It was a sea of blue and green at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, as India and Pakistan faced each other in a game of cricket that can only be described as exhilarating and stressful. India continued Pakistan’s uneven start in the T20 World Cup, topping Babar Azam and the Pakistan squad by six runs in penultimate match of the tournament.
Sunday’s match started off slow having been delayed twice due to light showers, but the Pakistan team soon added momentum to the game after Usman Khan took Virat Kohli’s wicket, setting the ground for India’s wickets to drop as the game progressed. Before all 20 overs could be bowled, India’s batting order collapsed, and the team set a target for 130 runs for their competitors.
With more than 34,000 people in attendance at the stadium, according to the numbers flashed by the ICC during the match, Pakistan struggled to meet the target. Coming off Pakistan’s loss to T20 World Cup newcomers the United States, Azam and wicket keeper Mohammad Rizwan opened Pakistan’s innings. However, Azam managed only 13 runs, before Suryakumar Yadav toppled his wicket with a catch. The rest of Pakistan’s batting was also subpar, and the team managed to chase 113 runs at the end of 20 overs, losing the match.
Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the Man of the Match for his “exceptional bowling”.
In a post-match press conference, Pakistan’s head coach Gary Kristen said that Pakistan faced a “disappointing loss,” due to poor decision making. In the match predictions, many were confident that Pakistan would win the match given that they won the toss and elected to bowl first.
“We were good for 15 overs [while batting] and then we lost the plot,” Kristen said.
Azam, meanwhile, said that their plan was to play “simple cricket,” and that they started off well with the bat but lost wickets and took a “few too many balls to get going.” The Pakistan cricket team captain added that the players weren’t up to the mark in the powerplay. However, he said that they will reflect on these two games and are looking forward to the next two games.
India will be playing against the U.S. in their next game on June 12 at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium on Long Island in New York.
Pakistan, meanwhile, will be facing Canada in their next match on June 11 at the same venue.
While the game itself was dramatic and intense, the mood off-field was friendly and peaceful with Indian and Pakistani cricket fans indulging in playful banter with one another. In fact, many groups of friends had a mix of people donning jerseys from both countries.
One Indian fan who traveled from North Carolina for the match on the insistence of his Pakistani friend wore a jersey that was half Pakistan and half India.
A handful of cross border couples, donning jerseys of their respective countries were also spotted in the crowds.
When Pakistan lost the match, Indian match-goers could be seen consoling their Pakistani friends. On the field, fast bowler Naseem Shah was seen shedding tears as his teammate Shaheen Afridi consoled him. The captain of the Indian cricket team, Rohit Sharma, also patted Shah on his back as a comforting gesture.
The loss elicited a mix of reactions on social media. While Pakistani users ranted against their team’s performance, Indian fans celebrated their team for bouncing back strongly during the second half of the game.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.
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