IND vs PAK T20 World Cup: The unthinkable happened. After a poor show in the first innings left India with their backs against the wall, the Men in Blue turned things around and won the match against the biggest of odds and their greatest cricket rival. The Indian team defended a meager total of 119, restricting Pakistan to 113/7 in 20 overs, winning the match by six runs. It’s not hard to guess who starred with the ball. Yes, it was a collective bowling effort, but one man was truly exceptional.
IND vs PAK T20 World Cup: India’s batters had a day to forget
Before the match, all the buildup was around the pitch. The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium came under heavy criticism for producing a pitch with uneven and spongy bounce. In a sense, the toss was a lottery, as the captain winning it would surely opt to bowl first and have the target in sight.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam acted as per script as he decided to bowl first. The decision paid off immediately as superstar Virat Kohli (4 off 3) departed in the 2nd over, with Rohit Sharma (13 off 12) following him in the very next over. India’s team management decided to protect their big hitters and sent Axar Patel to ride the wave. This decision, in fact, proved to be a good one as Patel was the second highest scorer for India with 20 runs off 18 balls.
India’s biggest star with the bat was Rishabh Pant who scored a game-high 42 runs off 31 balls. But his innings was completely a highlight reel. He survived on a few occasions and also played some mind boggling shots as well. But he did depart in the 15th over, and that opened the flood gates as Indian team was bundled out for 119 runs in 19 overs.
It was a complete batting failure from India’s middle-order as Suryakumar Yadav (7 off 8), Shivam Dube (3 off 9), Hardik Pandya (7 off 12) and Ravindra Jadeja (0 off 1) combined for only 17 runs.
India vs Pakistan: Bumrah wins for India
If Pakistan was looking to improve its World Cup record against India, then this was a golden opportunity. At the halfway stage, Babar Azam’s team had the game firmly placed within its grasp. The chase also got off to a good start as Pakistan smashed 9 runs in the first over. At the end of four overs, the 2009 champions were 21/0, a perfect start to the chase.
In the 5th over, Jasprit Bumrah outsmarted Babar Azam (13 off 10), who was caught in the slip by Suryakumar Yadav. Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Khan provided stability, taking their team total to 57/1 in 10 overs.
Axar Patel broke the dangerous-looking partnership on the first ball of the 11th over with the wicket of Usman Khan (13 off 15). Fakhar Zaman (13 off 8) came in at No. 4 and showed aggression, but his cameo came to a swift end when Rishabh Pant caught him behind off Hardik Pandya‘s delivery.
However, it was the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan (31 off 44) that truly changed the game for India. Jasprit Bumrah clean bowled the Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman, bringing India back into the game.
Bumrah took another crucial wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed (5 off 9) on the last ball of the 19th over. The Mumbai Indians superstar finished his four-over spell with jaw-dropping figures of 3/14 and was deservedly awarded the Man of the Match award. It was his second consecutive match-winning performance.
