T20 World Cup: India dashes Pakistan’s dream for the World Cup

In a nail-biting encounter, India dashed Pakistan’s T20 World Cup aspirations with a narrow six-run win in New York. The highly anticipated match, considered one of the tournament’s highlights, met expectations as the result remained uncertain until the final over. Pakistan needed 12 runs off the final two deliveries but could only muster half, resulting in another defeat to their arch-rivals.

Key performances from Jasprit Bumrah (3-14) and Hardik Pandya (2-24) swung the game in India’s favor after Pakistan had bowled them out for 119. Bumrah’s dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan (31), who steadied the innings, proved to be crucial.

Pakistan had won the toss and chose to field, a decision that initially seemed advantageous. Naseem Shah (3-21), Haris Rauf (3-21), and Mohammad Amir (2-21) excelled with the ball, reducing India from 89-3 to 119 all out, with a mere 30 runs scored as seven wickets tumbled.

However, Pakistan’s batting line-up crumbled under pressure, sliding from 72-2 to 88-5, and failed to hit the necessary boundaries in the closing overs to secure victory. In Group A, India now leads, followed by the USA, while Pakistan languishes in fourth place without a win.

The Chase and the Fall

Chasing India’s target of 120, Babar Azam (13) and Mohammad Rizwan (10) began building a promising partnership in the second innings. However, the Pakistan captain was the first to depart, caught by Suryakumar Yadav in the slips, leaving his team at 26-1 after 4.4 overs.

Rizwan, nursing a finger injury from a Hardik delivery, then partnered with Usman Khan, bringing their side to 57-1 at the halfway mark and raising hopes of victory.

India then introduced Axar Patel (1-11) into the attack, and he immediately made an impact, dismissing Usman Khan (13) lbw with his first delivery. India smartly used the review, which showed the ball was hitting in line and not drifting down leg as the umpire initially thought.

Fakhar Zaman (13) then joined Rizwan in the middle, maintaining the required run rate of six. However, a mistake from Zaman saw him caught behind by Pant off a Hardik delivery, leaving Pakistan at 73-3 after 13 overs and needing 47 runs from 42 balls.

Turning Point and Aftermath

With the match delicately balanced, Bumrah emerged as the hero by dismissing the crucial wicket of Rizwan with a superb inswinger. This put Pakistan under pressure, needing more than a run a ball with four wickets down, and a target of 37 runs from 30 balls.

As tension mounted and Pakistan chased the game, Shadab Khan (4) fell prey to Hardik’s short ball and was caught behind by Pant. This put India firmly in control, leaving Pakistan needing 21 from 12 balls.

The thrilling encounter reached its climax as Iftikhar Ahmed (5) was caught by Arshdeep off the final ball of the 19th over, and Imad Wasim (15) was caught behind off the first ball of the 20th. Needing 18 runs from five deliveries with seven wickets down, Pakistan managed a single and a reverse scoop boundary but fell short by six runs, coming agonizingly close to their second-ever T20 World Cup win against India. This result put India in the driver’s seat of Group A.

The defeat will sting Pakistan, especially after their strong bowling performance in the first innings that dismissed India for 119. Standout performances came from Shah, who dismissed Virat Kohli (4), Patel (20), and Dube (3), Rauf, who dismissed Suryakumar (7), then Hardik (7) and Bumrah (0) in successive deliveries, and Amir, who removed danger man Pant (42) and Ravindra Jadeja (0) in successive balls.

Despite the commendable effort from Pakistan’s bowlers, they now have two losses from two games after their surprise defeat to the USA, severely denting their chances of reaching the Super 8.

Post-Match Reactions

Pakistan captain Babar Azam reflected on the match, saying, “I think they bowled well after 10 overs. We were chasing 120, we were run a ball for the first 10 overs, but back-to-back wickets and then we left too much in the end. Tactics was simple, play normally, rotate strike, 5-6 an over. But in that period we had too many dot balls, the pressure was on us, and we lost three quick wickets.

“Can’t expect too much from tailenders. We were not up to the mark in the first six overs, we had targeted 40-45 runs, we have not capitalised properly. Pitch looked decent, ball coming nicely. Little bit slow, some balls are bouncing a bit more, but you expect it with a drop-in pitch.”

India’s bowler and player of the match, Jasprit Bumrah, expressed, “It feels really good. We felt we were a little under par, and when the sun came out, the wicket got a little better, so we had to be really disciplined. I tried to keep it simple, tried to hit the seam as much as I can, focus on my execution. It felt like we were in India, and the cheering is really appreciated, we were really happy with the support we got, it gave us a lot of energy. Focus on the now. We’ve played two games, played very good cricket. We’ll stick to our processes and come out and try our best.”

Upcoming Matches

The T20 World Cup continues on Monday with South Africa taking on Bangladesh in New York. South Africa has won their first two matches in Group D against Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, while Bangladesh’s only fixture so far ended in a two-wicket win over Sri Lanka.

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