Virat Kohli-Jasprit Bumrah interact with NBA legend John Starks

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 10, 2024 12:27 IST

Star India cricketers Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah had a heart-warming interaction with NBA legend John Starks during the high-octane encounter between India and Pakistan at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on June 9, Sunday. Starks was witnessing his very first cricket match and what else could have been a better way to get hooked on the sport than witnessing a thriller between 2 arch-rivals India and Pakistan? In a video shared by the official social media of the NBA and ICC, former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh introduced Kohli to Starks ahead of the match.

The star Indian player showcased his respect for the NBA legend by addressing Starks as 'sir' as he greeted him. Kohli also enquired if Starks was getting a hang of the sport, which is trying to find its feat in the Americas. To which, Starks informed that Yuvraj was teaching him a lot about cricket. In another video, Bumrah also shared greetings with Starks ahead of the encounter and told him that cricket is a bit like baseball, the popular sport in the US. Starks also wished the star Indian players good luck for the match as India went on to edge past Pakistan to win the thriller by 6 runs.

India's enthralling win

India registered their 2nd straight win in the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 as Pakistan's hopes for advancing to the next stage hangs on thread. Bumrah's heroics with the ball helped India defend their lowest T20I total successfully. After Pakistan opted to bowl first, India were reduced from 89 for 3 to 119 all-out. However, Bumrah's match-winning spell of 4-0-14-3 ensured Pakistan were restricted to 113 runs in their chase of 120 runs. T20 World Cup: Full Coverage | Complete Schedule

Bumrah won his consecutive Player of the Match award in T20 World Cup 2024 and against Pakistan as well. Meanwhile, Kohli was dismissed for 4 runs, his first-time getting out for a single-digit score against Pakistan.