Steady India thrash anxious Pakistan
India, needing to win this to stay alive, posted their first Super Eights win in World Twenty20s since 2007
India, needing to win this to stay alive, posted their first Super Eights win in World Twenty20s since 2007
Scorer: Gopi Rangarajan | Commentator: Kanishkaa Balachandran
Presentation:
Hafeez: "We just didn't get the partnerships. It was a difficult pitch to bat on but Kohli was excellent. We were hoping to get him out and put pressure on the rest but we couldn't do that. We need to improve our fielding. We still have a chance."
Dhoni: "The players looked relaxed, we knew there was something in store. It's good that Kohli is taking the responsibility, Viru batted well, we lost Gambhir early. I always felt that if you are desperate for a win you put more pressure on yourself. We didn't think too far ahead of ourselves. Thanks to the crowd for showing up."
Kohli is the Man of the Match: "The key is to stay as calm as possible. In the last game I thought a bit too much. The idea it to play 10-15 overs and the team benefits from it. It's a slow wicket but better under lights. God's been kind."
So an one-sided encounter ends the Sunday. In fact both games. Hoping for more competitive games tomorrow between Sri Lanka and England and New Zealand and West Indies.
That's it from here. Thanks for the mails and your company. Cheers!
End of match: India deliver a solid thrashing here and extend their winning run against Pakistan in all World Cups and World T20s. This gives India a chance to qualify for the semis and Pakistan will have a bit to do when they play their final game.
Pakistan's NRR at this stage is -0.43 while India's is -0.45. That's as narrow as it gets. Pakistan will have to try and topple a rampaging Australia while India have taken on South Africa, who looked like a ragged outfit today. But you still can't make predictions in this format. India were soundly thrashed by Australia the other day but were a transformed team today. Pakistan shouldn't lose hope.
Since so many of you are asking, here goes: India have won their first Super Eights game since the launch of the IPL.
An American talking cricket with Pakistan fans in Sri Lanka. Plus, a garden party Sri Lankan high-society style
The heat was high in Colombo but Pakistan froze. In a game in which they had too less to lose, and India started poorly, Pakistan were never relaxed
Somehow, the pulsating, tenacious Pakistan side which had won three successive World Twenty20 games failed to turn up
A day after some former India players questioned Yuvraj Singh's fitness and asked for him to be dropped, MS Dhoni has reiterated that Yuvraj is in shape for Twenty20 cricket and that his place in the India XI is not in doubt
Plays of the Day for the Super Eights game between India and Pakistan in Colombo
| Group 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| SL | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0.998 |
| WI | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -0.375 |
| ENG | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -0.397 |
| NZ | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -0.169 |
| Group 2 | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| AUS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.464 |
| PAK | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.273 |
| IND | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -0.274 |
| SA | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -0.421 |
| Group A | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| IND | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2.825 |
| ENG | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.65 |
| AFG | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -3.475 |
| Group B | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| AUS | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2.184 |
| WI | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.855 |
| IRE | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2.092 |
| Group C | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| SA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3.598 |
| SL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.852 |
| ZIM | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -3.624 |
| Group D | |||||
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
| PAK | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.706 |
| NZ | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.15 |
| BAN | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -1.868 |