Bhubaneswar, Feb. 15 -- Riding on a blistering half-century by aggressive opener Ishan Kishan (77 off 40 balls; 10x4, 3x6) and a disciplined all-round bowling effort, India outclassed arch-rivals Pakistan by 61 runs in a Group A clash of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.

Chasing a target of 176, Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 18 overs. Barring Usman Khan's fighting 44 off 34 balls (6x4, 1x6), none of the Pakistani batters managed to withstand the Indian bowling attack.

Jasprit Bumrah (2/17), Axar Patel (2/29), Varun Chakaravarthy (2/17) and Hardik Pandya (2/16) claimed two wickets each to seal a commanding victory for the Men in Blue.

Earlier, asked to bat first on a sluggish surfac...