Live Report - It's India vs Pakistan day at the T20 World Cup
One team had Jasprit Bumrah. The other didn't. And that was that. That was the difference. His legend is littered with incredible displays. But this will feel sweeter, not merely for the fact that it came in a World Cup match against Pakistan, but for the fact that without his intervention this game would have almost certainly had a different ending. India defended 119. Pakistan lost after being 80 for 3.
2h ago
New York, New York!The atmosphere in New York is something else. They are roaring for dot balls. They are ooohing for jaffas. They go up to 123 db when India strike. They are cheering Bumrah as he runs up to the crease. They are smiling. They are dancing. They making this the occasion it was always going to be and then some
Bumrah's nailed the 19th over and dismissed Iftikhar Ahmed. Pakistan need 18 to win off the last six balls. Having been favourites for the entirety of the chase - their chances were up at 63% even at the start of the penultimate over. Now at the start of the 20th, it's plummeted to 19%.
This game's alive.
And Hardik who in 2022 said he loved being part of that Pakistan game at the MCG regardless of the result just shrugs as he picks up a very important wicket. His ability to unsettle batters bowling short of a good length is proving to be a big difference for India. Took out Fakhar earlier. Now Shadab gone too.
India have taken 18 for 3 in the five overs between 13 and 17. Required rate is up at 10 now.
Axar with his height and his round-arm action produces a lovely 16th over, where he had Imad Wasim beaten on the top edge three times in three balls as he attempted to cut to the long boundary.
Protected the leg side boundary which was the short boundary really well. Tension keeps rising. The crowd, which is a comfortable India majority, is adding to the feeling of the walls closing in on Pakistan. They still have six wickets in hand so they should so this. But right now, it's tight.
India are trying to push this game all the way to the death where anything can happen, and where they have two overs of Jasprit Bumrah to tip the scales. Actually only one as it turns out because Rohit goes to his gun bowler in the 15th over and he produces a wicket with the first ball. The set batter Mohammed Rizwan is bowled neck and crop (might have stayed low too but he had no business horizontal-batting a ball that was fairly full). India believe this is possible. They've got a slip in for the new batter Shadab Khan.
Hardik strikes, his usual back of a length getting a little bit of a boost from this pitch.
Fakhar, it is clear, was sent out there to be a bit of a disrupter, to see if he can get some quick runs, to send even good balls to the boundary. A cameo of 30 off 15 could've really broken this match and he is one Pakistan batter with the ability to score quickly like that.
The plan doesn't come off though as down the track hoick ends up gloved to the keeper. Pant did very well to track it over his shoulder, and avoid contact with the helmet that's on the floor which would've resulted in penalties
2h ago
Axar strikes but does it matter?India think they have carved out an opening with Axar Patel using his slider to remove Usman Khan lbw. But then in comes Fakhar Zaman and gets a couple of quick boundaries away. This is a good pair to have for Pakistan. Rizwan will stay there till the end, working the singles, keeping out the wicket-taking balls. Fakhar will pose a threat, making moves that trigger bad balls from the opposition.
3h ago
Bumrah takes out BabarAnd it happens right after Babar wallops Bumrah over midwicket for four. It's the kind of shot, picked up off back of a length and bullied to the boundary, that makes you question, especially when you have only 119 to defend, whether there's any chance for you here.
But Bumrah doesn't really function like that. He doesn't let the results dictate his motivation. Once he's at the top of his mark, he's always looking to bowl his best delivery. And this really was excellent. Angled into the right-hander. Trapping him on the crease with his length. And then snagging the edge with seam movement. In walks Usman Khan, a homegrown talent who's finally come back home. Played for UAE for a while, then had a bumper PSL, now he's in Pakistan colours.
India need early wickets. They delayed Bumrah's entry. He produced the edge with his first ball and a wicket-taking opportunity with his fourth, only for Shivam Dube on the long leg boundary to spill a simple catch. Three balls later, Siraj draws Babar into a drive on the up, the ball comes right back to him, over his head, it's a tough reflex catch, goes down.
Pakistan have already shaved off 19 runs off their target of 120.
With the new ball even though India only have 119 to defend.
India are banking on getting early wickets through swing and seam and Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj are known for their ability to get that kind of movement.
Its a kind of compliment(?) Rohit trusts Bumrah to cause chaos even with an older ball but believes the brand new one is the only way to amplify the threat that Siraj and Arshdeep pose.
But with so little runs to defend, shouldn't you be going all guns out? Here he is though, in the third over.
3h ago
India all out for 11930 runs added by India's last six partnerships, their lowest in men's T20Is from a sample size of 11 innings where they've been bowled out.
Rishabh Pant 42 off 31, strike rate 135 The rest of India 70 off 84, strike rate 83
It's been tough to bat out there. Pant's unorthodox methods made him successful; made him stand out.
3h ago
Instant improvementNow its Haris Rauf on a hat-trick. In that USA game, there was a feeling that Pakistan's bowling and their fielding was having a meltdown. Here, in perhaps more helpful bowling conditions, they've been pretty much on point. Shadab Khan raced round the boundary and threw his entire body to intercept a ball that looked destined for the boundary. Next ball, Haris Rauf took out Hardik Pandya. Next ball, Haris Rauf took out Jasprit Bumrah. Both batters made solid connections but it didn't really help. On another day Hardik might have had six. Bumrah might have had four. Not this day.
Four overs (12-15), eight runs, four wickets. Hardik batting with the tail in the 17th over is 1 off 8.
The only batter who looked like he had an answer against Pakistan is now gone. Lovely innings though, 42 off 31, and strangely, he was more effective playing his unorthodox shots than the orthodox ones. Mohammed Amir is finally on the board, deservedly so and he celebrates it with a second wicket. Jadeja gone for a first ball duck. Brilliant to left-handers. He was getting them to play and miss earlier or edge and beat the fielders. Now he's having catches being taken. India 96 for 7. Amir on a hat-trick. He was retired in 2020. He's been sensational since 2009
4h ago
Pakistan ahead againEight singles, six dots and two wickets since the last boundary for India in the 11th over. Dube's gone for 3 off 9, undone once more by a ball holding in the pitch and bouncing more than he was ready for. Naseem Shah now has three wickets to his name. A premier spin-hitter in the IPL, Dube was stuck against Imad Wasim with the left-armer benefiting from the low bounce here. Also there was his naturally quick pace through the air. Dube just couldn't under the ball. For the wicket, to the quick, he ended up too far under the ball.
Mohammad Amir who has had catches being dropped off his bowling all day takes one for his mate.
India's biggest weapon in T20 cricket is gone and Babar knows it. He rushes into the celebrations screaming his head off. It felt like SKY wanted to hit straight but the Rauf ball had so much pace behind it that it might have skewed the bat face open a little more than he was intending to.
This game has been see-saw from the get go. Pakistan took early wickets. Pant countered. Now Pakistan are back taking wickets. How will India respond? Well with Shivam Dube having to face the extreme pace of Haris Rauf.
4 times in his first 14 balls that Rishabh Pant could've been out caught. All four were extremely difficult chances. One of them soared over the slips but I'm including that here because it wasn't where Pant intended for the ball to go. He's playing a high-risk innings but at the end of nine overs he has 21 off 18. He's got more runs off balls he's not been in control of (14) than those he's middled.
Then comes the 10th over and Haris Rauf
The first two of that hat-trick of boundaries were jaw-dropping. A slower ball smashed over extra cover with utter impunity. That prompts the bowler to shift his line of attack, going round the wicket. But turns out that's no way to bowl to Pant. Because it helps him access the leg side. He's so inventive accessing that leg side.
Essentially he gives up the thing that batters like to have at the crease - balance - in order to play these shots. This fall-over flick shot to fine leg. He does it because the ball is good length, but by falling over, he is able to get under it, and also by falling over, he gets rid of one of the obstacles in the way of that shot - his own body.
57 runs that India scored between overs 5 and 10. But ESPNcricinfo data suggests they were only in control of half of those balls (53% control). T20 in a nutshell. Doesn't matter if you're middling it, so long as the runs come, and they come quickly.
Spin hasn't really threatened on this pitch as much as pace in the previous matches, but Pakistan went to Iftikhar Ahmed because there were two left-handers out there. That over ended with Axar Patel, who has been on the rise as a batter, charging down the track and smashing the bowler over his head. India have pushed him up the order so that the X-factor batter in their line-up would be able to walk out at a time where he can just focus on playing those jaw-dropping shots that he plays without any risk of putting his team in trouble. Suryakumar Yadav is the ace that India have up their sleeve.
EDIT: He's no longer up their sleeve. He's been brought out there because Axar has been bowled.
4h ago
Two tough catches dropped... in two balls.
Rishabh Pant realises this is the last over of the powerplay so he goes after Mohammed Amir. The first extravagant shot is reasonable because the ball had plenty of width. So much that he eventually makes contact with the very bottom of his flashing blade. Iftikhar Ahmed at first slip leaps up to his left but he can't grab it. The second mis-hit was nowhere near on. It's actually a wonderful piece of deception from the bowler, shifting his line closer to the stumps to make the movement he's getting away from the bat even more dangerous. It causes the left-hander to hit against the swing and that in turn results in a leading edge. Usman Khan running back from point, tracking the skier, reaches out with both hands but to no avail.
The over costs 12 runs but almost all of them came off false shots.
8 of the first 12 balls from Mohammed Amir have produced false shots from India
The ball is swinging. Mohammad Amir beat Axar Patel's outside edge three times in three balls. It's also keeping low off a good length and not coming on. Doubt is about the only thing in a batter's mind in conditions like this. And it takes strength for them to ignore that. Maybe a bit of blind faith too. Maybe it'll get easier in a few overs, when the ball loses a bit of its shine. This is a tight, tense battle, with Pakistan taking the early lead. All that said, it looks like the best pitch in NY so far. 140-150 possible. 160 might be winning.
This is what would've been on the Pakistan drawing board.
Take out Rohit and Kohli early.
Once more, it's not exactly the best ball Shaheen will ever bowl.
And once more, it holds in the pitch.
Clear signs that we're in for a low-scoring thriller.
Rohit went for the pick-up shot. He's good with the pick-up shot. But all the mischief coming off the surface - in this case it isn't movement or uneven bounce, it's a threat that's much less insidious but just as effective - does him in.
India have to reset and so they do something a bit funky. They push Axar Patel up the order.
5h ago
We're back. Kohli goneNo overs lost. Naseem Shah with the ball. Virat Kohli taking strike. Goosebumps.
It's the kind of ball that will provoke a sly smile from the bowler and stories of how he intended for it all to happen the way it did. Short. Slow. Wide. Slapped straight into the hands of a fielder who wasn't there two deliveries ago.
And perhaps that is exactly what transpired. There is also the possibility that after being cracked through cover for four when he went full, he pulled his length back and Pakistan reinforced the offside field, moving the catcher at gully to point. The line invited the big hit. But the clincher, the reason for the error from the batter, is the ball coming far too slowly off the pitch. Kohli is through with his cut shot. The ball arrives just in time to turn it into a mis-hit.
Hint of swing in for the first ball.
Nothing on the second ball.
That was Rohit's cue.
1 six by any batter against Shaheen Afridi in the first over of a T20I - Rohit has broken new ground.
Monster six in front of square leg. To a ball that pitched on a decent length. If anything, it was maybe a touch straight. Just a touch. Lovely calculated risk there from the India captain, looking to force the Pakistan pace ace away from targeting bowled and lbw.
At first, it seems like Shaheen has blinked, shifting his line towards off stump and wider to make it harder for the right-hander to access to shorter leg-side boundary. But the last ball of the over tells a different story. It is so Shaheen. It is so viscerally Shaheen. Full. Fast. Straight. Rohit had tried to ward the Pakistan pace ace off this plan but it looks like he hadn't done enough. Huge lbw shout, very similar to the one that took him out in the UAE in 2021, but this time there is some bat.
6h ago
And its clear again.If the weather is controlled by a remote, then whoever's got it is channel flipping. The covers are off and the game restarts at 11.20am local, which is 8.50pm IST, 8.20pm PST and 3.20pm GMT
But the buzz can't be stopped.
6h ago
Toss: Pakistan bowlRavi Shastri's cracking everyone up with his hype-manning. Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam get huge billings and they're pretty embarrassed about it. Even David Boon the match ref gets a big bada$$ intro. Here are the XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Siraj
Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim (replacing Azam Khan), Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir
Straightforward decision for the captain winning the toss. Now Babar can just sit back, relax and unleash his four-man pace battery in conditions that have offered plenty of movement, both sideways and up and down.
Even as he is discussing all that and more in the post-toss interview, Rohit is busy staring at the pitch and he needs to be prompted to come over and have his interview. That is a small snapshot of how much this match could be decided by where it's being played. India have been situated in NY since they arrived and have already played two matches here - a useful benefit of an interesting schedule - but even then Rohit struggled to make sense of what he's been seeing the ball do here.
7h ago
We have a start time!It's 11 am local, which is 8.30pm IST and 8pm PST and 3 pm GMT. Toss is half an hour prior, meaning its only minutes away.
There is usually precious little need for added context to an India-Pakistan game given the history behind it and the rarity of it. But right here right now it's shaping up as a low-key knockout sitch. And we have our hosts, the US of A, to thank for that. Babar Azam and his men will have to regroup quickly after that shock Super Over defeat earlier in the tournament. Their campaign might not be able to take another loss.
Outside of that very real jeopardy there is also significant interest in the way the pitch will behave. Even as recently as a handful of months, there was nothing but park land at the venue where the Nassau County International Cricket stadium popped up. The ICC wanted the gliz and the glamour of taking cricket not just to America but straight to its most famous export. New York and all of its allure. And that ambition has not come without its problems. The drop-in pitches haven't really had time to settle creating conditions that had initially seemed untenable but in the last game, between Netherlands and South Africa yesterday, the ball didn't seem to do as much.
Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, is throwing a watch party and the fans are loving it. There's good news as well. Rain's stopped.
The American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1992 to 2007, would probably hope that you have fun.
To the reason for all life to exist. To why the universe came to be and the atom was split. To why we choose to sit in front of a screen on Sunday instead of going out with our friends - who if they were really friends wouldn't invite us out in the first place - because it is India vs Pakistan day and on India vs Pakistan day nothing else exists. Climate change? Yeah, we can take care of it on Monday. World Peace, we'll call you back. Nothing can stop this. Nothing can dull this. Not-- oh crap its raining.
INDPAK
100%50%100%
IND InningsPAK InningsOver 20 • PAK 113/7
Imad Wasim c †Pant b Arshdeep Singh 15 (23b 1x4 0x6 40m) SR: 65.21
India won by 6 runs
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