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The New York pitch once again spells trouble for batters. Mumbai-born USA left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar jolted Indian camp with the wickets of openers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but Suryakumar Yadav despite a scratchy start scored a half-century and helped India chase down 111 with seven wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare. With India’s third win in a row, they qualified for the Super 8 stage of T20 World Cup 2024. Meanwhile, the win also helped Pakistan stay alive in the contest.
Earlier, Rohit won the toss and opted to field first. Arshdeep Singh trapped Shayan Jahangir in front of the stumps on the first ball of the match. In the same over, he got the wicket of Andries Gous with a short ball. After plenty dot deliveries, Aaron Jones hit the first six of the innings in the fourth over. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya did not let USA batters off the hook. USA were 18/2 after powerplay overs. Hardik in his second over ended Jones' stay at the crease. He scored 11 runs from 22 balls. Shivam Dube was introduced into the attack. Steven Taylor hit him for a massive six. USA were 42/3 at halfway stage.
Axar Patel in his second over was hit for a six. Then, he knocked over Steven Taylor. The opener scored 24 runs from 30 balls. Nitish Kumar targetted Hardik and hit him for a six and a four in the 13th over. Corey Anderson came in to bat and hit Axar for a maximum. Arshdeep returned to dismiss Nitish. He scored 27 runs from 23 balls. Bumrah in his third over was hit for a six by Harmeet Singh. He conceded 14 runs. Hardik dismissed Anderson in his last over. His four wickets for nine runs is best bowling figures for India in T20 World Cups. The former Kiwi all-rounder scored 15 runs from 12 balls. Arshdeep in his last over dismissed Harmeet who contributed with a run-a-ball 10. USA posted 110/8 on the board, a fighting score in New York.
Kohli's troubles continued in USA. He poked at a delivery and got caught behind for a golden duck off the second ball bowled by Netravalkar. In his second over Netravalkar caused more damage to get the wicket of Rohit for a single-digit score. In the fifth over, Suryakumar hit Netravalkar for the first six of the innings. Rishabh Pant hit Jessy Singh for a six in the sixth over as India were 33/2 after powerplay overs. Ali Khan ended Pant's knock in the eighth over. He scored 18 runs from 20 balls. After two quiet overs, India were 47/3 at halfway stage as Dube struggled to rotate strike.
Dube hit his first boundary off the 15th ball he faced. In the 13th over, Suryakumar's catch was dropped by Netravalkar. Dube broke the shackles against Anderson and hit him for a maximum. In the 16th over, there was controversy as USA were docked five penalty runs for exceeding 60 seconds thrice in an innings to start a new over. In the 17th over, Suryakumar hit another six. In the penultimate over, he reached his fifty from 49 balls. Dube finished the run chase with a couple of runs as India won by seven wickets with 10 balls remaining. Dube remained unbeaten for 35-ball 31 whereas Suryakumar scored 50 runs from 49 balls.
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