New Delhi (India) February 16:To maintain their supremacy in the T20 World Cups, India have comprehensively beaten Pakistan by 61 runs. With the victory, India became the first team to qualify for the Super 8 stage. Pakistan slipped to third spot, behind Team USA, in Group A thanks to their net run rate.

Record 175/7: Kishan Fires with 77 runs

Pakistan had to chase down 176 after India recorded a record-highest total of 175/7 in India-Pakistan T20 World Cup matches. Ishan Kishan opened with a smoking 77-run knock off just 40 balls before major contributions from Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh in the end ensured that India put up a challenging score on the board.
Usman Khan was the only Pakistan player who appeared menacing, but approaching half a century, he too fell six short of the milestone, getting out stumped to give Axar his second wicket of the innings. 

Usman Falls Short as Pakistan Crumble

Pakistan’s top scorer was Usman Khan who scored 44 runs, followed by Shaheen Shah Afridi (unbeaten 23) and Shadab Khan (14) who were the other two batters to get into double figures. India’s bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah’s miserly 2/17 and Axar Patel’s crafty 2/19, choked the scoring and set off a procession of wickets. 

Suryakumar Hails Team Effort and Brave Batting

Suryakumar Yadav lauded the team for playing bravely and working together as a team. He gave special praise for Ishan Kishan’s knock and credited the bowlers for sealing the contest.
“This is for India. We played the same brand of cricket we wanted to play. The way Ishan batted, he batted the same way. Ishan thought something out of the box. At 0-1, someone needed to take responsibility and he did that amazingly. There was a bit of a slump but that is the beauty of t20 cricket. The way they batted, it is commendable. Difficult to tell when batting first. As soon as we reached 175, we thought it was 15-20 runs over par. 155, it would have been a very tight game. Hardik took the new ball, taking charge. Bumrah then showed why he is the best in the world. It was great to see everyone contributing. (On how they intend to keep this run going) We think about that tomorrow. We go back, have some good time together as a team (tonight) and think about that when we reach Ahmedabad,” Surya said.

Pakistan's Biggest T20WC Losses

Pakistan’s 61-run loss to India in Colombo is now one of their biggest defeats in T20 World Cup history. Only the 84-run thrashing by West Indies in Mirpur in 2014 stands above it, with the 48-run loss to England at The Oval in 2009 behind.