Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has said that his players are hurting after their 61-run defeat to India in Colombo on Sunday.

 

"There's a pretty disappointed dressing room in there at the moment, because they know how much it means to Pakistan," he said.

 

Hesson, who has now lost four straight matches against India after three defeats at last year's Asia Cup, defended the decision to bowl first. 

 

"I think the ball was spinning quite a lot initially and we started off well, but I think the way Kishan played, he took the game away from us," he said.

 

Pakistan had won five games in a row coming into the match. "We were confident, but today we got outplayed," Hesson admitted.

 

Hesson remained defiant. "We have to pick ourselves up and make sure that we're very good in two or three days. We have played some good cricket in the lead-up to this World Cup so we're confident to do well in the tournament."

 

The match had been in doubt until the Pakistan government cleared the tour just days before. India, the defending champions, made the most of it. They posted 175 for 7 after Pakistan opted to field first, with Ishan Kishan's 77 holding the innings together after opener Abhishek Sharma fell in the first over. 

 

Suryakumar Yadav added 32 and Shivam Dube chipped in with 27 to take India to a total Pakistan never came close to chasing.

 

Jasprit Bumrah made sure of that. He knocked over Saim Ayub for six and skipper Salman Agha for four in the second over, leaving Pakistan at 13 for 3 before the chase had barely begun. Usman Khan top-scored with 44 but got little help, and Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 18 overs, their third lowest score against India in T20 internationals.

 

The loss stretched Pakistan's T20 World Cup record against India to one win and eight defeats. India confirmed their Super Eights place with a third straight win while Pakistan must beat Namibia on Wednesday to stay in the tournament.