India dominated the T20 World Cup by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan by 61 runs

India dominated the T20 World Cup by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan by 61 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday (February 15).

In a match marred by political tensions and the threat of boycott, India managed to maintain their best record in the T20 World Cup by defeating their opponents, extending their winning streak to 11 matches. India officially secured a place in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup.

In a one-sided match, the Indian bowlers defended 175 runs, while Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 18 overs. While India performed well with both batting and bowling, only four Pakistani batsmen reached double figures. Usman Khan (44) was the top scorer for Pakistan, while Shadab Khan (14), Shaheen Afridi (23) and Faheem Ashraf (10) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.

Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy provided excellent support to the Indian bowlers, taking two wickets each.

Batting first, India lost Abhishek Sharma for duck in the first over. However, Ishan Kishan (77 off 40 balls) and Tilak Verma (25) put on 87 runs for the second wicket. Ishan scored 77 runs, which included 10 fours and 3 sixes. He laid the foundation for India’s brilliant start before the start as the Men in Blue recovered well.

After Ishan's dismissal, skipper Suryakumar Yadav (32) took control of the innings. India lost the wickets of Tilak Verma and Hardik Pandya (0) in quick succession. Eventually, Pakistan came back quickly and India were restricted to 175/7 in 20 overs.

Interestingly, Pakistan used spinners for 18 overs, thereby setting a new record in a T20 match as well.

India will face the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday (February 18), the last day of the group stage. Pakistan will face Namibia on the same day.