Kuwait piled up 106 for 5 in six overs, and India’s chase never got going, ending at 79 for 6. The result left Dinesh Karthik’s side anchoring the bottom of the group standings.

Less than a day after tweeting, “Defeated Pakistan. Business as usual,” Indian batter Priyank Panchal found himself on the wrong end of the headlines. His social media post, made after India’s narrow win over Pakistan in the Hong Kong Sixes opener, quickly aged as the team stumbled to a defeat against Kuwait on Saturday.

Panchal’s viral post on Friday had followed India’s tense win over Pakistan, a match rescued by quick cameos from Robin Uthappa (28 off 11) and Bharath Chipli (24 off 13). India reached 86 for 4 before rain stopped play, and with Pakistan trailing at 41 for 1 after three overs, India were declared winners via the DLS method. However, the tables turned dramatically less than 24 hours later.

India suffers a shock defeat to Kuwait

What was expected to be another comfortable outing turned into a humbling setback as India fell by 27 runs in their Pool C clash. Kuwait piled up 106 for 5 in six overs, and India’s chase never caught fire, and ended at 79 for 6. The result left Dinesh Karthik’s side anchoring the bottom of the group standings. Against Kuwait, Panchal not only found himself in the XI but also at the centre of the game’s decisive over.

With Kuwait at a manageable 74 for 5 heading into the final over, captain Karthik turned to Panchal’s part-time medium pace. The move backfired spectacularly as Yasin Patel launched a blistering assault, hammering five consecutive sixes and adding a boundary to collect 32 runs off the over. Yasin’s late fireworks carried Kuwait to 106 for 5 and gave him a rapid half-century.

India’s chase unraveled from the start. Uthappa was dismissed off the first ball, Karthik managed only 8, and Stuart Binny’s run-out deepened the collapse to 12 for 3. Panchal redeemed himself slightly with 17 off 10, finding the boundary three times, while Abhimanyu Mithun and Shahbaz Nadeem added brief resistance. Still, the early damage and Yasin’s explosive over left India with too steep a climb, sealing a deflating 27-run loss.