased 152 runs which was in Dubai and job was done by Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan, can Saim Ayub & Sahibzada Farham emulate the glory for Pakistan? only time will tell as they will have to play out of their skin to win match.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: Ishan Kishan’s Blazing Knock Stuns Pakistan