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The India vs. Pakistan match was nothing short of a movie. The match was full of suspense, thrillers, passion, and whatnot. What a thriller, what a match! This is T20 cricket at its peak. Rain stopped play several times, but it couldn’t dampen the spirits of fans and players.
Yesterday’s blockbuster Sunday didn’t disappoint a bit. It fulfilled all the expectations of the biggest match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Both teams started their campaign for the tournament against Ireland (vs. India) and the USA (vs. Pakistan). But their T20 World Cup started yesterday.
Rain Played The Spoilsport In India vs. Pakistan
Everyone was excited for the match, but the play had to be delayed several times. Because of the rain, conditions were changed completely, and winning the toss became important. The toss played a crucial role in the match. Due to rain, the toss was delayed. Pakistan wins the toss and chooses to bowl first.
The first bowl was bowled sometime after 9:15 p.m., but just after the first over, the play had to be stopped because of rain. Rain affected the match throughout the first inning. But clouds were clear by the second inning when Pakistan came to bat. The pitch was hard for batting, 103 was the average score for batting first at that pitch.
India Comes To Bat
Team India opened with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Here begins the India vs. Pakistan match. The Indian Team lost two big wickets of Kohli and Rohit in the first three overs of powerplay. Both star batsmen were caught out. Then, Rishabh Pant was dropped twice within the powerplay, and it cost them. They made a much-needed partnership of 39 runs for the third wicket. But Naseem broke the partnership and got rid of Axar Patel at the score of 58 in 7.4 overs.
Till 11 overs, India was recovering and in a good position, but they kept losing wickets. India lost its fourth wicket in the form of big hitter Suryakumar Yadav in the 12th over at a score of 89. India lost 2 wickets for 1 run. Shivam Dube and set batsman Rishabh Pant were the ones to depart. India were at 96 for 6 in 15 overs. From that point on, India managed just 24 runs and were all out for 120 in 19 overs.
Pakistan Comes To Bat
Pakistan needed to chase 120 runs in 20 overs. Inda’s chances of winning were just 8%, but something happens. Pakistan came into bat, but they struggled to score decent runs in the powerplay. Bumrah strikes in his second over by getting rid of Babar Azam in the slip caught by Suryakumar. Pakistan loses their first wicket in the 5th over at the score of 26. Till 10 overs, Pakistan was in the match with 57-1.
The next 10 overs are where the match changed. In the last 10 overs, bowlers bowled excellent spells by conceding fewer runs and taking wickets. The 11th over started Pakistan’s downfall. The first ball of the over by Axar gets Usman LBW at the score of 57. In the 13th over, Hardik gets Fakhar Zaman at a score of 73 with the excellent catch of Rishabh Pant. Bumrah strikes again by getting rid of set Rizwan when 40 were needed in 36 balls. Winning was still possible, but Pakistan kept losing wickets, increasing the pressure on them.
Bumrah strikes again by taking a much-needed wicket of Iftikhar when 18 were needed in 7 balls. Pakistan needed just 18 to win but in six balls. Arshdeep Singh had the ball, and he defended 18 runs. India won the match by defending the low score of 120 runs. Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the Player of the Match award for his match-winning figures of 3-14 in 4 overs. His spell consisted of 15 dot balls. It was his spell that breathed hope into the match.
India vs. Pakistan In Numbers
In the history of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup involving India vs. Pakistan, there have been 8 matches in total. India tasted victory seven times, while Pakistan won just one time. The final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was, so far, one of the greatest wins because it got India their first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title. The most popular and thrilling win in the past years came at MCG in Australia. India won when Kohli stood tall when 28 were needed in just 8 balls.
India’s only loss against its rival Pakistan came in the Men’s T20 World Cup of 2021. Pakistan was in total control. Pakistan won that match with 10 wickets by chasing 152 runs. That’s the rivalry between India and Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Team India Needs to Find A Way Against Left-Arm Pacers
Yesterday’s India vs. Pakistan match was a clash between Indian batsmen vs Pakistani bowlers. Pakistan’s bowling lineup won that contest. Their bowling line-up has fast pacers such as experienced Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rouf, and Naseem Shah. All of these bowlers conceded less than 30 runs in their spell of 4 overs. Naseem Shah and Haris Rouf were the highest wicket-takers among them, with three wickets each. Shaheen and Amir got 1 and 2 wickets each. From the line-up, Shaheen and Amir are two left-arm swing bowlers.
Team India struggled against them in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup of 2021, 2022, and 2024. This was one of the main reasons why India lost the match against them in 2021. India needs to find a way to play and tackle them. Playing against left-arm pacers has been one of the weaknesses of Indian batsmen. There are lethal left-arm pacers in this T20 World Cup including, Trent Boult of New Zealand, Mitchell Starc of Australia, etc.