India v Pakistan LIVE: Result and reaction from T20 World Cup in New York as India defend low total in win
India beat Pakistan by six runs at Nassau County International Stadium
India beat Pakistan by six runs in the most highly-anticipated group match of the 2024 T20 World Cup in New York.
Pakistan were left reeling after a shock super-over defeat to the United States in Dallas on Thursday but failed to bounce back in one of the fiercest rivalries in sport as they restricted India to 119 all out from their 20 overs but then were heled to 113-7 themselves.
Only two teams will qualify from Group A and India look all but through after they had started their campaign with a dominant victory over Ireland before this win, as they went into the tournament among the favourites, despite not having won a major international event since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
However, there have been serious questions raised about the playing surface on the pop-up stadium in Nassau County, with the ICC admitting the pitch is not up to standard and would be subject to ‘remedies’ before the flagship game.
Relive all the live action in the blog below.
India v Pakistan
Overcast conditions and a pitch that has proven to be tough to score on suggests this could be a battle of the bowlers.
Shaheen Afridi will bowl the first over for Pakistan, with Rohit Sharma to face and Virat Kohli at the non-striker’s end.
India v Pakistan
The rain has stopped, the players are out and the anthems are done. LET’S PLAY CRICKET!
India v Pakistan - rain delay
The rain is easing, so we should be one for a 4.20pm start now. That would still allow us to get a full 20 overs per side game in.
India v Pakistan - rain delay
Boo! The rain is back in New York - that 4pm start isn’t going to be happening.
India v Pakistan team news
India unchanged from the side that beat Ireland and Pakistan make just one change to their XI after the Ireland defeat. Imad Wasim comes in for Azam Khan. It means Mohammad Rizwan will likely go behind the stumps.
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan XI: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir
India v Pakistan - Pakistan win the toss and elect to field
The atmosphere even for the toss is raucous! Babar Azam wins it - first blood to Pakistan and they elect to field. Not a surprise given the overcast conditions.
India skipper Rohit Sharma acknowledges they would have had a bowl as well if they’d won the toss.
India v Pakistan - new toss time and start time
Ok, it’s good news! The toss will now take place at 3.30pm BST (seven minutes’ time) with a start time of 4pm BST, so only 30 minutes delay. We’ll take that!
India v Pakistan - pitch inspection
The rain has stopped, the covers are coming off and the umpires are out for a pitch inspection. I reckon we’ll have a slightly delayed start but shouldn’t be too long (famous last words...)
The United States is starting to embrace cricket - can we keep nothing sacrosanct?
Following the shock victory of the United States’ side against Pakistan last week, a cricketing consciousness across the Atlantic may be stirring. And such was the dramatic nature of the match – which, having initially ended in a tie, was decided by a “super over” – it is hard to begrudge the Americans their enthusiasm.
But the question then arises: do we really want America to become cricket-mad? The marketing and finance bods at the International Cricket Council would presumably be delighted. Breaking America is not only the Holy Grail of global pop bands, but also of anyone wanting to make big bucks – and money is these days a major driver of those who run cricket internationally.
There have been advantages to all this for sure, but cricket’s soul has been troubled. So just imagine what will happen if the Yanks get their hands on the sport. For one thing, it’ll become de rigueur to watch matches accompanied by two-litre sodas and giant foam hands. And such is America’s penchant for cultural imperialism, you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll want to tweak the rules – bigger bats maybe, or perhaps a third set of stumps, just to spice things up a bit. “Leg before wicket” will become “Pants on fire”, and “Howzat” will be replaced with “Whatssup?!”
And if there’s money to made, Donald Trump will no doubt find a way to get a slice of the pie. He could build a cricket ground at Mar-a-Largo and spend his next presidency telling everyone it’s better than Lord’s. He might even redesignate his title to “The Umpire of the United States of America”. And as he might be in jail, dreaming about ways of getting out will be entirely appropriate.
Will Gore gives his take on America’s growing love affair with cricket:
The United States is starting to embrace cricket - can we keep nothing sacrosanct?
After a historic win at the T20 World Cup, US cricket is riding high, says Will Gore – maybe too high
India v Pakistan
The drizzle is coming down in New York, so I fear we may be on for a delayed start, with the cover still on the pitch. We’re supposed to start at 3.30pm BST, so in about 30 minutes’ time but the toss has been delayed.
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