Indian cricketers showed what they are truly capable of on Sunday. The six-run win over Pakistan in New York was truly the spectacle that the sport was so desperately waiting for.
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 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. Brief scores: India 119 all out in 19 overs ( Rishabh Pant 42, Axar Patel 20; Naseem 3, Rauf 3) beat Pakistan 113/7 (Md Rizwan 31, B Azam 13 , Bumrah 4, Pandya 2)
