India vs USA Highlights, 2024 T20 World Cup: 3 moments that generated buzz among fans in Match 25 ft. Arshdeep Singh
India became the first team from Group A of the T20 World Cup to qualify for the Super 8 phase after beating the USA by seven wickets in New York on Wednesday, June 12. The Men in Blue had to dig deep and grind out the result against a spirited United States side.
The USA posted a target of 111 for India and it seemed like they were comfortably under par as the pitch had been playing a lot better than that in earlier games. However, the hosts made the Men in Blue sweat it out in the middle and earn their victory.
At 39/3, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube got together and had a crucial partnership of 72* that took their team over the line. Dube remained unbeaten on 31, while SKY scored a fine half-century off 49 balls. On that note, let's take a look at the three moments from the game that grabbed the attention of fans on social media:
#1 Arshdeep Singh bags unique feat
Arshdeep Singh became the first Indian bowler to pick up a wicket on the first ball of a T20 World Cup match when he dismissed USA's Shayan Jahangir. The ball pitched on a good length and nipped back just enough to trap the batter right in front. Arshdeep began to celebrate as soon as the ball hit the pad as he knew the batter was plumb in front.
The left-arm seamer was sensational for the remainder of his spell as well with wickets of Andries Gues, Nitish Kumar, and Harmeet Singh to bag figures of 4/9. These are his best figures in T20I and the pacer deservingly won the Player of the Match award.
#2 Mohammed Siraj's incredible catch
The Indian team has taken pride in its fielding and the players have been getting an incentive for some magical moments in the field after fielding coach T Dilip introduced the best fielder medal during the World Cup last year. Mohammed Siraj produced one such moment against the USA which almost made it certain that he would be the recipient of that medal for this game.
Nitish Kumar smashed a delivery from Arshdeep Singh towards the leg side and with the way he timed the pull shot, the batter would have thought he would clear the big boundary. However, Siraj backpedaled and timed his jump to perfection to take a sensational catch. He lost his balance but made sure he didn't lose control of the ball.
#3 Saurabh Netravalkar's dream start
USA's left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar has been in the news, especially after his performance against Pakistan in the Super Over that helped his team win. A player of Indian origin but now settled in the USA and a full-time employee at Oracle, Netravalkar has quickly become a source of inspiration to many who want to fulfill their dreams of being a professional cricketer.
The left-arm pacer got his team off to a terrific start with the ball by getting Virat Kohli caught behind for a golden duck. Netravalkar didn't stop there as he induced a false shot from Rohit Sharma and the veteran opener was caught at mid-off by Harmeet Singh.
While the USA lost the match, fans praised Netravalkar for his impact and the pacer would certainly rate picking up the two big Indian wickets among his top individual achievements.