Watch: Ishan Kishan reveals special motivation behind prolific batting against Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2026

The most-anticipated game of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 came to an end on February 15 with India beating Pakistan by 61 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. India, who travelled to Sri Lanka to play the match, were brilliant with the bat and the ball, taking the game home. They also posted the highest total on the board against their arch-rivals in the T20 World Cup history, 175 runs. 

This happened thanks to Ishan Kishan's wonderful batting in the first innings. On winning the toss, Pakistan captain Salman Agha invited India to bat first. The Men in Blue did lose Abhishek Sharma in the first over, but Kishan wreaked havoc on the Pakistan bowling attack. He slammed 77 in 40 balls, including ten boundaries and three sixes. He also won the Player of the Match award after the encounter. 

But, an interview of Kishan is going viral on social media, where he talked to Two Sloggers and revealed the reason why he loves playing against Pakistan. The left-handed batter spoke about how intense the rivalry is and how he feels about beating Pakistan in any game. 

"By seeing Pakistan, there is a lot of motivation within me, sometimes I feel for us. Also, it’s not always about cricket-that you just have to go and score runs, no friend. Sometimes a team feels that way-either crush them or get crushed. I cannot be such a ‘good boy’; I do get angry, we must win no matter what happens. And we wait for someone else to open their mouth (Speak first). Oh bhai, bihar is in the blood," said Kishan during the interview. 

Watch the video here:

India v Pakistan is always a special game: Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan has been an incredible addition to the Indian team ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. He performed well in the New Zealand series and now in the marquee event. The left-handed batter has brought balance to the team along with some power-hitting in the powerplay. He opened up about how important the game against Pakistan was and how special it is for India. 

"India v Pakistan is always a special game not only for us, but for our country as well. So we had to win this one because it was a very important game and they had pretty good spinners in their side and we were just supposed to play the good shots and yeah, winning this against Pakistan team... it will give us a lot of confidence going ahead in the tournament and we'll try to just keep the momentum going," said Ishan Kishan t the post match presentation. 

With three back-to-back wins in the tournament, India are through to the Super 8. They will play their last match against Netherlands. The Men in Blue will travel back to India to play the rest of the matches there.