NEW YORK: Jasprit Bumrah was the hero as India beat Pakistan by six runs in a low-scoring T20 World Cup thriller in New York on Sunday.
India were bowled out by Pakistan for 119 in 19 overs but while Mohammad Rizwan made 31 for Pakistan, in a well-paced innings, Bumrah delivered crucial wickets and his 3-14 in four overs proved decisive as Pakistan fell just short ending on 113-7.
Despite a tricky batting surface that made batting difficult, a crowd of 34,028, a record attendance for an international cricket match in the USA, were given a tight contest that ebbed and flowed.
Bumrah picked up the vital wicket of Pakistan captain Babar Azam (13) and then the breakthrough dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan (31) in the 15th over when Pakistan were 80-4.
Then, handed the ball for the penultimate over, with Pakistan needing 21 to win, Bumrah conceded just three runs and removed Iftikhar Ahmed with his final ball.
That left Pakistan needing 18 from the final over, a steep task on a difficult batting surface and it got more tricky when Arshdeep Singh trapped Imad Wasim lbw with the first ball.
Naseem Shah made a valiant effort, hitting the fourth and fifth balls of the over for fours but India avoided any late drama to secure their second win of the tournament.
For Pakistan, their loss, coming after the shock defeat to the USA, leaves them without a point and with a lot of work to do against Canada and Ireland if they are to fight their way into the Super Eight stage.
Earlier, Pakistan’s bowlers had given their team a fighting chance with Naseem and Haris Rauf claiming three wickets each as India were dismissed with a full over remaining of their alloted 20.
But Rishabh Pant’s 42 from 31 balls gave the Indians something to work with after they lost openers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli cheaply.
Rain delayed the start of the game, played in front of a packed 34,000 fans, the majority of whom were backing tournament favorites India.
Pakistan captain Babar won the toss and opted to bowl and their was a huge roar when Rohit clipped Shaheen Shah Afridi’s third ball of the day over mid-wicket for six.
But after just one over, the rain returned forcing a 36-minute delay and when play resumed Pakistan’s attack got the start they had dreamt of.
Naseem Shah removed Kohli with the the third ball back, the Indian opener reaching at a wide delivery and finding Usman Khan at point.,
Rohit tried to put Afridi off the midwicket boundary again but this time he was caught by Haris Rauf in the deep to leave India at 19-2 with both star openers gone.
But only 24 runs were added for the last five wickets and India lost their final wicket to a run out with six balls remaining.
That could have proved costly but Bumrah delivered when it mattered for a big win for the tournament favorites.
Jasprit Bumrah delivers as India beat Pakistan in low-scoring thriller at T20 World Cup
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Jasprit Bumrah delivers as India beat Pakistan in low-scoring thriller at T20 World Cup
- India were bowled out by Pakistan for 119 in 19 overs
Mid East Falcons and Mumbai Cobras to meet in historic United Series in Dubai
- The league’s top 2 teams collide in a best-of-3 series this weekend at Baseball United Ballpark in Dubai
DUBAI: The Mid East Falcons and Mumbai Cobras face-off on Friday night at Baseball United Ballpark in the United Series, the sport’s first regional championship.
Both teams finished tied atop the Baseball United season one standings with 6-3 records. However, Mumbai will start and close game three, if necessary, as the home team, since they finished first in the standings after winning the head-to-head series.
The Cobras are the first professional baseball team in the history of India. They represent nearly 30 million people in Mumbai and 1.5 billion people in India, the majority of whom are fans of bat-and-ball games, with cricket the nation’s top sport.
Baseball United has reached tens of millions of those fans this year through broadcasts on several of the network’s linear channels as well as the Zee 5 app.
The Mid East Falcons represent the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, and they have quickly grown both a regional following across the GCC, as well as a global fanbase in Japan.
More than half of the Falcons’ roster is made up of Japanese players, including Nippon Professional League legends Munenori Kawasaki and Hiroyuki Nakajima.
The team also has young prospects from the Yokohama Bay Stars, one of Japan’s top professional baseball teams, adding to its appeal within that baseball-loving nation.
Locally, the Falcons have drawn the largest attendance for each of their games at Baseball United Ballpark, with attendees from more than 50 nationalities coming to support the Mid East team.
“This is the United Series matchup that fans across the world were craving,” said Kash Shaikh, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Baseball United.
“We have Mumbai vs. Mid East, the two top teams from the regular season who have rosters full of talent, character, and personality. The Falcons are both the UAE’s team and Japan’s team.
“The Cobras represent 1.5 billion people in India. All three nations, as well as fans across the baseball world, will be watching closely as we crown our first-ever United Series Champion this weekend.”
The United Series is a best-of-three championship contest. After Friday’s opening game, games two and three will follow on Saturday and Sunday.
The Falcons are managed by Dennis Cook, a 15-year MLB veteran who won a World Series title with the Florida Marlins in 1997. Cook has been a part of Baseball United since its inaugural showcase games in November 2023.
“Baseball United’s leadership team has done an outstanding job to get us to this point,” Cook said. “We are very excited to play against Mariano (Duncan) and the Mumbai Cobras, and we are very focused on becoming the first Baseball United champions in history.”
Cook has had a unique challenge of managing a roster in which the majority of the players do not communicate in English.
“We are a very diverse team, it’s been great to work with the Japanese kids. I admire them and I like the way we communicate. I don’t speak Japanese, but we have our own way to communicate and it has been a lot of fun.”
The Falcons led the league in both batting (.271 BA) and pitching (2.25 ERA) as a team, and nearly swept the league’s regular season awards, with Kazuki Yabuta (Best Pitcher), Manato Tanai (Best Fielder), Munenori Kawasaki (Clubhouse Award), and Alejandro De Aza (Sportsmanship).
In addition, Nakajima has been atop the league leaders in batting (.400) throughout the year. LHP Shuto Sakurai will be the starting pitcher for game one of the United Series.
Brantley Bell (.441 BA, 1.213 OPS), the star third baseman from the Cobras, won the league’s first-ever Most Valuable Player Award. In addition to Bell, Caleb McNeely (3 HRs, 10 RBIs, .688 SLG), Lou Helmig (2 HR, 10 RBIs) and Miguel Ojeda Jr. (2 HR, 8 RBIs) led the Cobras’ batting attack.
The Mumbai bullpen was also solid all year behind Akeel Morris (0.00 ERA) and LHP Brandon Kaminer (0.00 ERA), who together have accumulated 18.0 scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts.
In addition, there are three Indian-born pitchers who have caused a sensation in their country: Akshay More, Tushar Lalwani and Saurabh Gaikwad.
More is 2-0 with 11.1 innings pitched and a 1.59 ERA. Karan Patel, the franchise’s No. 1 starter, will take the mound to start the United Series on Friday night. Patel has 14 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.
Duncan, a 12-year MLB veteran who won two World Series Championships, manages the Mumbai Cobras. He has also been a part of Baseball United since the Dubai Showcase in 2023.
“It’s been an honor to be part of Baseball United. The first season has been an amazing experience, I’m so proud to be part of this history.
“This team has a great chemistry and passion for the game of baseball, but we also have good batting, good pitching, power and speed, and we are going to close strong to make history this weekend.”
