T20 World Cup 2024: India bowled out for 119 runs by Pakistan
Despite India being bowled out, Rishabh Pant's performance stood out, nearly reaching a half-century with a score of 42 runs.
Pakistan players celebrates after victory
NEW YORK: India suffered a mid-innings collapse on a two-paced track to post an underwhelming 119 against arch-rival Pakistan despite a gutsy effort from Rishabh Pant in the T20 World Cup here on Sunday.
India’s new number three Pant rode his luck en route a chancy 42 off 31 balls but other batters in the star-studded line-up could not apply themselves on a challenging surface. Pakistan dismissed India with an over to spare courtesy an all-round bowling effort with Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf sharing three wickets each.
India lost seven wickets for just 28 runs as it looked in control at 89 for 3 in the 12th over.
Intermittent rain delayed the toss and subsequently the start of the game by 50 minutes. Amid overcast skies, Babar Azam expectedly put the opposition India in to bat.
After the opening over from Shaheen Afridi, in which Rohit played a sublime pick up shot for six over deep square leg, rain returned to halt the game again by roughly 30 minutes.
Virat Kohli (4 off 3), who has an exemplary record against Pakistan, hit a glorious cover drive off Naseem Shah on the first ball of his innings post the resumption before getting caught at point off a wide and short ball two balls later.
Pakistan had India under the pump when Rohit (13 off 12) departed in the following over from Afridi. The India captain went for another pick up shot but this time mistimed it to be holed out at deep square leg.
The drop-in pitch, which made headlines for the wrong reasons prior to the game, had enough for pacers as well as the spinners but there was not as much uneven bounce as seen in the previous games.
With India feeling the heat at 19 for two, India decided to promote Axar Patel (20 off 18) at number four to shield Suryakumar Yadav, a surprising move as the team has able batters till number eight. However, to Axar’s credit, the southpaw did play some bold strokes, including a six over third man off Afridi, in his brief stay.
New number three Pant and Axar shared a 39-run strand off 30 balls to ensure the runs kept coming after the loss of openers.
Pant, who got two streaky fours off Mohammad Amir at the start of his innings, rode his luck to a play pivotal knock. The gutsy left-hander was also dropped on eight before he gained confidence to come up with a series of fearless fours. Three came in the opening over from Rauf before he unleashed the reverse hit off spinner Imad Wasim.
Brief scores: India 119 in 19 overs (R Pant 42, H Rauf 3/21, N Shah 3/21) vs Pakistan
