Pakistan’s tough time in the Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup continued when it lost by six runs to rival India on Sunday. This comes after a surprising loss to the USA earlier in the week.
Now, Pakistan’s future in the tournament is very uncertain after these two losses. It all depends on how the USA performs. The USA now has a big opportunity to advance to the knockout stages.
During the match, it seemed like Pakistan would win easily. India scored a low total of 119 runs, and Pakistan started their chase well. But they lost important wickets at crucial moments, leading to a harmful defeat.
An India-Pakistan cricket match is considered one of the biggest rivalries in sports. It’s not just about cricket; it’s also influenced by the tensions between the two countries.
They usually face each other only in international tournaments. The excitement for these matches is so high that on the day of the game, a seat at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York cost at least $2,500.
Security measures were heightened before the match. There were more patrols, including monitoring the fence, checking cars, and even using horses and drones. A Nassau County official told CNN that there was a credible threat from the terror group ISIS-K, at least until proven otherwise.
The match got delayed because of rain, almost an hour late. When India’s Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli came to bat, the sky was still cloudy.
Rohit started strong, hitting a six on the third ball. But then, after just one over, they had to stop again because of more rain.
When they resumed, Kohli hit a beautiful four, but he got out just two balls later. Then, in the next over, Rohit also got out, hitting the ball straight to Haris Rauf off Shaheen Afridi. This removed both of India’s main batters quickly.
Rishabh Pant tried to steady things for India by hitting a lot of boundaries. But, even though he scored well, India couldn’t build a strong partnership. They went from being 89-3 to a weak 96-7 by the 15th over, making it hard for them to get a good score.
In the end, they only managed to score 119 runs, which is quite low, especially on this tricky pitch. The pitch has been difficult to bat on throughout the tournament, with uneven bounce and a slow outfield.
Pakistan started their run chase well, steadily getting closer to India’s score. Mohammad Rizwan was playing really well for them. But things changed when Jasprit Bumrah got Rizwan out with six overs left. This shifted the momentum, making the match more intense. In the last over, Pakistan needed 18 runs to win, but they couldn’t quite make it.