India Crushes Pakistan by 61 Runs, U19 Star Hails "Team Ready to Win World Cup"

The Suryakumar Yadav-led Men in Blue defeated Salman Agha's Pakistan by a comprehensive margin of 61 runs to clinch their third straight win at the 2026 World Cup.

Speaking to ANI, Aaron George praised India's strong form, saying India look like a "team ready to win the World Cup". He lauded their impressive batting and bowling, as well as their overall performance across all departments. He added that handling the high-pressure India-Pakistan clash so effectively was a major achievement for Suryakumar Yadav & Co. and expressed pride as a citizen.

"Just like I said earlier, India is in very good form. They are definitely looking like a team ready to win the World Cup. The brilliant display of batting and bowling in the game was very good to watch. We expect nothing less from our Indian team. So, I hope we are going to win the World Cup again this year. Overall performance in batting, bowling and fielding, India has been doing a great job, just like they did in today's job. Handling the Indian-Pakistan pressure and performing so well is a great achievement for the whole team. As citizens, we are all very proud. Rooting for the team to do better in the games coming forward," Aaron George told ANI.

Coming to the T20 WC match, Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. After Abhishek was out for a duck, Ishan's 77 and Tilak's 25 kept India stable, but the Men in Blue sank to 126/4, losing their set batters and all-rounder Hardik Pandya (0).

However, skipper Suryakumar, Shivam, and Rinku finished the innings well, pacing their knocks perfectly in tough conditions. India scored 175/7, with Saim Ayub (3/25) being the top bowler for Pakistan.

In the run-chase, Pakistan were reduced to 34/4 courtesy early strikes from Hardik, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel. Usman Khan (44 in 34 balls, with six fours and a six) was the only one who showed up for the fight, as Team India packed Pakistan for just 114 runs in 18 overs, progressing to the Super 8 stage with their third successive win.

Axar (2/29 in four overs) was the pick of the bowlers for India, with Hardik (2/16 in three overs), Bumrah (2/17 in two overs), and Varun Chakaravarthy (2/17 in three overs) also being amongst the wickets.

India remains on top with three wins in three matches in Group A, while Pakistan has dropped to third with two wins and a loss, and the USA currently occupies second place with two wins and two losses.

With the emphatic win over their arch-rivals in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup clash, India now leads the T20 World Cup head-to-head against Pakistan scoreline 8-1.

- ANI