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In a closely contested Group A match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Sunday, Pakistan faced a narrow six-run defeat to India during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.
Pakistan fails to reach the finish line
Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, Pakistan took advantage of a pitch with variable bounce. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf led the bowling attack, each claiming three wickets. Despite their efforts, Rishabh Pant’s quickfire 42 helped India post a modest total of 119 before being bowled out in the 19th over.
Pakistan’s reply was anchored by Mohammad Rizwan, who scored a patient 31. However, wickets fell at regular intervals, with Jasprit Bumrah delivering a match-winning performance. Bumrah’s crucial wickets and impressive figures of 3-14 restricted Pakistan to 113-7 in their 20 overs.
Player of the Match: Jasprit Bumrah 💙#cricket #INDvPAK #T20WorldCup #JaspritBumrah #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/1oqdQRi8j7
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Also READ: Twitter goes wild as Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah lead India to a nail-biting win over Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2024
Babar Azam sheds light on Pakistan’s defeat
In the post-match interview, Pakistan captain Babar Azam expressed his disappointment with the batting performance. “We bowled well. In the batting, we lost back-to-back wickets and had too many dot balls. Our tactic was simple: play normally, keep the strike rotating, and find the odd boundary. But in that crucial period, we had too many dot balls,” he explained.
Despite the middle-order struggles, Babar did not place blame on his teammates, emphasizing the responsibility of the top-order batsmen. “We can’t expect much from tailenders. Our strategy was to utilize the first overs in batting. But after losing one wicket, we weren’t up to the mark in the first six. The pitch looked decent, the ball was coming on nicely. It was a little bit slow, and some balls had extra bounce. But now we have to win the last two matches. We will sit and discuss our mistakes,” he added.
With this victory, India now tops Group A with two wins from two matches, standing ahead of the USA. In contrast, Pakistan faces a tough road ahead with two consecutive losses in their T20 World Cup campaign.