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

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.

While Pakistan team were left to pick the pieces after their biggest drubbing in T20 World Cups at the hands of their old foes, Kishan was the toast of the Indian supporters. Out of the Indian side for nearly two years, it has been a fairytale comeback for Kishan since he was selected in the World Cup squad. The innings was a masterclass in batting on a sluggish pitch.