Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson said "fearless" Ishan Kishan's marauding fifty was the difference between his side and India, and urged his players to rally after the heavy defeat in the marquee clash of the T20 World Cup here. Led by Kishan's aggressive 77 off 40 balls, India trumped Pakistan by 61 runs in a Group A match here Sunday night to seal a Super Eight berth. "I think he's fearless. He's able to score on both sides of the ground. So, he's not just committed to the leg side. We know he's incredibly strong there, but he can reverse. So, if you've got spin, especially in the power play, it can be a challenge," Hesson said in the post-match press conference.

True to Hesson's words, Kishan scored 66 runs off 37 balls against Pakistan slow bowlers, spoiling their spin-heavy strategy on a slow Premadasa pitch. Hesson admitted that Kishan's approach unsettled his spinners. "I think the fact that he's in a rare vein of form, applied a lot of pressure to our spinners and probably took them away from the basics, which the pitch was actually doing a lot when we bowled nice and slow and into it, but outside of that, no one really scored better than a run a ball. "Other than him, Dubey was slightly better, but it was tough. And that (Kishan's innings) certainly was a standout amongst the whole match, really. The way Kishan played took the game away from us," he added.