Indian stars are celebrating the dismissal of a Pakistan batsman in a T20 World Cup match.©AFP
Indian bowlers, led by the outstanding Jasprit Bumrah, came from the brink of defeat to snatch victory against Pakistan. Chasing 120, Pakistan were 57/1 at the halfway stage but could only manage 113/7 in 20 overs. Varying between sublime and absurd, Pakistan appeared to have the match in hand as they needed 48 runs from as many balls with eight wickets to spare. But the ever-effective pace combination of Bumrah (3/14) and Hardik Pandya (2/24) brought India back from the dead with a sharp spell as Pakistan lost wickets in droves to finish at 113 for 7 in the 20 overs.
Pakistan’s standout player Waqar Younis slammed his team after the loss.
“India are a well-balanced team. If their batting isn’t going well, they have Bumrah, Siraj, Jadaiya. They bowl well and cover well, their defence is good too. They are a super team. Pakistan, what can I say if you don’t win this match? This was on the plate that was given to you and you have really spilled it,” Waqar Younis told Star Sports.
“Pakistan’s batsmen performed horribly. They had little combination early on but they couldn’t finish the game off. The game was in their hands. It was one run per ball. Rizwan’s shots were just ordinary shots. When his wicket fell I knew it. Knowing what Bumrah and Siraj are capable of I knew something special was going to happen. Hardik Pandya also bowled really well. It was more a case of good Indian pitching than poor Pakistan batting.”
Jasprit Bumrah proved why he is one of the best bowlers in the world with a sensational delivery of 3-14, including 15 dot balls, as India defended 119 to beat Pakistan by six runs in a highly-anticipated Men’s T20 World Cup match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
With fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf sharing identical figures of 3-21, Pakistan bowled out India for just 119 in the 19th over with Rishabh Pant top-scoring with 42 off 31 balls, but India managed to pull back thanks to some heroics from Bumrah who got Mohammed Rizwan out.
He also received some excellent support from Hardik Pandya, who conceded 18 in his first two overs but took 2-6 in his second over. Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Akshar Patel each took one wicket to restrict Pakistan from 80/3 to 113/7 as India successfully defended their lowest ever T20I total with a surprisingly low score.
With IANS and PTI inputs
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