India defeated Pakistan by 61 runs in a one-sided contest in Colombo.
Asked to bat first, India posted 175/7 in 20 overs thanks to Ishan Kishan’s 77 and Suryakumar Yadav’s 32. Saim Ayub took three wickets. Pakistan fancied themselves in the chase, but Jasprit Bumrah’s two wickets in his first over and Hardik Pandya's dismissal of Sahibzada Farhan for a duck set the tone for the chase.
Babar Azam fell for 5 runs, and Pakistan could only manage 114 runs, with Usman Khan top-scoring with 44. India won the game by 61 runs and qualified for the Super 8s stage.
Pakistan must now overcome Namibia in their final Group A match in Colombo on Wednesday to secure a spot in the Super 8. A loss would terminate their season, as Pakistan is currently ranked third in the group, trailing only the United States in net run rate.
“Lifting the team is only difficult when you don't work on the mistakes you committed in the last game. We have worked on our mistakes, so I think it will not be a tough task. We have resolved not to commit the same mistakes again,” Usman Tariq told reporters before the Namibia game.
“We can feel their (fans') disappointment because the match is watched by the whole nation. So we feel their pain, but I am sure when we play them (India) next, we will put up a better show,” Tariq added.
He was also questioned about Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi and whether they’ll be dropped from the playing XI for the Namibia game.
“Both Azam and Shaheen have won many matches for Pakistan, so if they did not perform well in one game, we should not write them off,” said Tariq.
Pakistan has met Namibia just once before in a T20 international.
“Whoever we play, we have the confidence to beat them, and our goal is to play the final and win the cup, which we will try our best to achieve,” he said.
(PTI inputs)