Picture : BCCI/ X
Indian bowlers spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah held their nerves to help India beat Pakistan by just six runs a low- scoring T20 World Cup Group A match encounter in New York.
Earlier, Pakistan Skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bowl first . And Indian batting line- up with big names floundered right from the start – Virat Kohli fell for ( 4), Skipper Rohit Sharma fell for 13 , Suryakumar Yadav ( 7), Shivam Dube ( 3) , Hardik Pandya ( 7), Ravindra Jadeja ( 0) , Arshdeep Singh ( 9) , Jasprit Bumrah ( 0) , Mohammed Siraj not out 7.
India would not have reached three figures mark too had Rishabh Pant not played a gutsy attacking 42 ( 31 balls, six fours) ,Axar Patel chipped in with an invaluable ( 20) in rather dismal batting show. India were bundled out for just 119/ 10 in 19 overs .
Pakistan bowling were spot on : Naseem Shah 3/ 21 ( 4 overs), Mohammad Amir 2/ 23 ( 4 overs) , Haris Rauf 3/ 21 ( 3 overs) , Shaheen Afridi 1/ 29 ( 4 overs) , Iftikhar Ahmed 0/ 7 ( 1 over) , Imad Wasim 0/ 17 ( 3 overs)
Chasing small total is tricky as Pakistan soon found out . The batsmen got the starts but could not carry on. Mohammad Rizwan ( 31 ) , Skipper Babar Azam ( 13) , Usman Khan ( 13), Fakhar Zaman ( 13) , Imad Wasim ( 15) .
The chase was getting tough as wickets fell quickly – Shadab Khan ( 4) , Iftikhar Ahmed ( 5) , Naseem Shah not out 10 hit some lusty blows towards the end but it was not enough. Shah broke down after not able to take the team over the line . Shaheen Afridi was not out 0. Pakistan losing by just 6 runs finishing at an agonising 113 / 7 in their 20 overs.
Indian bowling stood tall . Jasprit Bumrah led from the front with superb figures 3/ 14 ( 4 overs) and performance that got him the MOM award .
Bumrah was supported well by Hardik Pandya 2/ 24 ( 4 overs) , Mohammed Siraj 0/ 19 ( 4 overs) , Arshdeep Singh 1/ 31 ( 4 overs) bowled the last over too. Ravindra Jadeja 0/ 10 ( 2 overs) , Axar Patel 1/11 ( 2 overs)
Match: T20 World Cup, 19th Match
Venue: New York | Date: June 09, 2024
