Salman Agha was still shaking his head when he walked into the post-match presser. The Pakistan captain felt Fakhar Zaman’s early dismissal against India might have hinged on a borderline call. “Umpires can make mistakes,” he said. “But it did look like it bounced ahead of the keeper to me. I might be wrong. The way [Fakhar] was batting, if he had batted through the powerplay, we would probably have scored 190. But those are calls for umpires to make. To me, it looked like it bounced before the keeper. I might be mistaken, but so might be the umpire.”
The moment arrived in the second over. Hardik Pandya took pace off, Fakhar edged, and Sanju Samson lunged forward. From square-on it seemed the fingers were under the ball; from head-on a hint of grass was visible. Third umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge viewed the angles twice, then ruled the catch clean. Play carried on, Fakhar trudged off for 15 from nine balls, and the debate began.
Pakistan’s start still crackled. Promoted youngster Sahibzada Farhan crunched a 34-ball fifty, while Saim Ayub nudged singles to keep the board moving. Fifty-five in the powerplay and 91 after ten overs were both national bests against India in T20s. “The batting was a lot better today, and that’s a positive,” Agha reflected. “The way our start was, we could have scored 15 more. But when the ball goes soft after ten overs, it’s not as easy to bat.”
That soft Kookaburra told after drinks. India’s seamers, Pandya and Mohammed Siraj in particular, hit the surface hard, varied their pace and conceded only one boundary in seven overs. Pakistan slipped from 110 for 2 to 150 for 5, finishing on 171. On most nights it is a defendable total; on a true Colombo pitch with dew settling in, it looked light.
India’s chase removed any doubt. Shubman Gill whipped the new ball through mid-wicket, Abhishek Sharma upper-cut with freedom, and the pair rattled to 100 without loss inside nine overs. Fakhar’s drop of Gill, a sharp chance at backward point, compounded Pakistan’s frustration; Farhan then mis-timed a leap on the rope, turning a regulation stop into six. Agha admitted the fielding lapses hurt. “Bowling or batting, we look to play the perfect game,” he said. “To win, you have to excel in all three facets of the game. We didn’t field well or start well with the ball.”
India eventually coasted home by six wickets with nine balls to spare. The win keeps them top of the group, and, crucially, preserves energy ahead of back-to-back fixtures. From Pakistan’s side, the calendar offers scant time to brood. They are back on the park in 48 hours. “We have to forget this game because we have one the day after tomorrow,” Agha said, eyes already forward. “We’re looking forward to delivering a better performance there.”
While social media dissected frame-by-frame replays of the Fakhar catch, former opener Aakash Chopra noted on broadcast that split-second decisions will always include an element of interpretation. No law change, he argued, will remove that grey area. What matters for Pakistan now is recovering the control they displayed in the first ten overs with the bat and replicating it with the ball. The side showed it can set a challenging total; sustaining pressure for 40 overs remains the next step.
Cricket often turns on fine margins. A millimetre of grass, a mistimed dive, or a soft ball can tip the scales. Pakistan left Colombo with reminders of each. India, by contrast, pocketed two points and moved on without much fuss—business-like, efficient, and aware tougher tests await.
