A Sunday evening rout in the park

Much of the spotlight in Colombo on the eve of India-Pakistan centred around the weather, and whether Abhishek Sharma would turn up fit for the blockbuster clash.

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

India's Ishan Kishan hits one out of the park against Pakistan in their T20 World Cup match at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.

(AFP)

On the day, however, none of that mattered, for his opening partner, Ishan Kishan, turned up at his best while creating a storm of his own.

India's keeper-batter made the difference between the two teams with his breathtaking shot-making on a tricky pitch where most other batters struggled for rhythm.

Powered by a 40-ball 77 from the pocket-dynamo, India drubbed Pakistan by 61 runs in the Group A league match of the ICC Men's World Cup game to retain the bragging rights between the two arch-rivals.

Put into bat on the slow surface of the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, India's players showed a good understanding of the pitch and did well to get to a total 175/7.

The bowlers backed the batting display by routing Pakistan for just 114 runs. Led by a dream start from pacers Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah who ran through the top order inside the first two overs, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, spun a web around Pakistan middle-order.