WESTBURY, N.Y. (AP) — India was in a desperate situation, needing a flash or two of brilliance to defend a low score against arch-rival Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup.
Skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday handed the ball to Jasprit Bumrah and expressed confidence in his favourite pacer to take wickets and turn the match in India’s favour.
The packed crowd on Long Island grew louder and louder as Indian fans outnumbered Pakistani fans.
And Bumrah later said after taking three wickets for 14 runs that he felt like he was playing in India.
Chasing a modest target of 120, Pakistan were cruising at 80/3 after 14 overs before Bumrah smashed the ball into the stumps to dismiss Pakistan top-scorer Mohammad Rizwan for 31. He also picked up the wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed off the last ball of a brilliant spell.
And so after bowling out India for 119 in 19 overs, Pakistan were restricted to 113/7 in 20 overs in a thrilling low-scoring match. India’s six-run win put 2022 runners-up Pakistan on the brink of a group-stage exit.
“Bumrah is getting better and better,” said India captain Sharma. “I won’t talk too much about him – we want him to be in the same mindset till the end of this World Cup.
“He’s a talented player with the ball.”
After the completion Surprised by co-hosts United States In their first match in Dallas, Pakistan made a strong comeback in the Super Over to halt India’s strong batting order even though the match was delayed by nearly an hour due to rain at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
The batsmen seemed to be handling the difficult, uneven pitch conditions well, until Bumrah came back into the attack for his third over.
After this, Pakistan’s middle order batsmen came under so much pressure in the so-called death overs that they could hit only two fours in the last 36 balls.
With 18 needed off the last over, Naseem Shah (10 not out) smashed two boundaries off Arshdeep Singh. He then left the field in tears and was consoled by his batting partner Shaheen Shah Afridi.
This was the second-lowest score successfully defended in a men’s T20 World Cup. It was also the lowest score defended by India in a completed T20 International, and helped take India’s record in T20Is against Pakistan to 7–1.
India defeated Ireland by eight wickets in its first match on the same ground and is at the top of Group A with four points and its net run rate is better than the US team. The US team has also earned four points by winning against Canada and Pakistan.
Only two teams from the four groups make it to the second stage. So to make it to the Super 8, Pakistan will have to win their remaining matches against Canada and Ireland and also hope that the results of the other group matches will also go in their favour.
“The pressure was on us,” said Pakistan captain Babar Azam. “You can’t expect too much from the tail-enders. We didn’t do well in the first six overs, we had set a target of 40-45 runs, but we couldn’t make the most of it.”
Pakistan’s bowlers gave their team the lead, with Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf taking 3-21 each and Mohammad Amir, who came out of retirement for the World Cup, taking 2-23.
Rishabh Pant, who was caught twice during his top-scoring innings of 42 off 31 balls, was one of only three Indian batsmen to reach double figures, joining Axar Patel (20) and Sharma (13).
India’s batting great Virat Kohli lasted just three balls. He hit a boundary off Shah’s first delivery but then missed another big drive off the pacer and was caught in the covers.
The drop-in pitches with variable bounce at this special stadium with a capacity of 34,000 spectators have been a topic of discussion since the start of the tournament, with batsmen so far providing no relief in a cricket format which is practically designed for high scoring.
Scotland get second win
Brendan McMullan’s unbeaten 61 off 31 balls helped Scotland beat Oman by seven wickets with 41 balls to spare at North Sound, Antigua on Sunday to register their second win in Group B.
Batting first, Oman made 150-7 thanks to knocks from Pratik Athawale (54) and Ayan Khan (41 not out).
Scotland scored 153 for three in 13.1 overs, thanks to opener George Munsey’s 41-run innings with the help of four sixes in 20 balls.
Scotland gets one point The first match against England was washed out due to rainalso won over Namibia and top the group with five points. Defending champions England have one point after their weekend defeat to Australia.
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