Less than 24 hours after an emphatic social media post by India batter Priyank Panchal declared, “Defeated Pakistan. Business as usual,” those five swaggering words dramatically came back to haunt him. The confidence that followed India’s narrow two-run victory over rivals Pakistan (via the DLS method) in the Hong Kong Sixes opener was completely shattered on Saturday morning.
Instead of securing a routine second win, the Dinesh Karthik-led Indian side was humbled by Kuwait, going down by a margin of 27 runs in a stunning Pool C game that completely flipped the group’s narrative. Kuwait posted a formidable total of 106 for 5 in their six overs, a target India’s chase could not sustain, fizzling out at just 79 for 6. This devastating loss left Karthik’s men anchored at the bottom of the pool.
From ‘Flex’ to Nightmare: Panchal’s Final Over
Panchal, who was not part of the playing six for the rain-affected win against Pakistan on Friday, had still landed the viral punchline on social media. That victory saw India scrape past Pakistan after rain halted the chase, relying on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method following brisk contributions from Robin Uthappa (28 off 11) and Bharath Chipli (24 off 13).
However, on Saturday against Kuwait, Panchal found himself right in the thick of the action and was tragically on the receiving end of a game-changing assault.
With Kuwait struggling at 74 for 5 after five overs, and India seemingly in control, Captain Dinesh Karthik entrusted Panchal, a part-time medium pacer, with the crucial final over. Kuwait’s Yasin Patel then tore into Panchal, unleashing a sequence of towering blows that flipped the entire match on its head. Patel hit the first five balls for sixes and finished the innings off with a couple of runs, extracting a punishing total of 32 runs from Panchal’s over. This brutal assault allowed Patel to score a half-century and powered Kuwait’s total to an unassailable 106/5.
India’s Chase Collapses
Chasing a target of 107 runs, India’s reply collapsed early under the immense pressure. Seasoned opener Robin Uthappa fell for a golden duck on the first ball, captain Dinesh Karthik managed just 8, and all-rounder Stuart Binny was cheaply run out, sinking India to a disastrous 12 for 3.
Priyank Panchal himself showed a brief burst of fight in the chase, scoring 17 runs off 10 balls, including two fours and a six, while Abhimanyu Mithun and Shahbaz Nadeem also briefly kept the required equation alive. However, the combination of Yasin Patel’s last-over heroics and the early failures of India’s top order left the task too steep, resulting in India falling 27 runs short.
The unexpected loss to Kuwait has now placed India in a perilous position, likely facing an early exit from the Hong Kong Sixes tournament.