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At Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok, Krunal Pandya-led India faced a comprehensive defeat against Pakistan in their Hong Kong Sixes 2026 campaign opener on October 30. In the six-overs-per-side format featuring six players per team, Pakistan chased down the target of 89 with 2.1 overs to spare. The big defeat has affected India’s net run rate (NRR), making a big win mandatory against UAE if they are to advance to the semifinals.
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Shashank understands the format, Rana retired out
Pakistan captain Abbas Afridi won the toss and opted to bowl first. In the overly high-scoring format, Rahul Tripathi managed two boundaries in the first over bowled by Ahmed Daniyal. In the next over, Tripathi lost his wicket to Muhammad Shahbzad for nine runs from five balls. Shashank Singh arrived at the crease and whacked one four and two consecutive sixes in the same over.
Nitish Rana struggled to hit boundaries. He was kept quiet after a six in the third over bowled by Afridi. Shashank did the bulk of the scoring. In the fourth over, he whacked Irfan Khan for three sixes and a four. Abdul Samad bowled the fifth over. Nitish Rana hit a six off the first three balls and was retired out by Pandya.
After retiring out Rana, Rahul Tewatia and Pandya were dismissed for golden ducks. T Natarajan arrived at the crease and got off the mark with a four towards deep backward point. On the first ball of the final over, Shashank was knocked over by Daniyal. He smashed five sixes and two fours in his 11-ball 40. Natarajan managed one boundary for the rest of the over. India posted a below par total of 88/5.
Pakistan openers make the run chase easy
In the run chase, Khawaja Nafay took a single off the first ball from Krunal. Then, the left-arm spinner conceded five consecutive sixes off Afridi's bat. The 31-run over made the equation very easy for Pakistan. Natarajan bowled the second over and conceded 28 runs. Nafay hit a four and a six before Natarajan bowled a no-ball. Afridi hit a four, took a single, and then Nafay hit a six and a four. Pakistan were 59 for no loss after two overs.
Shashank broke the opening partnership with Afridi's wicket. He scored 35 runs from just eight deliveries. Nafay and Samad hit a six each in the third over. Tewatia, who has not bowled a single over in the last three Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons, was handed the ball. Nafay hit him for two consecutive sixes. On the fourth over, Nafay lost his wicket. The opener scored 41 runs from 12 balls, including two fours and five sixes. Irfan walked out and finished the run chase with a six.
Semifinal spot difficult for India to book
Earlier in the day, UAE beat Pakistan by one wicket in a last-ball thriller. After the defeat to Pakistan, India’s net run rate (NRR) is -9.072. If India are to progress to the semifinals, they would need to win by a huge margin against UAE on October 31. Otherwise, they will be fighting for other spots.
What happened in PAK vs UAE match?
Afridi won the toss and opted to bat first. Just six runs were scored in the first over bowled by Zahid Ali. Nafay fell to Muhammad Farooq. Then, Afridi smashed Farooq for three consecutive sixes. Afridi continued to smash boundaries. In the fourth over, he hit Muhammad Zuhaib for a hat-trick of sixes to reach his half-century from 13 balls. Pakistan posted 106/2. Samad remained unbeaten for a 15-ball 39.
In the run chase, Afridi conceded 17 runs in the first over and dismissed Ansh Tandon for a golden duck. In the third over, Zuhaib fell to Samad. Khalid revived the run chase with four sixes in the fourth over. He reached his fifty in 16 balls. In the last over, UAE needed 20 runs to win. Khalid hit two sixes before losing his wicket. Zahid hit a four and a six off Irfan to seal a thrilling win for UAE.
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