Colombo [Sri Lanka], February 16 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri believes the star Indian opener Abhishek Sharma needs to 'give himself a little bit of time' amid his lean patch, after the left-hand batter faced another batting failure during the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 clash on Sunday at Colombo.

Abhishek Sharma got out for a four-ball duck against Pakistan in Colombo. It came as the batter's second consecutive duck in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, and his third in his last five T20I innings. The No. 1-ranked T20I batter in the world is yet to score a run in the 2026 World Cup.

Notably, Abhishek's last T20I fifty was six innings ago, when he made an unbeaten 68 against New Zealand in Guwahati.

Ravi Shastri, while speaking to Sanjana Ganesan as per the ICC website, expressed confidence that Abhishek Sharma will bounce back soon, saying he just needs to be patient and give himself more time at the crease.

Shastri added that lean phases are normal, and once Abhishek settles in, turning dot balls into boundaries and sixes won't be difficult for him.

'I think he's due, but he just has to give himself a little bit of time. Such things happen, and you can go off the boil, but he's just got to give himself a little more time until he gets back on track. Because for him to convert those dot balls later on into boundaries and sixes, is not difficult,' Shastri told Sanjana Ganesan, as quoted by the ICC website.

Ishan Kishan, who put up a brilliant show against Pakistan, hammering 77 off just 40 balls to help India secure a 61-run win over the arch-rivals and eventually won the Player of the Match award, earned high praise from Shastri. It marked Ishan Kishan's second successive half-century in the T20 World Cup 2026.

Shastri said Ishan Kishan is in outstanding form, praising his remarkable strike rate and noting that scoring nearly 200 runs on the challenging Colombo pitch was exceptional.

'He's batting like a dream at the moment. Striking on that track (Colombo pitch) at close to 200 is unreal. Every batter didn't find it easy, whether it was Indian or Pakistani, because the ball was stopping and for him to strike the way he did, and what I liked was how quickly he assessed the conditions,' Shastri said.

Coming to the India vs Pakistan match, Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. After Abhishek was out for a duck, Ishan's 77 and Tilak Varma's 25 kept India stable, but the Men in Blue sank to 126/4, losing their set batters and all-rounder Hardik Pandya (0).

However, skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh finished the innings well, pacing their knocks perfectly in tough conditions. India scored 175/7, with Saim Ayub (3/25) being the top bowler for Pakistan.

In the run-chase, Pakistan were reduced to 34/4 courtesy early strikes from Hardik, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel. Usman Khan (44 in 34 balls, with six fours and a six) was the only one who showed up for the fight, as Team India packed Pakistan for just 114 runs in 18 overs, progressing to the Super 8 stage with their third successive win.

Axar Patel (2/29 in four overs) was the pick of the bowlers for India, with Hardik (2/16 in three overs), Bumrah (2/17 in two overs), and Varun Chakaravarthy (2/17 in three overs) also being amongst the wickets.

India remains on top with three wins in three matches in Group A, while Pakistan has dropped to third with two wins and a loss, and the USA currently occupies second place with two wins and two losses.

With the emphatic win over their arch-rivals in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup clash, India now leads the T20 World Cup head-to-head scoreline against Pakistan by 8-1. (ANI)