MUMBAI : The thrilling clash of team India against Pakistan in ICC T20 World Cup kept not only fans but celebrities on their toes. India’s narrow six-run win over Pakistan, left the country delighted with the Men in Blue’s performance against their arch-rivals.
Jasprit Bumrah’s miserly three-wicket haul which applied pressure on Pakistan batters and a counter-attacking, match-saving knock by Rishabh Pant powered India to a narrow win at a packed Nassau County Stadium which keeps India’s World Cup dreams alive with two more group stage games to go.
After the game got over and the tricolour shone bright at the Nassau County Stadium in New York, fans at the venue wasted no time breaking into an energetic dance to the sounds of drums.
Impressed with Men in Blue’s performance against their arch-rivals, several celebrities took to their social media handles to praise them.
Like every other desi cricket fan Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was heartbroken after watching the first innings where India collapsed in the batting but said the the bowlers making it to win was commendable.
https://x.com/SrBachchan/status/1799909222899134874?
Expressing his excitement, Big B shared Jasprit Bumrah’s picture on his X handle and wrote, “Oh my god oh my god! We were watching Ind v Pak game, and switched off the TV midway, because we felt we were losing! But suddenly I saw the Internet and WE WON WE WON WE WON !!! YEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH …. !!!!! INDIA INDIA INDIA INDIA INDIA INDIA INDIA, (loosely translated).
Varun Dhawan shared a snapshot of India’s winning moment on his Instagram stories and captioned it, “What a match what a performance team india! Jai Hind!.”
Sidharth Malhotra dropped a photo of Team India and wrote, “What a win, #TeamIndia. #HappySunday indeed! Excitement level at max, as always.”
Angad Bedi shared a celebratory video from the ground. He heaped praise on team Indian for the exceptional game.
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Not only Angad but his wife Neha Dhupia shared a video while watching the match with family and friends on her X handle.
Along with the video, she wrote, “Not been this nervous in a looonnggg time … well played #teamindia #jaihind.”
https://x.com/NehaDhupia/status/1799891270422131196?
Holding the national flag in his hand and beaming with pride, Aparshakti Khurana, who witnessed this game live, shared his feeling and wrote on Instagram, “Whatta Game! New York! You were worth it.”
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Bowled by India’s performance against Pakistan, Riteish Deshmukh posted on X, “Chak De India : What an incredible comeback!!! Bravo Team INDIA – Bravo Bowlers !! #INDvsPAK #t20USA #T20WorldCup 2024.”
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Rooting for Team India, Ayushmann Khurrana praised Rishabh Pant and called Boomrah ‘man with the golden arm.”
https://x.com/ayushmannk/status/1799893608734020004?
“Match full of nerves. All’s well that ends well though. Good comeback for Rishabh Pant. And Boomrah is the man with the golden arm. Cmon India!
Let’s go all guns blazing in this #t20USA World Cup! #INDvsPAK,” message read on X.
Preity Zinta also impressed with the comeback of men in blue. She wrote on her X, “Wow what a match. What a comeback and what a fight back. Full marks to the cricket team for defending 119 runs. A special mention to the bowling unit specially @Jaspritbumrah93 for such an incredible performance. Maza aa gaya #INDvsPAK #WorldCup2024. What a match #ting.”
https://x.com/realpreityzinta/status/1799912183742226667?
Thrilled to watch the match, Arjun Rampal shared his feelings post India win, “What a match. Absolutely brilliant our bowling attack was. @Jaspritbumrah93 class apart. Great day for India today. Congratulations boys. #t20USA #worldcup #IndiaVsPak.”
https://x.com/rampalarjun/status/1799890149532209394?
Sharing pictures of herself, Shraddha Kapoor expressed her excitement in her cute style.
She wrote on her Instagram stories, “Itni khushi ho rahi hai jaise. 2-3 wicket maine bhi le li hain.”
Ishaan Khatter called it a ‘nail-biting climax’ after Indian bowlers ruled the field in the match.
Sharing the video on his Instagram stories, he wrote, “What an insane steal team India Nail biting dimas!!!” Bobby Deol shared glimpse of himself watching the exciting match and wrote, “Awesome game team India.”
Further, extending the wishes, Sonu Sood congratulated the team and wrote, “Congratulationsindia #indiavspak @Jaspritbumrah93. Well done veer.”
Here is how other celebrities reacted to India’s win:
Pakistan won the toss and put India to bat first. However, the Indian batters did not get things going for them at this tough surface as star openers Virat Kohli (4) and Rohit Sharma (13) failed to score big. Rishabh Pant (42 in 31 balls, with six fours) seemed to be playing on a different pitch and had useful partnerships with Axar Patel (20 in 18 balls, with two fours and a six) and Suryakumar Yadav (seven in eight balls, with a four). However, the lower middle order crumbled under the pressure of scoring runs on such a tough pitch and India could make just 119 in 19 overs.
Haris Rauf (3/21) and Naseem Shah (3/21) were the top bowlers for Pakistan. Mohammed Amir got two scalps while Shaheen Shah Afridi got one.
In the run-chase, Pakistan took a more measured approach and Mohammed Rizwan (31 in 44 balls, with a four and six) held one end steady.
However, Bumrah (3/14) and Hardik Pandya (2/24) got crucial wickets of skipper Babar Azam (13), Fakhar Zaman (13), Shadab Khan (4), Iftikhar Ahmed (5) as well, which kept the pressure intact on Pakistan. With 18 runs needed in the final over, Naseem Shah (10*) tried to win it for Pakistan, however, Arshdeep Singh (1/31) made sure Pakistan fell short by six runs.
Bumrah secured the ‘Player of the Match’ for his match-winning spell.
After winning this thriller, India is at the top of Group A with two wins in two games and four points. Pakistan is in fourth place, having lost both their games to the USA and India. Their knockout stage chances look slim. (ANI)