India continued their dominance over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup with a huge 61-run victory in Colombo, clinching their place as defending champions and favorites to win the tournament in the Super 8s.
India, who defeated Pakistan by 176 runs for 114, have won eight out of nine matches against their rivals in all competitions, and 16 out of 17 matches including the 50-over World Cup, with their only blemish being a 10-wicket drubbing in Dubai in 2021.
The latest match between the cricketing stalwarts took place after Pakistan reversed its boycott decision, having initially said it would not play following the ICC’s decision to exclude Bangladesh from the tournament after refusing to travel to India.
In the end, the result was a familiar one, with Hardik Pandya (2-16) cleaning up Usman Tariq for a duck after two dropped catches in the first half of the 18th over to seal India’s victory.
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There was no handshake during the toss between captain Suryakumar Yadav and captain Salman Ali Agha.
India finished with figures of 175 for 7 after losing the toss, with top-ranked Ishan Kishan hitting 77 off 40 balls. Similar to last year’s Asia Cup, there was no handshake from the captain.
Spinner Saim Ayub improved his score to 3-25 and came very close to a hat-trick in the 15th over.Pakistan got off to a poor start in the chase, with Saim (6) sucking at No. 6 and then Jasprit Bumrah (2-17) pinned him LBW with one ball, and they plummeted to 13-3 in two overs.
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Pakistan spinner Saim Ayub comes very close to scoring a World Cup hat-trick against India in Colombo
Pakistan, who suffered their first World Cup defeat after wins over the Netherlands and the United States but will book a spot in the Super Eights if they can avoid an upset against Namibia in Colombo on Wednesday (9.30am UK), fought back amid a flurry of reckless shots.
Suryakumar Yadav’s side conclude the first round against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on Wednesday (1.30pm UK), with India having won three games in as many games after struggling to defeat the US and Namibia.
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Jasprit Bumrah hits two in the second over as Pakistan’s run chase gets off to a dismal start.
India wins overall thanks to batsman Kishan and bowling attack
India, which is co-hosting the tournament with Sri Lanka, won 51-1 on the power play with Kishan scoring mostly on the leg side after opening partner Abhishek Sharma was ruled out of the second consecutive T20 international and he failed to score in the opening weekend’s victory over the United States.
Pakistan, in stark contrast, were chasing 38-4 from six overs, with Sahibzada Farhan (0) holed out from Hardik Bumrah, removing Saim and Salman Agha (4) and Axar Patel casting Babar Azam (5).
The top-order meltdown came after Sime bowled Kishan with a sharply circling delivery in the ninth over and Pakistan fought back with the ball. Kishan smashed 10 fours and three sixes and trudged off, reaching 50 from 27 balls.
Indian opener Ishan Kishan knocked 77 off 40 balls, hitting 10 fours and three sixes.
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India opener Abhishek Sharma failed to score against Pakistan but won back-to-back T20 World Cups
After pinning Tilak Varma (25 off 24) in a sweep in the 15th over, Saim thought he had completed a hat-trick when Hardik was caught for a golden duck on the next ball, but he slipped past Shivam Dube (27 off 17), but the review did not show the edge.
While Dube, Suryakumar (32 off 29) and Rinku Singh (11 off 4) led India to a combined victory, Pakistan’s unconventional spinner Usman Tariq, who bowled after a long pause during his run-up, bowled Suryakumar deep and took the score to 1-24.
Usman Khan (44 off 34) gave Pakistan a glimmer of hope with a disastrous early chase, but the match almost turned around when he stumbled off Axar to make 73-5 and two more wickets quickly followed.
Hardik then had the final say and the players left the field without shaking hands after Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy (2-17) tried in vain for a hat-trick with two strikes in as many balls in the 16th over.
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Hardik Pandya was left fuming after India dropped two catches late in Pakistan’s innings before taking the final wicket.
Watch every match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports Cricket, including the final on Sunday 8th March. Get Sky Sports and stream now without a contract.
