Pakistan Beat India by Four Wickets in Hong Kong Sixes, Chasing 89 in 23 Balls

A 23-ball chase keeps Pakistan in the Cup race

Pakistan beat India by four wickets at Mission Road Ground in Mong Kok on Friday, October 30, 2026, chasing a target of 89 with 13 balls remaining in their Hong Kong International Sixes Group C match. Captain Abbas Afridi struck 35 from eight balls and Khawaja Nafay made 41 from 12 as Pakistan recovered from an opening defeat to the United Arab Emirates.

India finished their six overs on 88 for five after Afridi won the toss and chose to field. Shashank Singh supplied 40 from just 11 deliveries, but Pakistan took control almost immediately in reply. Afridi hit five consecutive sixes in Krunal Pandya's opening over, which cost 31 runs, before the second over brought another 28.

Irfan Khan, also known as Irfan Niazi, sealed the victory by hitting his first delivery for six. Pakistan completed the chase in 3.5 overs, cricket notation for three completed overs and five further balls, or 23 deliveries altogether.

The result gave Pakistan their first win in two matches and moved them to the top of Group C at that stage. India dropped to the bottom before their scheduled meeting with the UAE on Saturday, October 31. Pakistan had completed their group fixtures and had to wait for that result to learn their next opponent.

Shashank supplies nearly half of India's runs

Shashank's innings was the centre of India's batting effort. His five sixes and two fours produced 38 of his 40 runs, leaving only two runs from other scoring shots. He contributed about 45 percent of India's total, a large share in a format where each innings lasts only 36 legal deliveries.

Nitish Rana added 19 from 14 balls, while Rahul Tripathi scored nine. T Natarajan finished unbeaten on 12 from six deliveries. Those contributions helped India reach 88, but the innings lacked another burst comparable to Shashank's.

Captain Krunal Pandya and Rahul Tewatia were both dismissed from the first balls they faced. A dismissal without scoring from a batter's first delivery is called a golden duck. Losing two players that way put more pressure on the remaining batters to keep the scoring moving.

India's 88 was the lowest total of the tournament that day. It still required Pakistan to score at almost 15 runs an over to win, but that demand proved manageable once Afridi and Nafay began clearing the boundary.

Abdul Samad makes his over count

Abdul Samad delivered Pakistan's strongest bowling figures, taking two wickets for 10 runs in his single over. His wickets included Pandya, removing India's captain before he could score. Ahmed Daniyal and Mohammad Shahzad took one wicket each.

Samad's figures mattered because an over is a substantial part of this shortened game. His six deliveries accounted for one sixth of India's innings, yet cost only 10 runs. India's other five overs produced 78 runs, an average of 15.6 per over.

Pakistan still had to absorb Shashank's attacking innings, including five shots over the boundary without bouncing. Samad's combination of wickets and relatively few runs helped keep the target within reach of a strong opening partnership.

Afridi and Nafay take control in two overs

Afridi's assault on Pandya immediately changed the chase. Five consecutive sixes supplied 30 runs from those shots alone, and the opening over ended with Pakistan on 31. After just six legal deliveries, Pakistan had already scored more than a third of their target.

Nafay continued the attack against Natarajan in the second over, striking five boundaries as Pakistan added 28. The opening two overs therefore produced 59 runs, leaving only 30 more needed to reach the target of 89 with four overs still available.

Pakistan's opening partnership was recorded as 59 from 13 balls in two match accounts and as 57 in another. Both openers scored at a pace that quickly reduced India's room to recover: Afridi's 35 came at more than four runs per ball, while Nafay's 41 came at more than three.

Afridi hit one four and five sixes, collecting 34 of his 35 runs in boundaries. Nafay struck two fours and five sixes, making 38 of his 41 that way. Together, their boundary shots produced 72 runs, more than four fifths of the target Pakistan had been set.

Two wickets arrive too late for India

Shashank gave India their first breakthrough by dismissing Afridi in the third over, with Natarajan taking the catch. Afridi departed for 35, having already given Pakistan a commanding start.

Tewatia then removed Nafay for 41. Both bowlers gained a wicket after failing to prevent Pakistan's early surge, but India still needed a rapid run of further dismissals to turn the match.

Samad finished unbeaten on seven from three deliveries, and Irfan finished unbeaten on six from his only ball. Irfan's six carried Pakistan past the target and ended the contest with more than two overs unused.

Pakistan's closing total was listed as 91 for two and 92 for two in the match accounts. The result and finishing point were consistent: a victory by four wickets in 3.5 overs. In this competition, each side has six players, so losing two wickets leaves four wickets in hand, which explains the winning margin.

Pakistan recover after a narrow defeat

Pakistan had started their Group C campaign with a defeat by one wicket against the UAE earlier on Friday. That made the India match especially important: a second loss would have left them without a group victory and ended their challenge for first place.

Afridi's side instead finished their two group fixtures with one win and one defeat. Their move to the top of the group kept their Cup hopes alive, although the final positions still depended on India's remaining match against the UAE.

Pakistan entered the tournament as defending champions after winning a record sixth title in 2025. India had won the competition once, in 2005. Friday's result extended Pakistan's pursuit of another title while leaving India needing an immediate response.

The day's sequence put the change in Pakistan's position into perspective:

• October 30: Pakistan lost their opening Group C match to the UAE by one wicket.
• October 30: Pakistan beat India by four wickets with 13 balls remaining and completed their group fixtures.
• October 31: India were scheduled to face the UAE in the remaining Group C match.
• November 1: The tournament final was scheduled for Sunday.

What India's remaining match decides

The tournament has 12 teams divided into four groups of three. Each team plays the other two sides in its group, making every result important because there are only two chances to build a record.

Only the group winners advance to the Cup semifinals. Teams finishing second enter the Plate competition, while those finishing third enter the Bowl competition. India's defeat therefore affected which trophy they could pursue, with their final group position still to be settled.

India's match against the UAE was their second and final group fixture. A win was necessary to keep their chance of topping the group alive. Pakistan, with no group match left to play, had to await the completed standings rather than secure qualification through another performance of their own.

No confirmed next opponent for Pakistan or match start time for India's Saturday fixture was given. The next scheduled step was the India-UAE game, followed by the tournament's concluding stages and Sunday's final.

The opening overs explain the margin

India and Pakistan both had batters who struck five sixes: Shashank for India, and Afridi and Nafay for Pakistan. The difference was how much support those innings received and how quickly Pakistan's two main scorers put the target within reach.

Shashank made 40 of India's 88. Afridi and Nafay combined for 76, almost twice Shashank's contribution, while using only 20 deliveries between them. Samad and Irfan then finished the chase without another wicket falling.

Pakistan's first two overs brought 59 runs, compared with India's 88 across all six. That left India trying to defend 30 runs over the remaining four overs, with Pakistan's opening batters already settled. The wickets taken by Shashank and Tewatia interrupted the chase, but the early scoring had made the remaining task small.

For India, the immediate concern before facing the UAE was concrete: more runs from the batting order around Shashank and a much tighter opening to their bowling effort. Pakistan had turned a narrow opening defeat into a convincing win, giving themselves a chance to remain in the main title competition.

Key Points

• Pakistan beat India by four wickets in Group C at Mission Road Ground on October 30, 2026.
• India made 88 for five, led by Shashank Singh's 40 from 11 balls.
• Abdul Samad took two wickets for 10 runs in one over.
• Abbas Afridi scored 35 from eight balls and Khawaja Nafay made 41 from 12.
• Pakistan completed the chase in 23 balls, with 13 deliveries remaining.
• Pakistan finished their group fixtures with one win and one defeat; India were scheduled to face the UAE on October 31.
• Group winners advance to the Cup semifinals, with the final scheduled for November 1.