India defend 119 against Pakistan in crucial T20 World Cup game
NEW YORK: It was a comeback of dreams as India showed what they are truly capable of. The six-run win over Pakistan in New York's initiation to serious top-flight cricket was truly the spectacle that the sport was so desperately waiting for.
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Down, out and virtually nailed into the coffin, the bravehearts in blue rose from the ashes as India's entry into Super-8s looks well assured.
The toss went against India, a spectacular collapse led to them being dismissed for 119, and when Pakistan score read 80-4 in the 15th over, the game looked all but gone.
But that's when India's greatest white-ball match-winner of all time showed his magic.
Jasprit Bumrah
pitched the ball in the right area and Mohammed Rizwan, who had battled on to 31 till then, played a poor shot to get bowled. The celebration told the story, the Indian bowlers knew they were back in the game.
Everyone chipped in after that, with Axar giving two off the 16th and
Hardik Pandya
removing Shadab Khan off a short ball in the 17th, as the Pakistan wheels started coming off spectacularly.
It all boiled down to the 19th over with Pakistan needing 21 and Bumrah back in action. The champion chose to bowl back of the length as Ifthikar Ahmed and
Imad Wasim
just couldn't get it going. And when Ifthikar departed off the last ball of Bumrah's spell, a blue wave engulfed the stadium.
Eighteen off the last over was way beyond Pakistan's reach as Arshdeep, who had scored a vital few runs with the bat as well, did just enough to take India home.
Earlier, with the score reading 89-3 in the 12th over, the game looked fairly under control for India.
Rishabh Pant
(42 off 31 balls), in two gutsy partnerships with
Axar Patel
and
Suryakumar Yadav
, seemed to have weathered the early storm.
But with the sun coming out and the pitch drying out just a bit, the two-paced nature of the track was slowly coming to the fore. And it was this slight advantage that the Pakistan bowlers utilized brilliantly.
Haris Rauf, who had looked ordinary till then, removed Surya, the batter failing to connect his bread-and-butter inside-out shot over mid-off, the pitch playing its part. It sparked off a collapse where India lost seven for 28, a kind of a batting debacle that the Indian fans haven't witnessed in a while. But it didn't matter in the end.
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