India hammer Pakistan to qualify for T20 World Cup Super Eights

Ishan Kishan defies a tricky Colombo pitch with 77 as India beat Pakistan by 61 runs in Group A of cricket’s T20 World Cup.Published On 15 Feb 2026Defending ‌champions India have thumped Pakistan by 61 runs in a grudge Group A match of the ⁠Twenty20 World Cup to ⁠secure their place in the Super Eight stage of the cricket tournament.Ishan Kishan’s breakneck 77 powered India to 175-7 on Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium, where Pakistan’s spin-heavy ⁠attack managed to apply the brakes to an extent after the opener’s exit.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Swear words fly as cheating allegations made in curling at Winter Olympicslist 2 of 4Suspected Winter Olympics sabotage condemned as ‘hateful criminal acts’list 3 of 4Ukraine’s Heraskevych has appeal for Winter Olympic reinstatement dismissedlist 4 of 4Trump pardons 5 former NFL players ranging from perjury to drug traffickingend of listThe tournament co-hosts returned to bundle out Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs to register their third win in a row.The ⁠match went ahead after Pakistan earlier reversed their decision to boycott the game in solidarity with Bangladesh, whose team refused to tour India over safety concerns and were replaced by Scotland.Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and his India counterpart Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands at the toss, though.India were reinforced by the return of Abhishek Sharma, ‌who missed the first two matches with a stomach infection. But the opener could not make it count.Pakistan’s Salman sprang a surprise by opening the attack himself, and the move paid off as the spinner trapped Abhishek lbw to remove the reigning number one batter in T20 Internationals.Pakistan used three spinners in the powerplay to try and stem boundary flow, and India’s score of 52-1 after six overs suggested the ploy worked to an extent.India’s Ishan Kishan in action during his innings of 77 [Lahiru Harshana/Reuters]Kishan could not be contained, ⁠though, and the diminutive southpaw tore into the Pakistan attack with his ⁠take-no-prisoners batting.