In general, Pakistan loves chaos and chaos often loves them back especially after a strange defeat but this time they have lost for the second time in a row. Pakistan looked comfortable at half way mark in the chase but they were not looking to go hard against the bowlers and just looked to tick along which was a suicidal mistake. Babar Azam began positively but was caught out before Mohammad Rizwan who had settled in nicely and made a promising start went into his shell and even got hit on the gloves several times. Fakhar Zaman also came out, showed intent, took two or three boundaries before giving away his wicket away. Once they lost those wickets right before the death overs, it seemed as if their middle order is under pressure even bad balls where left alone. They are now one game away from being eliminated from the tournament and even if they win their remaining two matches it may not be enough for them to save their campaign.
Jaspreet Bumrah became man of match !!!!
USA and Canada placed better than Pakistan in points table!! pic.twitter.com/jJ6lpMfXt8
— idlebrain jeevi (@idlebrainjeevi) June 9, 2024
India successfully defended a score of 119, which is the lowest total they have ever managed to defend in T20Is so far, and with this win positions themselves as contenders for the second round in this year’s T20 World Cup. Otherwise, after losing their second straight match, Pakistan’s runners-up from the previous edition are now faced with an embarrassing possibility of bowing out at the first hurdle. In yet another low scoring thriller, it was again not a big-hitting ground in Nassau County International Stadium located in New York.
What turned the game around?
The middle overs spell where Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah not only kept things tight but also struck crucial blows turned the game back slowly towards India. When Zaman was caught behind by Pandya, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman had begun Pakistan’s walk with 16 runs scored off 19 balls. Like India’s innings, this also triggered a massive turnaround in Pakistan’s innings as they managed only 40 runs from the last 46 balls. After Pandya’s breakthrough, India’s bowlers all chipped in with Jasprit Bumrah putting up a stellar show to bag his second Man of the Match performance in as many games as he finished with 3-14. The choke was on; India put up a collective effort at the back-end to hold their opponents back.
Toss: Despite overcast conditions and on a pitch that had proved
Powerplay: A risky move by India after losing openers
IND: 50/2 (RR: 8.33; 5x4s,2x6s)
Following late start due to rain and another break after commencing play no overs were lost when play resumed. Naseem Shah was hit through cover for four by Virat Kohli off his first delivery. Prior to that Rohit Sharma flicked Shaheen Afridi’s first ball away. However, the pitch was still not the easiest to bat on with the ball stopping a touch combined with movement. Kohli chased a far delivery and smashed it through cover point for Rohit’s extravagant flick which went straight to deep midwicket. The two batsmen were then outsmarted by Pakistan’s field positions and in response India made an alteration in their batting order bringing left-handed Axar Patel to open with Rishabh Pant. But both batters managed to live rather unstably as some edges eluded fielders and went for boundaries too. Meanwhile Patel executed a cheeky upper cut together with a loft down the ground that ensured runs kept coming as India completed fifty inside powerplay.
Middle overs: Amir, Naseem catch India unawares
IND: 47/5 (RR: 5.11; 6x4s, 0x6s)
The match took an entirely different turn after Rishabh Pant had threatened to take India to a good total on the tricky surface in just eighteen balls. Finally, Pant hit three boundaries off Haris Rauf to inject some momentum into his slow innings. But even when he was in his forties it was clear that this would not be a pitch for just throwing your hands and playing shots. The ball stopped on the batters as they fell one by one in catches. While Axar Patel was bowled by a skidder from Shah, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube were caught inside the ring and Pant and Ravindra Jadeja all became victims of catches within sight of the circle. The last two were picked up off consecutive deliveries from Amir while Naseem added two more to his tally as India’s shot selection left much to be desired. Pakistan roared back into a commanding position.
Death overs: India spiral down further
IND: 22/3 in 4 overs (RR: 5.50; 2x4s, 0x6s)
India’s tail could not do much on the pitch with Pakistan getting their zones right throughout. Rauf came back strongly in this phase to finish with a three-wicket haul just like Naseem.
Pakistan
Powerplay: Pakistan make a watchful start
PAK: 35/1 (RR: 5.83; 2x4s, 1×6)
While defending such kind of targets at low scores desperately needed early wickets but Indian bowlers were kept away by being careful by Pakistani top order players respecting the terms thereon over here – starting with Rizwan who held on to his defenses. Babar Azam, however, failed to survive for long after making a few beautiful shots when he edged one from Bumrah into the keeper’s gloves. Shivam Dube dropped Rizwan at fine leg off Bumrah and Siraj put down a return catch from Azam in the early stages of their innings respectively. That saw Pakistan taking its time while crawling its way through 35 runs inside the powerplay.
Middle overs: India keep Pakistan in check
PAK: 48/3 (RR: 5.33; 4x4s, 1×6)
Rizwan played an anchor right through and ended up with 31 off 44. It was not an innings that helped Pakistan progress later as it kept them from falling like India had done before but at the same time did not score well in the end. Fakhar Zaman offered himself up as another batsman willing to take risks by lofting his second ball for six after Usman Khan was dismissed LBW to Axar Patel quite soon. However, shortly afterwards gloving a pull against Hardik Pandya into the wicket-keeper’s hands brought Zaman’s attempted knock to a close. Jasprit Bumrah then strove towards having Rohit bring him back into the attack and he claimed a huge scalp on just his third delivery of that over… Keeping one low Rizwan was set going neck and crop creating some late drama for this match up.
Pakistan lose the plot as India squeeze out boundaries in the death overs
PAK: 30/3 (RR: 6.00; 2x4s, 0x6s)
While facing left-arm spin of Axar Patel, Imad Wasim could only score 15 runs from 23 balls including three dot balls in a row at a very critical point in time. In the closing five overs of their innings when boundaries were not easy to come by, India bowled extremely tightly. Iftikhar Ahmed then played on to one of the full tosses; it was just one example of how Pakistan’s batting imploded. This effort put them into a tight corner from where they got themselves trapped.
Brief Scores: India 119 in 19 overs (Rishabh Pant 42; Naseem Shah 3-21, Haris Rauf 3-21) beat Pakistan 113/7 in 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan31; Jasprit Bumrah3-14) by six runs
