COLOMBO: Less than five minutes after the end of Sunday’s match at Premadasa Stadium, Hardik Pandya Shivam Dube returns to the middle and bowls on the practice field. There were no over-the-top celebrations, no outpouring of emotion, just a feeling of another routine victory over a Pakistan team that India felt was no match for them at the moment.The 61-match win, their fourth after a hat-trick against their one-time rivals in the Asia Cup, has now secured India’s place in the Super Eights. A lot happened in the build-up to this game and even on Sunday the much-anticipated handshake between the captains did not happen.While uneasiness persisted off the field, when the ball rolled, India’s performance was simply too much. Even a few months ago, Ishan Kishan (77 off 40 balls) Not even close to a berth in the Indian T20 team. But now, the 27-year-old has proven that he can compete with his teammate Abhishek Sharma as the best T20 opener in the world.Abhishek’s early elimination on the slow Premadasa track might have been a big blow, but that’s not the case when Ishan is in the form he is in now. Pakistan’s bowlers were scorned and the chip and sweep unleashed by the Jharkhand boys allowed India to score 52 runs in the first six overs, at least 20 over par on this track.“The pitch is not that easy. Sometimes, you just have to believe and focus on your strengths. I just looked at the ball, stuck to my strengths and let them run as much as possible,” Man of the Match Kishan said at the end of the match.After his exit, India showed ingenuity to reach a total of 175 with some quality spin, forcing Pakistan to take huge risks early in the chase.They were unprepared and Jasprit Bumrah (2-17) and Hardik Pandya (2-16) did the early damage. The spinner bowled 18 in Pakistan’s 20 overs and did not come into action for India until the pacer almost sealed the victory.“This is a match against India. We are playing the kind of cricket we want to play. We thought 175 is 15 to 20 runs above par – 155 will make the game very tight,” captain Surya Kumar Yadav said as thousands of touring India fans went home happily.The story continues on page 17 of the newspaper. We’ve added it below for your reading convenience.Jaishankar talks about Russia relations: Firmly adhere to strategic independenceNew Delhi: India remains firmly committed to strategic autonomy even as global energy markets change and partnerships change, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday. He was responding to a question at the Munich Security Conference on whether the recent trade deal with the United States would affect New Delhi’s energy ties with Russia and whether India would find it difficult to exercise its strategic autonomy in the current circumstances.India maintains that its energy policy is driven by national interests and that actual crude purchases are done by oil companies considering pricing, reliability and other market conditions.“We are very committed to strategic autonomy because it is part of our history and development. It is something very profound and something that cuts across the political spectrum,” he said.In addressing concerns about energy procurement, EAM described the global oil market as complex and dynamic, emphasizing that commercial considerations guide procurement decisions.“It’s a complex market today when it comes to energy issues. Oil companies in India, oil companies in Europe, oil companies in other parts of the world are all going to look at availability, cost, risk and make decisions that they think are in their best interest,” he noted.Jaishankar said that in the rapidly changing global environment, countries are constantly re-evaluating their calculations and partnerships.“A lot of things are changing and a lot of us are doing calculations and recalculations,” he said, adding that while India may not agree with all partners on every issue, dialogue and a willingness to seek common ground remain important.“We’re not necessarily going to agree on everything, but I do believe that by doing that, if there’s a tendency to find common ground and overlap, that’s going to happen,” he said.Talking about independent decision-making in India, he said: “If the bottom line of your question is will I be independent-minded and make decisions? I will make choices that may sometimes be inconsistent with your ideas or other people’s ideas, yes, that can happen.”He met with G7 foreign ministers and global counterparts at the 2026 Munich Security Conference to reiterate India’s support for the United Nations’ 80th anniversary agenda and emphasized New Delhi’s role in maintaining global security.Jaishankar also highlighted India’s role in protecting sea lines of communication, acting as first responder to crises, enhancing port security and contributing to resilient submarine cable infrastructure.
