Team India registered a close win over Pakistan on Sunday in their second Group A game in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 in New York.
India suffered a mid-innings collapse on a two-paced track to be all out for an underwhelming 119 in 19 overs despite a gutsy 42-run knock from Rishabh Pant. However, the pace combination of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya brought India back from the dead with incisive spells that saw Pakistan lose wickets in a heap and get defeated by 6 runs.
The victory took India to the top of the Group A table with 4 points and a Net Run Rate of +1.455 whereas Pakistan are now in a spot of bother with 2 back-to-back defeats in the tournament.
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Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar was left dejected over Pakistan losing yet another T20 World Cup game to India. In his latest YouTube video, he questioned the intent of the Babar Azam-led side, stating that the men in green should have won the game had the players ‘applied their brains’.
“Very disappointing. It was a run-a-ball chance for Pakistan. Earlier, India’s middle-order messed it up. They were 80-odd in 11 overs and could have achieved around 160 but couldn’t. But for Pakistan, it was a close chance. Rizwan could have scored another 20 runs and won the game for the team. Sadly, we didn’t apply our brains,” Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.
“A lot of things are questionable, their intent, the application… it’s really sad for the team. Pakistan should have won this game. They were pretty much in the game, requiring 46 runs in 47 balls when Fakhar was there. We had 7 wickets in hand but we couldn’t do it. I’m speechless and hurt, that’s about it,” he added.
The equation for Pakistan came down to 18 off the last six balls. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh held his nerve to defend it, ensuring another famous win for India over the arch-rivals on the world stage. It was India’s second win in as many games while Pakistan succumbed to another loss after a shock defeat against the USA in their opener.
