Green Shirts face surprising defeat against India
NEW YORK: The Green Shirts faced a surprising defeat against India in their World Cup Group A match at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Pakistan suffered a narrow six-run defeat despite an impressive performance by their bowlers, who restricted India to 119 runs after winning the toss.
Jasprit Bumrah was the standout performer, taking crucial wickets with figures of 3-14 in his four overs, which proved decisive as Pakistan ended their innings at 113-7, just short of the target.
India were bowled out for 119 in 19 overs, and Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with a well-paced 31.
Despite a strong start with no wickets lost in the first over, Pakistan failed to capitalize on their advantage as skipper Babar Azam fell to Jasprit Bumrah after scoring 13 runs.
Following Babar’s dismissal, Usman Khan joined Mohammad Rizwan, providing some support, but Usman was soon out to Axar Patel. Pakistan needed a solid partnership in the middle overs, but Fakhar Zaman (13 off 8), Shadab Khan (4 off 7), and Imad Wasim (15 off 23) were all dismissed without making significant contributions.
The turning point came when Bumrah bowled Rizwan for 31 runs. Rizwan appeared to be the key player to guide Pakistan to victory, but Bumrah’s crucial wicket changed the game’s momentum.
Pakistan finished their innings at 113-7 in 20 overs. Bumrah was the standout bowler for India with three wickets, while Hardik Pandya took two, and Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel each claimed one.
In the first innings, Pakistani bowlers dominated the Indian batters, giving them little room to perform in this highly anticipated match.
Naseem Shah set the tone by dismissing Virat Kohli for just four runs in his first over. In the following over, Shaheen Afridi took the wicket of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma.
Axar Patel batted at number four, ahead of Suryakumar Yadav, to stabilize the innings but was removed by Naseem in the eighth over. India showed promise with Rishabh Pant and Yadav combining, but Yadav’s dismissal by Haris Rauf triggered an Indian collapse.
Shortly after Yadav’s wicket, India lost quick wickets as Amir removed Pant (42 off 31) and Ravindra Jadeja in the 15th over. Rauf completed the demolition, and India was all out for 119 runs in 19 overs.
For Pakistan, Naseem and Haris each took three wickets, Amir claimed two, and Shaheen Afridi picked up 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.
