Pakistan vs India Hong Kong Sixes: Pakistan Beat India by 4 Wickets After UAE Loss

Photo: GeoSuper

Pakistan beat India by four wickets in the Hong Kong Sixes on Friday, chasing down 89 runs in just 3.5 overs after losing their opening Group C match to the UAE earlier in the day.

Captain Abbas Afridi set the tone at Mission Road Ground in Mong Kok, smashing five sixes in a row off Krunal Pandya in the first over. Pakistan finished on 91 for 2 with 13 balls to spare, keeping their hopes of reaching the next round alive.

Main News Report

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first against India. The bowlers kept India to 88 for 5 in their six overs. Shashank Singh top scored for India with 40 off 11 balls, including two fours and five sixes, but no other Indian batter got going. Abdul Samad was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers with 2 for 10 in his one over, while Ahmed Daniyal and Mohammad Shahzad took one wicket each.

The chase was over almost as soon as it started. Abbas Afridi took 31 runs off the first over, hitting Pandya for five consecutive sixes, and Pakistan were 59 without loss after two overs. Afridi made 35 off just eight balls, with one four and five sixes, before he was out. Khawaja Nafay then took over, scoring 41 off 12 balls with two fours and five sixes.

Nafay fell with Pakistan six runs short, but Irfan Khan Niazi finished the job with a six off his first ball. Abdul Samad stayed unbeaten on seven off three balls as Pakistan reached 91 for 2 in 3.5 overs. Afridi was named player of the match for his explosive start.

The win came hours after a painful start to the day. In their first Group C match, defending champions Pakistan lost to the UAE by one wicket in a last ball thriller. Pakistan posted 106 for 2, with Afridi scoring 53 off 13 balls, but the UAE reached 109 for 5, thanks to Khalid Shah's 71 off 20 balls.

Both Group C results at a glance:

• Pakistan 106 for 2 lost to UAE 109 for 5 by one wicket (Khalid Shah 71 off 20, Abbas Afridi 53 off 13).
• India 88 for 5 lost to Pakistan 91 for 2 by four wickets, with 13 balls to spare (Shashank Singh 40 off 11, Khawaja Nafay 41 off 12, Abbas Afridi 35 off 8).

Background Context

The Hong Kong Sixes is a six-a-side, six-overs-per-side tournament, and matches can turn in a single over. That is exactly what happened twice for Pakistan on Friday: first when Khalid Shah's hitting took the UAE past them, then when Afridi's 31-run opening over broke India's back.

Pakistan are the defending champions, having won the title in 2025 after beating Kuwait in the final. Twelve teams are split into four groups of three, with Pakistan, India and the UAE drawn together in Group C. Only the group winners and the best runners-up progress, so every run and every ball matters for net run rate.

Pakistan against India is the fixture every fan looks for first, in any format. A sixes match lasts barely an hour, but the rivalry does not shrink with it, and Friday's crowd at Mission Road Ground got the full version: a big Indian total threatened, a Pakistan captain going after the bowling from ball one, and a finish with a six.

For readers following Pakistan's wider sporting week, the Sixes result sits alongside England's 55-run win over Sri Lanka in Lahore, where Ben Duckett hit a career best 167, and Everton's 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Newcastle. The short format is a different game, but the pattern is the same: one big over can decide it.

Reactions and Statements

GeoSuper reported that the win keeps Pakistan's hopes of progressing alive after the morning defeat, while Indian reports noted that India's net run rate took a heavy hit and they now need a big win over the UAE on 31 October to stay in the hunt.

Social media clips of Afridi's first over spread fast after the match, with fans pointing to the five sixes in a row as the moment the game was won. No official Pakistan Cricket Board statement on the Sixes results had been published at the time of writing.

Why This News Matters

For Pakistan fans, this is a simple story: a morning loss that hurt, then a famous win over India in the afternoon. Beating India in any format lifts the mood, and doing it in 3.5 overs, with the captain leading from the front, makes it a result fans will talk about all weekend.

It also matters for the tournament itself. Pakistan are not through yet. Their progress now depends on the UAE against India fixture and on net run rate, so the morning loss to the UAE still counts. The win over India repaired some of that damage, but it did not erase it.

Finally, the match showed why the Sixes format is growing. Six players a side, six overs each, and a game decided in under an hour makes for sharp, watchable cricket, and Pakistan's batting on Friday, 31 runs in the first over and 91 in 23 balls, was made for it.

Future Developments

Three things to watch next. First, the UAE against India match on 31 October, which decides how Group C finishes and whether Pakistan go through. Second, whether Pakistan's net run rate is enough if the group ends in a tie on points. Third, who Pakistan could meet in the next round if they do progress, with the quarter finals and semi finals to follow at the weekend.

For now, Pakistan have one win and one loss from their two group games, and a win over India that will be remembered longer than the morning defeat.

Sources

• ESPNcricinfo: India vs Pakistan, Group C, Hong Kong Sixes scorecard
• GeoSuper: Pakistan bounce back with win over India in Hong Kong Sixes 2026
• ARY News: Pakistan thrash India in Hong Kong Sixes 2026
• Sportstar: India vs Pakistan, Hong Kong Sixes 2026 highlights

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