India defeating Pakistan in a World Cup is a dog bites man occurrence, not the alternative. Before the latest contest in the men’s T20 World Cup in New York, the team in green had saluted just once from 16 attempts. And given that was in a COVID-bubbled event hosted in Dubai, it’s difficult to be certain it wasn’t an AI-generated simulation to shake things up.
Making their defeat on Monday morning worse was the opportunity they earned to turn things the other way. Sent in under thick cloud, with opening exchanges complicated by rain delays, India were reduced to 7-96 by Pakistan’s four-pronged pace attack by the time the sun came out. The tournament favourites were all out for 119, with Haris Rauf and Mohammad Amir each collecting two wickets in two balls. But on a surface that has lacked runs all week, that proved defendable.
Why the set man Mohammad Rizwan tried to pop the first ball of a new Jasprit Bumrah spell over midwicket and onto the moon, only to lose his off stump, is a question he’ll need a long time to answer – it proved defining. Getting 21 from 12 balls shouldn’t daunt but it did, with Bumrah unhittable in the penultimate over before Arshdeep Singh closed it out. India leave their neighbours devastated once again, six runs the margin.
When the trophy is taken by helicopter with Yuvraj Singh from the ground in Nassau County to Boston Gardens for presentation at the NBA Finals, the success will be assessed in social media metrics: their last collaboration netted 30 million views. The cross-sport push extends to those invited, including a couple of NFL types and