Put in to bat, Kishan took the game away from Pakistan despite the fall of Abhishek Sharma in the first over, bowled by Salman Ali Agha.
The other Indian batters found it tough to find boundaries against the Pakistan spinners. Agha employed pace for just two overs in the innings.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav scored 32 off 27 balls.
Off-spinner Saim Ayub was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers, ending with three wickets for 25 runs in four overs.
Brief scores: India 175/7 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 77; Saim Ayub 3/25). Pakistan all out 114 in 18 overs (Usman Khan 44; Jasprit Bumrah 2/17, Axar Patel 2/19, Varun Chakaravarthy 2/17).
| India (20 ovs maximum) |
| Batting | | R | B | M | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Ishan Kishan † | b Saim Ayub | 77 | 40 | 41 | 10 | 3 | 192.5 |
| Abhishek Sharma | c Shaheen Shah Afridi b Salman Agha | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tilak Varma | lbw b Saim Ayub | 25 | 24 | 68 | 2 | 1 | 104.16 |
| Suryakumar Yadav (c) | c Saim Ayub b Usman Tariq | 32 | 29 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 110.34 |
| Hardik Pandya | c Babar Azam b Saim Ayub | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shivam Dube | run out (Mohammad Nawaz/†Usman Khan) | 27 | 17 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 158.82 |
| Rinku Singh | not out | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 275 |
| Axar Patel | c Saim Ayub b Shaheen Shah Afridi | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras | (lb 2, w 1) | 3 | | | | | |
| Total | 20 Ov (RR: 8.75) | 175/7 |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | WD |
| Salman Agha | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 2 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 15.5 | 3 | 0 |
| Saim Ayub | 4 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 6.25 | 11 | 0 |
| Abrar Ahmed | 3 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 12.66 | 5 | 0 |
| Shadab Khan | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| Usman Tariq | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
Explaining the decision, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said the surface appeared slightly tacky and could offer early assistance to bowlers. He also pointed out that the R Premadasa Stadium is a bigger ground than the SSC, with a slower pitch expected to come into play.
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said his side was comfortable batting first, having defended totals successfully in their last two matches. He added that in a high-stakes contest like this, either team could win on the day.
Teams
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Khan (wk), Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.