It was a foregone conclusion even before the start of the match 25 of T20 World Cup 2024. India, currently holding the top position in the T20 universe, defeated the debutants USA by 7 wickets in New York on Wednesday. The victory margin may make one believe that it was a one-sided game as many had said.
On paper, India were and still are a much stronger team in comparison with the USA. But on ground, the situation looked different as India’s openers failed before the launch and the newcomers dragged the mighty Men in Blue till the death overs at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
Ind vs USA: The Arshdeep Singh show!
India won the toss and skipper Rohit Sharma decided to bowl first. Arshdeep Singh was asked to bowl first. As Gen Z says, he was asked to play, he heard slay! Singh etched his name in the record books of the T20 World Cup as he became the first ever India bowler to take a wicket on the very first delivery of the game. Shayan Jahangir (LBW) walked back and Andries Gous joined him soon as Singh took the second wicket in the first over.
At that time, it seemed like India would be able to restrict the co-hosts to sub-par score. The projected score at that point was 87. However, gritty USA made sure to add runs to the total and play the full quota of 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya took 4 and 2 wickets respectively. At the end of 20 overs, USA were halted to a paltry score of 110/8. On the drop-in pitch of New York, this was actually a good total.
Ind vs USA: Saurabh Netravalkar’s dream run and USA’s disciplined efforts
In reply, India suffered a major blow as the star openers – Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma – failed miserably. Saurabh Netravalkar, the star US bowler, achieved a unique record as he dismissed Kohli for a golden duck. This was the first ever such dismissal for Kohli in the history of the T20 World Cup. Sharma also couldn’t stay long on the crease as Netravalkar took him out inside the powerplay.
Rishabh Pant did play some nifty shots before Ali Khan ended his innings. The critical fourth wicket stand between Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube kept India in the game. The disciplined bowling by the US, however, kept up the pressure and dragged the game till the very end. SKY’s gritty half-century clinched the third win on the trot for Men in Blue. With this, India have qualified for the Super 8, the first team to do so, in this edition of the T20 World Cup.
In the post-match ceremony, Sharma said that he was ‘relieved’ that India had qualified for the Super 8 and that chasing down the target of 111 ‘was not easy.’