Kishan's sensational 77 floors Pakistan and puts India in Super Eights

A sensational 77 off 40 balls from Ishan Kishan on a slow, spin-friendly pitch helped India make it 8-1 against Pakistan in T20 World Cups and seal their place in the Super Eights. The surface at the R Premadasa Stadium was so tacky that Pakistan bowled 18 overs of spin after sticking India in, but Kishan rose above the conditions to take India to what looked like 30 above par. With three wickets in the first two overs, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah vindicated that feeling as India registered their biggest T20I win against Pakistan.

The impact of Kishan's innings - after Salman Agha opened the bowling to get Abhishek Sharma for a duck - was clear from plain numbers. The rest of the India innings, including extras, managed just 98 off 80 balls, which was much closer to being representative of the conditions. As was Pakistan's innings, which went at over a run a ball only thanks to Usman Khan's 44 off 34.

It is a no-brainer to bowl offspin against two left-hand openers on a slow surface, but the choice of the bowler was surprising: Agha, and not Saim Ayub. Even with the new ball, turn and lack of pace was obvious, resulting in one run off first five balls and a second duck in two innings for Abhishek in his World Cup career.

This is only the second month of the year, and nothing rode on this match in terms of progression in the tournament, but this is an early contender of the innings of the year just because of how much better Kishan was than the average better on this surface. Shaheen Shah Afridi had the right idea to bowl into the surface even with the new ball, but the quick hands and low height of Kishan turned the first ball into a dismissive pull over forward square leg for a six. Then he hit Agha over mid-on against the turn.

A lot of focus has been around Usman Tariq, but Pakistan's main spinner for long has been Abrar Ahmed with his mix of offbreaks and carrom balls. Kishan didn't let him settle, sweeping him first ball for six.

Despite the first over ending at 1 for 1, Kishan owned the powerplay, taking India to 52 for 1, which was absolutely essential before the field spread out. The easing of field restrictions didn't matter to Kishan, who steered the first ball after the powerplay for four. Then he hit Abrar right over his head. Then drove him over extra-cover. The second of these fours brought up his fifty in just 27 balls.

Curiously, despite having an offspinner and two mystery spinners who can turn the ball away from the left-hander, Pakistan went to Shadab Khan's legspin against two left-hand batters in the eighth over, and paid with 17 runs. By the time Ayub dismissed Kishan, one ball after a reverse-pull for four, he had scored 77 out of 88 in 8.4 overs.

Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma seemed content to play within themselves, the first sign that India knew Kishan had done something special and all they needed to do was preserve their position. They added 38 off 33, including a first-ball four off Tariq, but when they decided to go again in the 15th over, Ayub proved to be a difficult proposition. He got Tilak on the sweep, Hardik for a golden duck, and nearly bowled Shivam Dube with the hat-trick ball. The amount of turn he got indicated India were still ahead in the game.

It was the return of Abrar and Afridi in the 18th and 20th overs that gave India the opportunity to achieve a final kick. Dube and Rinku Singh took the opportunity with 27 off 17 and 11 off 4. Between them, Afridi, Abrar and Shadab went for 86 in six overs, poor returns for the surface.

He might have scored a golden duck in trying to impose himself on the game, but with the ball Hardik was meticulous. No driving length, no room, three dots, and out came the low-percentage pull for a four-ball duck for Sahibzada Farhan. Bumrah cashed in on the pressure of a first-over wicket maiden with swing and hard lengths to send back Ayub and Agha. Babar Azam missed a slog sweep off Axar Patel to make it 34 for 4 in 4.5 overs.

The game was all but over but Usman Khan kept Pakistan interested with the innings that came closest to Kishan's in terms of ease. He hit Pandya for a six and then took 27 off 15 balls from Axar with two inside-out fours and two through straight long-off after charging him. However, Axar had his own back when he saw Usman coming, fired one in, and fittingly Kishan was there to practically seal the win for India. Only formalities remained thereafter.