Pakistan vs India: The Green Shirts faced a heartbreaking defeat against India in their World Cup Group A match at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Despite a strong bowling effort, Pakistan fell just six runs short. They managed to restrict India to 119 after winning the toss. Jasprit Bumrah shone with critical wickets, his 3-14 in four overs proving pivotal. Pakistan ended their innings at 113-7.
India’s batting lineup was dismantled for 119 in 19 overs. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with 31 runs in a composed innings. Pakistan started well, not losing a wicket in the first over. However, the advantage slipped as skipper Babar Azam fell to Bumrah after scoring 13 runs.
Usman Khan supported Rizwan following Azam’s dismissal but lost his wicket to Axar Patel. The Green Shirts needed a solid middle-order partnership, but Fakhar Zaman (13 off 8), Shadab Khan (4 off 7), and Imad Wasim (15 off 23) couldn’t provide it.
The turning point came when Bumrah bowled Rizwan for 31. Rizwan appeared set to guide Pakistan to victory, but Bumrah had other plans. Pakistan concluded their innings at 113-7 in 20 overs. For India, Bumrah claimed three wickets, Hardik Pandya took two, and Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel each secured one.
In the first innings, Pakistani bowlers dominated the Indian batters. Naseem Shah removed Virat Kohli for just four runs in his first over. Shaheen Afridi dismissed Indian skipper Rohit Sharma in the next over.
Axar Patel, batting at number four, aimed to prevent a collapse but was removed by Naseem in the eighth over. Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav looked solid until Yadav was dismissed by Haris Rauf, triggering an Indian collapse. Amir then removed Pant (42 off 31) and Ravindra Jadeja in the 15th over.
Rauf finished off the Indian lineup, bowling them out for 119 runs in 19 overs. For Pakistan, Naseem and Haris took three wickets each, while Amir grabbed two and Shaheen Afridi one.
Playing XIs:
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
