In the 27th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, India set a target of 176 runs for Pakistan to win.

India scored 175 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs in the Group A match at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Openers Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan began the innings, but India lost their first wicket for one run in the opening over when Abhishek Sharma was caught by Shaheen Shah Afridi off the bowling of Salman Ali Agha in the first over.

Kishan then adopted an aggressive approach alongside Tilak Varma, adding 87 runs for the second wicket to take India to 88 runs.

India’s second wicket fell at 88 runs when Kishan was bowled out by Saim Ayub off 40 balls, an innings that included 10 fours and three sixes.

After Kishan’s dismissal, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma put on 38 runs for the third wicket to move the total to 126 runs.

Tilak Varma was dismissed for 25 by Saim Ayub with the score on 126, and Ayub struck again on the next ball caught Hardik Pandya on duck.

Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube then added 33 runs for the fifth wicket to take India to 159 runs before Yadav was caught by Usman Tariq. Afridi claimed two wickets in the final over, while Rinku Singh remained unbeaten on 11.

For Pakistan, Saim Ayub took three wickets, while Salman Ali Agha, Usman Tariq and Shaheen Shah Afridi claimed one each.

India finished on 175 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs, setting Pakistan a target of 176 runs to win.

The match between the bitter rivals went ahead after Pakistan earlier reversed their decision to boycott the game in solidarity with Bangladesh, who refused to tour India over safety concerns and were replaced by Scotland.

Pakistan’s squad:

Captain Salman Ali Agha, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Muhammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq.

India’s squad:

Captain Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Akshar Patel and Rinku Singh.