IND vs PAK, T20 World Cup: India Thrash Pakistan With Convincing 61-Run Win to Qualify for Super 8

Team India crushed Pakistan by 61 runs in the T20 World Cup to reach the Super 8s. Ishan Kishan’s blazing 77 guided India to 175/7, while bowlers like Varun Chakravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah dismantled Pakistan for 114 in a clinical all-round display.

An unbeaten Team India dominated Pakistan in the T20 World Cup clash at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, February 18. The Men in Blue registered a convincing 61-run win over the arch-rivals to seal their berth in the Super 8 stage of the marquee event, becoming the second team to qualify after South Africa. 

After posting a total of 175/7 in 20 overs, thanks to Ishan Kishan's 77-run knock and valuable contributions from skipper Suryakumar Yadav (32), Shivam Dube (27), and Tilak Varma (25), Team India bowlers bundled out Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs, crushing the arch-rivals with a clinical all-round performance. 

Varun Chakravarthy (2/17), Axar Patel (2/29), Hardik Pandya (2/16), and Jasprit Bumrah (2/17) combined to pick eight wickets, leaving Pakistan struggling under relentless pressure and handing India a dominant victory.

For Pakistan, Usman Khan was the top-scorer with 44 off 34 balls, while other batters failed to make any significant impact as thesecond-best score was 23 by Shaheen Afridi. However, Saim Ayub, who failed with the bat, was the best bowler for the Men in Green as he registered figures of 3/25 at an economy rate of 6.20 in his spell of three overs. 

Pakistan Batters Strangled by India Bowlers

Chasing a 176-run target, Pakistan batters succumbed to pressure early in the innings as they collapsed to 38/4 with dismissals of Sahibzada Farhan (0), Saim Ayub (6), Salman Ali Agha (4), and Babar Azam (5) in the powerplay, giving Team India an edge that never looked like slipping.

However, Usman Khan, the only hope for Pakistan in the run chase, steadied the team's ship and took the team past the 50-run mark. Usman formed a 35-run stand for the fifth wicket with Shadab Khan before his dismissal at 73/5. Thereafter, Pakistan further collapsed to 78/7 with dismissals of Shadab Khan (14) and Mohammad Nawaz (4), thereby extinguishing any remaining hopes of a comeback. 

After Shadab's dismissal, Faheem Ashraf (14) and Shaheen Afridi inched Pakistan closer to the 100-run mark before the former was dismissed at 97/8. Then, Abrar Ahmed followed Ashraf back to the pavilion after being dismissed for a golden duck at 97/9. Though hopes of chasing down the target were dashed after a shambolic batting display, Pakistan managed to go past the 100-run mark, thanks to Afridi and  Usman Tariq (0). 

Pakistan were hoping to prevent being all out until Hardik Pandya picked up the final wicket of Tariq for a duck at 114, but Hardik Pandya struck to remove Usman Tariq for a duck, sealing India’s comprehensive 61-run victory. The Men in Blue dominated the arch-rivals with the bat and ball, leaving the arch-rivals completely outplayed. 

India Extend Dominance over Pakistan in the World Cups

With a dominant victory against Pakistan in Colombo, Team India extended their dominance over the arch-rivals in the T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue have recorded their eighth win in nine outings against Pakistan at the T20 World Cup, maintaining an almost perfect record and cementing their reputation as nearly unbeatable against Pakistan in the marquee event. 

In overall World Cups, T20 and ODIs, Team India has an outstanding record with 16-1 wins against Pakistan, underlining their supremacy and consistency over their arch-rivals in World Cup encounters.

With three successive wins, Team India has secured their berth for Super 8 and will play their final group stage match against the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 18. While Pakistan will have to win their last group match against Namibia with a better net run rate (NRR) than the Netherlands and USA to qualify for the Super 8.