India’s exciting six-run victory in New York delivered a devastating blow to rival Pakistan’s ambitions of qualifying for the T20 World Cup.
Touted as one of the matchups of the year, the match lived up to expectations as it proceeded until the very end. Pakistan needed 12 runs from the last two balls but could only get six, despite their heroic efforts. They were defeated by their old rivals once more.
India altered the tide of the match after Pakistan knocked them out for 119, thanks to wickets from Jasprit Bumrah (3-14) and Hardik Pandya (2-24), who fell on the critical wicket of Mohammad Rizwan (31), who was leading the batting.
Naseem Shah (3-21), Haris Rauf (3-21), and Mohammad Amir (2-21) were impressive with the ball in hand as Pakistan reduced India from 89-3 to 119 all out, with 30 runs coming as seven wickets fell. Pakistan won a crucial toss and elected to bowl, which seemed to work in their favor.
The Pakistani batting attack, however, crumbled under the strain and was reduced from 72-2 to 88-5 themselves, unable to hit significant boundaries in the last overs to secure a commanding victory.
India now leads Group A, followed by the United States in second place. Currently ranked fourth, Pakistan has not yet secured a victory.
Hardik and Bumrah strike to cut short Pakistan’s pursuit
Babar Azam (13) and Mohammad Rizwan (10), who had set a target of 120 runs for India, appeared to be forming a strong partnership early in the second inning. However, the Pakistani captain was the first to fall, as he hit one to Suryakumar Yadav in the slips, leaving his team on 26-1 after 4.4 overs.
With a finger injury sustained from a Hardik delivery, Rizwan then began to develop alongside Usman Khan, taking their side to 57-1 at the midway point and giving them confidence that they could win. But India quickly took advantage of the review, which demonstrated that he was hit in line and the ball was not sliding down as the umpire had initially believed, to remove Usman Khan (13) by leg before wicket with his first delivery of the session.
After gloving one up in the air from a Hardik delivery, Fakhar Zaman (13) was the man to partner with Rizwan in the middle as they proceeded at the required run rate of six. However, a mistake from the former saw him caught behind by Pant, leaving Pakistan on 73-3 after 13 overs and needing 47 runs from 42 balls.
With four wickets lost and more than a run a ball now needed—37 runs from 30 balls—Pakistan was under pressure as Bumrah emerged as the game’s hero after taking out the crucial wicket of Rizwan with a stunning inswinger.
India took control of the game with a jittery vibe in the air as Pakistan was pursuing it. Shadab Khan (4) was caught behind by Pant after being tricked by Hardik’s short delivery, leaving Pakistan requiring 21 from 12 balls.
The thrilling conclusion to the match reached fever pitch when Arshdeep caught Iftikhar Ahmed (5) after he hit a ball high on the last ball of the 19th over, and Imad Wasim (15) was caught behind on the opening ball of the 20th.
Pakistan added a single and then a reverse scoop boundary with 18 runs needed from five deliveries and seven wickets down, but they could only find six of the necessary 12 runs from the final two balls, leaving them agonizingly close to only their second-ever T20 World Cup victory against India and putting India ahead in Group A.
Pakistan’s defeat would be more painful given their impressive performance in the first innings, which saw them restrict India to 119 runs.
Amir removed danger man Pant (42) and Ravindra Jadeja (0) in consecutive balls, while Shah produced standout performances by dismissing Virat Kohli (4), Patel (20), and Dube (3). Rauf then dismissed Suryakumar (7), followed by Hardik (7) and Bumrah (0) in consecutive deliveries.
Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the Super 8 are seriously hampered by their shocking setback to the USA, which has left them with two losses from two games despite their bowlers’ strong performance.
