NEW DELHI: Ahead of the thrilling clash between India and Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on Sunday, star India batter Virat Kohli met legendary basketball player John Starks at the Nassau International Cricket Stadium.
A top-class bowling spell from pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and a match-saving knock by Rishabh Pant were the highlights as India defeated Pakistan by six runs in their ICC T20 World Cup clash.
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.
NBA took to X and posted a video where Kohli and former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh were seen meeting Starks at the New York Stadium. The post was captioned: @imVkohli and @YUVSTRONG12 welcome John Starks to the @T20WorldCup!”
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1799895874249879953?t=dKhfGG-wubsRrrGgnp24IA&s=19
Later, another video was seen where Yuvraj was seen introducing Starks to star India seamer Bumrah.
https://x.com/NBA/status/1799895874249879953
Coming to the match, Pakistan won the toss and put India to bat first. However, the Indian batters did not get things going at the 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 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 the crucial wickets of skipper Babar Azam (13), Fakhar Zaman (13), Shadab Khan (4), Iftikhar Ahmed (5) as well, which kept the pressure 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. (ANI)