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3 left-arm pacers who dismissed both Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma in a T20I ft. Saurabh Netravalkar 

India defeated co-hosts the United States of America (USA) in their third group match played at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Both teams came into this game unbeaten, winning both group matches.

The Men in Blue won the toss and chose to bowl first, and their bowlers didn’t disappoint. Arshdeep Singh was on fire with figures of 4/9, while Hardik Pandya bagged two, as the USA could only score 110 runs in their 20 overs.

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In response, India didn’t start well, and it was one of the rare occasions when both Virat Kohli (0) and Rohit Sharma (3) got out to a left-arm pacer. It was Suryakumar Yadav (50*) and Shivam Dube (31*) who stitched together a 72-run partnership to guide the Men in Blue to a seven-wicket win. As a result, they have qualified for the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup.

In this article, we will look at three instances when the Indian star batters (Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma) got out to a left-arm pacer in T20 internationals.


#1 India vs Australia (Jason Behrendorff)

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India faced Australia in the second game of a three-match T20 series at Barsapara Stadium in 2017. Australia won the toss and chose to field first. The left-arm bowler, Jason Behrendorff, had an amazing evening as he ripped through the Indian top-order.

The Australian pacer dismissed both Rohit Sharma and Virat in the first over; the former was trapped in front of the wicket, while the latter hit straight into the hands of the bowler.

Kedhar Jadhav (27) and Hardik Pandya (25) were the lone batters who spent some time at the crease as India was bowled out on 118, with Behrendorff picking up four wickets.

In response, Moises Henriques (62*) led the way for Australia; he was well supported by Travis Head (48*), as they won the match by eight wickets with 27 balls remaining.


#2 India vs Pakistan (Shaheen Afridi)

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first in the Super 12 match of the 2021 T20 World Cup against India, played at the Dubai International Stadium. Shaheen Afridi was on fire for Pakistan as he dismissed both the Indian opponents (Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul) cheaply.

Virat Kohli (57) and Rishab Pant (39) fought hard for India; however, the former was dismissed by Shaheen in the 19th over. The Men in Blue only managed to score 151 runs, with the left-arm Pakistani bowler picking up three wickets.

Pakistan openers Babar Azam (68) and Mohammad Rizwan (79) were on fire as they both remained unbeaten and took their team over the line. This was Pakistan's first-ever win against India in the World Cup.


#3 India vs USA (Saurabh Netravalkar)

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India faced the USA in the 25th match of the 2024 T20 World Cup in New York. Rohit Sharma won the toss and invited the USA to bat first, who had a tough time as Arshdeep Singh was on fire for India. Nitish Kumar (27) was the highest scorer for the States, as they finished 110/8 in their 20 overs.

The hero from their match against Pakistan, Saurabh Netravalkar, started brilliantly for the USA, as he dismissed both Indian Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in his first two overs. Kohli edged a delivery angled across him, while Sharma was caught out at mid-off.

At one point, India was 39/3 after eight overs. However, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube remained composed and guided the Men in Blue to their third consecutive win, booking their place in the Super 8.

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