Ishan Kishan misses Virat Kohli's legendary record, despite flamboyant show vs Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2026
Ishan Kishan smashed 77 off 40 balls at the R Premadasa Stadium against Pakistan, racing to a 27-ball fifty. His explosive knock ranks fourth among India-Pak T20I scores, just five short of Virat Kohli’s record 82. Saim Ayub, in the meantime, helped Pakistan script a mini comeback.
Keeper-batter Ishan Kishan lit up the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo with a blistering display against arch-rivals Pakistan. Opening the innings for India, he hammered 77 off just 40 balls, laying a strong foundation for the middle order. Although his partner Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a duck, Kishan stuck to his aggressive approach and kept the scoreboard ticking at a rapid pace.
He dominated the powerplay, sending the ball to all parts of the ground and racing to his half-century in only 27 deliveries, which is the third-fastest fifty in India vs Pakistan T20I history.
With this knock, Kishan climbed to fourth on the list of highest individual scores in India-Pakistan T20Is. The record remains with Virat Kohli, who scored an unbeaten 82 against Pakistan during the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Melbourne. Kishan ultimately fell just five runs short of surpassing that iconic mark.
Highest individual scores in Ind-Pak T20Is:
| Runs | Player |
| Virat Kohli | 82* |
| Mohammad Rizwan | 79* |
| Virat Kohli | 78* |
| Ishan Kishan | 77 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 75 |
Saim Ayub’s double whammy changes complexion
Kishan set the platform for the middle order batters to take control but Tilak Varma struggled heavily in the middle. The Hyderabad batter made just 25 runs off 24 balls before Siam Ayub got the better of him. On the very next ball, the all-rounder also got the better of Hardik Pandya, who departed for a golden duck.
With that, Pakistan made a strong return to the contest. The focus is now on Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube. They need to stitch a strong partnership to keep the scoreboard ticking as India would hope to score at least 180 runs on the board.
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq
Also Read: