The status quo remained in the India-Pakistan World Cup rivalry after Sunday's latest bout at the Adelaide Oval. The scores now read India 6, Pakistan 0.

And after yet another demoralising defeat -- this time by a margin of 76 runs -- one might wonder if this is in fact Pakistan's World Cup destiny against India, who launched their title-defence with flying colours in the game's flagship event.

In front of 41,587 spectators, mostly rooting for the men in blue, India produced yet another dominating display in a match dubbed by many as the 'Adelaide final'.

When the two teams last met at Mohali four years ago in a World Cup semifnal, it was Sachin Tendulkar who tormented Pakistan. Exit Sachin, enter Virat Kohli. And the impact is the same. The new heartthrob of Indian cricket struck a majestic 107 to irrevocably tip the balance in favour of India.

Pakistan may take heart from the fact that when they lost their World Cup game down under against India 23 years ago, they went all the way to the title.

But the immediate concern for Pakistan is that they are the only ones to blame for failing to seize an opportunity to end a long-standing jinx, when they dropped centurion and player-of-the match Kohli twice in the match. Kohli eventually helped India become the fourth team in the Cup to score 300 or more runs after South Africa had successfully defended 339 against Zimbabwe in Hamilton earlier in the day.

And if there were any doubts regarding where the match was headed they were cleared after Ravindra Jadeja grasped on to a catch in second attempt to send back the dangerous Ahmed Shehzad.

However, one can't take away the credit from team India. They came into the tournament in bad shape and were demoralised in the tri-nation ODI series. The only win on the tour prior to this match came against Afghanistan. However, all that was forgotten as the defending champions got off to a flying start, courtesy of a solid batting show from Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli, with Suresh   Raina joining in the fun in the latter stages.

After Pakistan's defeat in the 2011 World Cup semifinal, the legendary Imran Khan had said: "The team that handles the pressure best comes out victorious in an Indo-Pak affair." And there were no doubts that under the shrewd leadership of MS Dhoni, India won the battle.

Since his unbeaten 139 against Sri Lanka in November last year, Kohli had failed to even make double figures in his last four innings but the Indian batting master returned to form just at the right time.

In a well-composed knock, Kohli struck eight boundaries in his 126-ball 107 while Raina contributed a quickfire 74 which featured five fours and three sixes as India amassed 300 runs for the first time against Pakistan in a World Cup and steal pacer Sohail Khan's thunder who took his maiden five-wicket haul.

After Younis Khan's early dismissal, Shehzad and Harris Sohail steadied the ship. Dhoni brought in Umesh Yadav, who took two crucial wickets and ended Pakistan's hopes. Captain Misbahul Haq's fighting 76 only reduced the margin of defeat as they scored 224 before being bundled out with three overs in hand.

Cricket pundits will no doubt come up with a series of explanations regarding the defeat, but for Pakistan's fans, the long lasting nightmare may just have been extended by another four years.