2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in their 2024 T20 World Cup match vs Pakistan
Team India continued their unbeaten run in the 2024 T20 World Cup as they edged out Pakistan by six runs at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York on Sunday, June 9.
In a game that was hampered by rain at times, bowlers from both sides enjoyed the conditions on offer. The Men in Blue were asked to bat first, and not much went right for them in the second half of their batting innings.
Pakistan's chase appeared to be routine at one point as they weren't under any pressure from the asking rate. However, they squandered the plot, with Rohit Sharma and Co. holding their nerve. That said, though, it wasn't a perfect game for the winning side by any stretch of the imagination.
Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by India in their 2024 T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan.
#3 Mistake - India persisted with the same team combination
After seeing how the pitches at the Nassau County International Stadium have played so far, India should've made a few tweaks to their combination.
The Men in Blue persisted with Shivam Dube even though the tall left-hander wasn't going to get much in his arc. They should've ideally dropped Dube for either Sanju Samson or Yashasvi Jaiswal.
While Axar Patel played a decent hand, he too wasn't going to be overly effective. Kuldeep Yadav could've been a massive threat with the ball in hand and helped India with their wicket-taking quest in the second innings.
#2 Masterstroke - Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel ensured that the powerplay was capitalized upon
After India lost Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli within the first three overs, they needed to make the most of the powerplay despite the setback. Run-scoring was always going to be tougher in the middle overs, and the remainder of the first six overs were crucial.
While Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel chanced their luck at times, with a good portion of runs being scored behind the wicket, the duo did enough to ensure that the powerplay was India's phase. While the former tried to heave deliveries over the leg-side, the latter overcame a scratchy start to find a couple of invaluable hits off Shaheen Afridi.
#1 Mistake - India got their batting approach wrong in the second half of their innings
India did well to take the attack to the opposition in the powerplay. Despite losing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel ensured that the 50-run mark was reached within the first six overs.
However, after that, the Men in Blue should've set a more realistic target for themselves, instead of trying to take the Pakistan bowlers to the cleaners. Shot-making was never going to be easy in New York, and India didn't seem to have a clear idea of the total they needed to reach to put up a fight.
Pant, Axar, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya were all dismissed while trying to play risky lofted shots. Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube, meanwhile, were caught in no man's land.
After the kind of powerplay they had, and after having 81 runs on the board in the first 10 overs, India should've looked to keep the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs and tried to accelerate at the death.