MUMBAI, Feb. 18 -- Pakistan cricket team has a good think-tank - in Mike Hesson they have a coach with tactical acumen, well versed with T20 format, and their captain Salman Agha is a strong character. It showed in their results ahead of the India game - having won five (T20I) games on the bounce, including a 3-0 whitewash of Australia. For Sri Lanka's spin-friendly playing surfaces, they had a variety of spin options, a surprise weapon in Usman Tariq. They also had the advantage of being based in Sri Lanka from the start of the tournament. But, all of it came a cropper against India. Captain Suryakumar Yadav was a step ahead of the opposition. India had an answer for every challenge and outplayed them. Agha's decision to bowl the first over and get Abhishek Sharma for a duck was the only move of the evening which clicked for Pakistan. From there on, they were chasing shadows. At a certain level, even Agha was wasted as he bowled just two overs out of the possible four despite getting some impressive drift. The role clarity the India players displayed was impressive. The same, though, can't be said of Pakistan. Given the hype around the contest, the Indian players won half the battle with a calm and composed approach. India's spin all-rounder Axar Patel, who had an excellent game with the ball, said the team cut off the outside noise. "We were just thinking about our plan and our execution when we are batting or bowling, we are just thinking about if we are bowling first or we are bowling second what we have to do? How the wicket was? All those things," Axar said in the post match conference. Pakistan fancied their chances after striking the first blow in the opening over. It was a decisive moment in the game. India had a back-up power-hitter in Ishan Kishan. He effortlessly stepped into Abhishek's shoes to deliver a massive counterpunch. It ensured Pakistan didn't get the chance to build on the psychological advantage gained by having a prized scalp. The keeper-batter played a sensational 40-ball 77 to lift his side to a competitive 175/7 and he could do that because he chose the smart play. Pakistan's gameplan was spin centric but with the ball turning, Kishan waited for the bad ball and did not go charging out of his crease. India got to 52/1 in the Powerplay period with Kishan scoring 42 (25 balls) of those runs. Overall, Kishan hammered 66 runs off 37 balls against Pakistan slow bowlers, spoiling their spin-heavy strategy on a slow playing surface. Pakistan coach Hesson acknowledged that Kishan's approach unsettled his spinners. Earlier, teams used to target Kishan on the off-side owing to his penchant for leg-side strokes. Pakistan spinners plan was the same but Kishan was better prepared this time. "I did work a lot on my off-side game, so then I can have them bowl where I want them to bowl. On a big ground, you get bigger gaps," Kishan said in his post-match interview with the official broadcaster. Saim Ayub finally got Kishan in the ninth over but India cashed in on the early advantage. Even with wickets in hand, they refrained from going in search of extra runs. It was disciplined batting with an eye on the big picture. Until the 18th over, the maximum they got was two 10-run overs, in the 12th and 13th. Tilak Varma stuck to a role of anchor, scoring a 24-ball 25. "The way he (Kishan) played his shots, I told him to keep batting the same way, and that if a wicket fell, I would handle it at the other end and rotate the strike," Varma told JioHotstar. Surya (29-ball 32) being there for Pakistan's trump card Tariq was a perfect match up for India. Never once did the India captain make a premeditated charge. With wickets in hand, Shivam Dube (27-17b) and Rinku Singh (11-4b) could attack in the final overs. Once India reached 175, the pressure was on Pakistan. The ball was spinning, and Surya was smart with his bowling changes. While Pakistan opted for spin, India stuck to pace with the new ball. There were two reasons to get Hardik Pandya to bowl the first over - one, his success against Pakistan and, second, getting opener Sahibzada Farhan early. He again provided a dream start by removing Farhan. Bumrah then did Bumrah things with a double blow in the innings' second over before the spinners took over, dismissing Pakistan for 114. The maddest of formats, it might be said, was won by the sanest of teams. On Wednesday, India take on Netherlands in their last Group A tie in Ahmedabad and looked poised to complete their Group A engagements with an all-win record. India will be hoping that Abhishek Sharma returns to his destructive ways and the other batters up their game against spin. Having established himself as one of the most dangerous batters in the game over the last 18 months, Abhishek is yet to go ballistic in the ICC event at home thus far. After a nought in the opener, a stomach infection forced him out of the game against Namibia. He returned for the high stakes Pakistan contest but failed to get a run for the second time in as many matches. (With inputs from Agency)...