Pakistan on Sunday dropped to third place in Group A of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after suffering a humiliating defeat to arch-rivals India at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.
Defending champions India registered a commanding 61-run victory to secure a place in the Super Eight stage.
Put into bat first, the holders registered a formidable total of 175/7 in their 20 overs, courtesy of opener Ishan Kishan’s blistering half-century.
Kishan led India’s recovery after losing his opening partner Abhishek Sharma (zero) in the first over with a blazing 77 off 40 deliveries, studded with 10 fours and three sixes.
His efforts were backed by captain Suryakumar Yadav, who made an anchoring 32 off 29 deliveries with the help of three fours, while Tilak Varma (25) and Shivam Dube (27) made notable contributions.
Saim Ayub was the standout bowler for Pakistan, taking three wickets for just 25 runs in his four overs, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Tariq and captain Salman Ali Agha could make one scalp apiece.
Set to chase a daunting 176-run target, Pakistan’s batting unit faltered against India’s disciplined bowling attack and could accumulate 114 before getting bowled out in 18 overs.
Wicketkeeper batter Usman Khan remained the top-scorer for the Green Shirts with a valiant 44 off 34 deliveries while Faheem Ashraf (10) and Shaheen (23 not out) were the others to amass double figures.
For India, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy led the way with two wickets each, while Kuldeep Yadav and Tilak Varma chipped in with one scalp apiece.
The 61-run victory, which marked India’s third in as many games, consolidated their top spot in Group A standings and propelled them into the Super Eights with a match to spare, scheduled to be played against the Netherlands on Wednesday.
On the other hand, the defeat marked Pakistan’s first in the T20 World Cup 2026 and dented their net run rate, resulting in them being replaced by the United States of America (USA), who also have four points but have played all of their group-stage matches.
The 2009 champions next face Namibia in their last group-stage fixture on Wednesday, which is now a must-win game for them to qualify for the Super Eights, while a defeat would propel the USA into the next stage.
For the unversed, Namibia, placed at the bottom of Group A standings with zero points after three matches, were knocked out of the Super Eights race following their gruelling defeat at the hands of the USA earlier today.
