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T20 World Cup: Bowlers bowl India to an exciting win against Pakistan after batters flopped
With this win, India moves to the top of the table to join USA, who too, has won both its games.
Jasprit Bumrah was the hero as India beat Pakistan by six runs. / Snapsindia
Bowlers made up where batters failed to carry the day for pre-match favorites India in its crucial T20 World Cup tie against neighbors and traditional rivals Pakistan at Nassau County Cricket Club on June.9. India won by six runs as Pakistan finished at 113 for seven after star-studded Indian batting folded up at 119 in 19 overs before a packed stadium.
With this win, its second from as many matches, India moves to the top of the table to join USA, who too, has won both its games. Pakistan sinks to the bottom of the table with two losses and sits with winless Ireland.
It was not only an exciting cricket battle played on the “drop-in” pitch of the Nassau Stadium, but also a running chanting match between supporters of two teams. While the Indians outnumbered their Pakistani counterparts, the chants reflected the trust or faith they had in the capabilities of their respective teams. Many girls supporting Pakistani green jerseys, disappointed at the second successive loss of their team, were seen shouting “Babar Azam Party, Kya App ghumne aaye ho” (Babar Azam and team, have you come on an excursion). On the other hand, Indians supported every good move of their batters or bowlers and were seen hugging each other after Arshdeep Singh claimed a wicket on the first ball of the last over and prevented Pakistan from achieving the target.
It was “Bum Bum” Jasprit Bumrah, who turned the tide for India. He bowled a terrific spell as Pakistan were solidly placed at 73 for 3 in 12.1 overs, needing run-a-ball 47. Bumrah, however, had a different plan in his mind. He turned the game on its head with some sensational bowling. He finished with figures of 3 for 14 in four overs, playing a key role in stopping Pakistan at 113 for 7 in 20 overs. Needless to reiterate, it was Pacers Day as the wicket, unlike the first two games, was less bouncy and supported some good cricket.
Mohammad Rizwan made 31 for Pakistan. / SnapsindiaFor India, there were more batting disappointments than their opponents. Pakistan bowled out India in less than 20 overs for the first time in this format of cricket. Incidentally, it was also India’s lowest total against Pakistan. Except for a cheeky inning of 42 by wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant (42 from 31 balls with six hits to the fence) and Axar Patel 20 (18 balls with two fours and a six), Indian batsmen lacked application as Virat Kohli (4), Surya Kumar Yadav (7), Shivam Dube (7) and Hardik Pandya (7) went cheaply. Skipper Rohit Sharma after a flick off his toes for a towering six over the square leg also did not last long and contributed 13 to the aggregate.
Pakistan had won the toss and put India to bat first after a drizzle delayed the start of the game. There was another rain interruption after the first over as Pakistan pacers were right on the spot as they regained control over the game after India had put up 50 runs in the power play for the loss of two wickets. India was in a good position at 81 for 3 after 10 overs but what followed was a batting collapse as the rest of the batters scored 38 runs and lost 7 wickets in the next 9 overs. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf were the pick of bowlers for Pakistan with three wickets each while Mohammad Amir picked two wickets.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rizwan took up the fight single-handedly. He put up full resistance to the Indian attack by scoring 31 runs before he was superbly bowled by Bumrah. Babar Azam departed after scoring 13, Imad Wasim made 15 and Fakhar Zaman also made 13.
Bumrah was well supported by Hardik Pandya who finished with 2 for 24 while Axar Patel took one wicket for 11 runs. Arshdeep also ended with one for 31, his only scalp coming in the last over.
Bumrah, who was declared “man to watch” in a pre-match comment by Navjot Sidhu, justified his assertion by getting the man of the match award.
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