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Jasprit Bumrah’s stellar performance shone brightly as he led India to victory over Pakistan. With a spell of 3/14, he crucially dismissed key batsmen, sealing the victory in New York on Sunday.
Despite Pakistan’s bowlers restricting India to just 119 runs, their lowest T20 World Cup total, the Indian bowlers rallied to defend the target effectively.
Bumrah initiated Pakistan’s downfall with the early dismissal of Babar Azam. Mohammad Rizwan’s wicket in the 15th over further tilted the match in India’s favor. Notably, there was a stretch of 36 balls in Pakistan’s innings without a single boundary, intensifying the pressure on their batsmen.
Under mounting pressure, Pakistan’s batters succumbed, allowing India to clinch victory. Arshdeep Singh’s impressive defense of 18 runs in the final over sealed the win for India by six runs. This victory propelled India to the top of the points table with two matches remaining. They are set to face the USA on June 12 and Canada on June 15.
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar attributed India’s turnaround in the match solely to Bumrah’s performance. In a recent tweet, he proclaimed Jasprit Bumrah as the standout Indian player currently, suggesting that while the Indian media often highlights Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, it’s Bumrah who deserves the spotlight.
“While Indian media obsesses over Virat & Co, Jasprit Bumrah quietly wins games for India single-handedly. By far the best player in the Indian team & has been for a while now.#JaspritBumrah#ICCT20WC,” wrote Manjrekar in his tweet.
The Indian team faced significant challenges both with the bat and ball in this match. Rishabh Pant’s resilient innings, scoring 42 crucial runs, played a pivotal role in India reaching a total of 119.
Leading the bowling attack, Bumrah responded with key breakthroughs as India sought early wickets. Dismissing Babar Azam first, he then removed Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed, effectively dampening Pakistan’s chase.
Bumrah and Hardik Pandya each claimed two wickets, capitalizing on favorable conditions. Bumrah’s inswinging delivery to dismiss Rizwan was particularly noteworthy, while Pandya utilized short-pitched deliveries effectively.
Having missed the last T20 World Cup due to back problems, Bumrah has made an impactful start to India’s campaign in this tournament. With impressive performances in the ODI World Cup and IPL 2024, he appears to be in excellent form.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s prospects now rely heavily on other match outcomes, apart from their own must-win contests. They need convincing victories in their remaining matches and must also depend on India defeating USA and Canada. Additionally, they hope for USA to defeat Ireland, providing Pakistan with an opportunity to secure a crucial win in their final league game. With two wins, Pakistan would reach four points, potentially tying with USA. In such a scenario, Net Run Rate (NRR) would determine which team advances to the Super 8s.
