India stormed into the Super Eight on Sunday after overpowering Pakistan, with Ishan Kishan driving the result through fearless hitting on a tricky surface. India piled up 175 batting first, then ripped through Pakistan for 114, turning a high-voltage contest into a one-sided statement.
The pitch offered turn and grip, not easy pace. That made Ishan’s approach stand out, because he attacked areas most batters avoid when conditions feel awkward.
Ishan did not slog blindly. He trusted his base, picked lengths early, and cleared even the longer boundaries with clean swing and timing rather than brute force.
At the post-match press conference, Axar Patel broke it down calmly. “Great innings,” he said, before pointing to the surface and adding that batting “was not easy” because the ball spun.
Axar stressed that form travelled with Ishan. “He carried his domestic form here and did well in the New Zealand series,” he said, underlining that confidence, not recklessness, fuelled the shots.
The sixes, though, demanded explanation. “It’s a mindset thing,” Axar said, cutting to the core of it. He explained how some batters fear the longer boundary and chase the shorter option instead.
Ishan flipped that thinking. “If you can hit a six over the long boundary, the batter gains confidence,” Axar said, and that confidence snowballs into even bigger blows.
That mentality shaped the innings. Ishan spread the field, hit straight, and refused to let spin dictate terms, turning a difficult deck into a platform for dominance.
Pakistan never recovered from the pressure. They lost four wickets inside the powerplay, chased shadows thereafter, and watched India control every phase.
