India trash out Pakistan in seesaw T20 World Cup thriller
Though Pakistan shatter India’s dream to score big, archrivals manage to secure 6-run victory,
NEW YORK: The Green Shirts suffered shocking defeat against India in their World Cup Group A match at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
India beat Pakistan by six runs in the 19th match of the T20 World Cup at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Sunday.
Needing 120 runs to win, Pakistan were restricted to 113/7. Pakistan will now need to beat Ireland and Canada, and hope that USA lose to both India and Ireland if there is any hope for them to qualify for the super eight.
Earlier, bowlers did good job by restricting India to 119 runs. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf picked up three wickets each, Mohammad Amir got two scalps while Shaheen Afridi got one wicket.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first against India in the must-win game.
Earlier, the toss was delayed due to the rain and wet outfield in New York.
Pakistan made one change to the squad, replacing Azam Khan with Imad Wasim.
At the cultural crossroads of the world, New Yorkers will experience a thrilling first on Sunday (today) – a World Cup cricket match hosted in a US city between Asian powerhouses: rivals India and Pakistan.
“India-Pakistan is the game everyone would like to watch, and… it’s happening in our backyard,” said Ajith Shetty, president of two local cricket leagues. “I’m very, very thrilled,” the Indian native told AFP on Friday.
However, roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the pop-up stadium at Eisenhower Park on Long Island, fans interviewed in the bustling Little India neighborhood of Queens said they won’t be able to attend the game in person.
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Sunday’s meeting is crucial for Pakistan, which risks elimination in the first round after a surprising loss on Thursday to the United States, ranked 18th in the world. New York-based Pakistani journalist Wajahat S. Khan said he had “never been more excited or terrified about a cricket match at the same time.”
“The data doesn’t lie. Pakistan is likely to lose. It’s likely to be a bloodbath. But you can never write off Pakistan’s cricket team. Never.” The US win over sixth-ranked Pakistan has boosted interest in cricket in the country, where the sport remains well outside the mainstream.
“All the news channels are talking about it, people are explaining, what is cricket. People are understanding, what is cricket,” Shetty said.
Beyond the tournament, which concludes at the end of June, the local cricket organizer hopes it brings “better infrastructure” for players in the New York area.
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They will not, however, benefit from the Long Island stadium, which will be dismantled in July, leaving local leagues to continue their quest for a dedicated arena.
SQUADS
PAKISTAN: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
INDIA: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
