Arshdeep Singh‘s fine bowling performance (4-9), backed by Hardik Pandya’s good show with the ball, helped India restrict the USA to 110/8 after Rohit Sharma opted to bowl on a surface that continued to be a struggle for the batters. In reply, the hosts put India under pressure with early wickets and some tight bowling. But Suryakumar Yadav (50* off 49) and Shivam Dube (31* off 35) put on an unbroken 67-run stand off 65 deliveries to help India over the line with 10 deliveries to spare.
Arshdeep Singh proved why left arm seamers angle proved crucial for India’s conquest of another swing bowler in New York’s tricky conditions. It took some ugly batting and a hardworking fourth-wicket partnership for India to overcome a spirited challenge from the United States of America and register a seven-wicket victory.. Playing in the final match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, India became the first team from Group A to book a berth in the Super 8 stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Pitch and Toss
Another glorious day with hardly any cloud in the sky. We’re playing on the same wicket as yesterday, the square boundaries are at 70m and 66m while the straight hit is at 72m. Pretty similar. bowlers will have to hit the hard lengths, batters can’t really play the cross-batted shots. The bowlers will look to get the natural variation off a hard length and a back of the length. Chasing is the best way to go, reckon Ebony-Rainford Brent and Steve Smith, in their pitch report.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl with no changes in the playing XI. USA skipper batting first under Aaron Jones made 2 changes in his team bringing in for Shayan Jahangir for injured Monank Patel and Shadley Van Schalkwyk for Nosthush Kenjige.
Arshdeep Singh strikes put USA in a choke in Powerplay
The USA were in early trouble as they lost two wickets in the first over. Arshdeep Singh struck off the first ball of the match, trapping Shayan Jahangir (replacement for an injured Monank Patel) in front with an inswinging delivery and later in the over had Andries Gous caught with a short of length delivery that had extra bounce.
Mohammed Siraj went past the outside edge of Jones’s bat a few times in the fourth over before the stand-in USA captain top-edged a pull past the fence for the first boundary shot in the match. But there was not much progress made in terms of run-scoring despite the six, with Jasprit Bumrah and Pandya conceding just one apiece from their opening overs. As a result, USA registered the lowest powerplay score in T20Is against India, and the third lowest in this World Cup.
The day began with a two-wicket opening over in which Arshdeep Singh swung the ball back in. Shayan Jahangir, replacing Monank Patel, was out lbw, and Andries Gous picked out mid-off attempting to pull a skiddy short ball.
USA makes steady chase as Arshdeep returns to end gritty Nitish Kumar’s innings
With the innings going nowhere, Jones tried to force the pace against Pandya but fell in that attempt, top-edging a pull. The USA got their first four when Nitish Kumar got an outside edge off Dube but Steven Taylor was completely in control when he put away a short-pitched delivery past deep midwicket for a six. Taylor and Nitish put on a useful 31-run stand, which included a straight six for the former off Axar Patel. But the left-arm spinner had the last laugh, getting the opener bowled off an inside edge.
Nitish was playing some good shots despite not finding the boundaries, until he took on Pandya in the 13th over – going straight for a six and a four. Corey Anderson went big in the 14th over, clearing the deep midwicket fence off Axar. Arshdeep Singh returned to end Nitish’s stay, with Siraj pulling off an excellent catch close to the deep square leg boundary.
It wasn’t until Nitish Kumar and Corey Anderson added 25 off 18 heading into the final overs that USA had some injection of momentum that gave them a chance of getting towards 120.
Arshdeep Singh, Pandya help India restrict USA to 110 for 8
Opening the face of his bat, Anderson managed a four off Bumrah before Harmeet Singh took on India’s premier bowler, getting a six off a top-edge and carving one over cover for three, as the USA got 14 off the 16th over to enter the 90s. India lost a review for a caught-behind decision against Harmeet in the 17th over, but Pandya accounted for Anderson and finished with good figures of 2-14.
Harmeet had a lucky break, put down by Siraj off Arshdeep Singh, but the left-arm pacer struck Arshdeep Singh soon enough to find the edge of the left-handed batter as he registered the best figures by an Indian bowler in the T20 World Cup. Bumrah gave away only three in the 19th over but finished wicketless for 25 runs, and it was similar story for Siraj who was hit for a four in the final over by Shadley van Schalkwyk.
However, overs 16-18 scuppered those plans. Hardik bowled a wicket-maiden in the 17th, dismissing Anderson for his second wicket, and Arshdeep Singh had Harmeet Singh – who had top-edged Bumrah for a six to get off the mark – caught behind. USA ended up with 110, which they’d look back at and wonder what could’ve been had they only got 10 more.
Netravalkar strikes early to keep India quiet in the Powerplay
Virat Kohli’s lean run in this tournament continued as fell for a golden duck, edging an away-going delivery from Saurabh Netravalkar to get out without scoring for the first time in T20 World Cups. Rishabh Pant scored the first boundary, punching one from Ali Khan over point. Netravalkar then picked up another big wicket as Rohit chipped a catch to to mid off after the ball stopped on him. In the same over, Suryakumar was struck on the glove by a ball with extra bounce and the batter had to get his right thumb strapped.
A typical lap shot off Netravalkar helped Suryakumar get the first six of the innings while Pant’s first six came via a pick-up shot over deep backward square leg off Jasdeep Singh. Despite that, the USA kept the opposition quiet for most parts in the first six overs, with India registering their lowest total in the powerplay in this World Cup.
Virat Kohli first. Rohit Sharma next. The ball that felled Kohli in the first over was a dream delivery. The batter nicking off with a perfect away-going delivery that had him jabbing. It was only Kohli’s second golden duck in T20Is. The ball that got Rohit was somewhat similar. Except it was a lot closer to the stumps and had Rohit turning the face of the bat to take the leading edge. At mid-off, Harmeet Singh, Rohit’s school junior by a few years, ran back and held on.
India were shell-shocked at 15 for 2, which soon became 44 for 3 when Rishabh Pant was out to one that skidded low and through his defence.
Suryakumar, Dube put on a hardworking stand
Just when India were getting some momentum, they suffered another setback as Pant was bowled by a delivery from Ali Khan that kept low and skidded through. Only 14 runs came in the four overs after the powerplay, with Dube struggling to get going, as India got to 47/3 at the halfway stage, only five more than what the USA had managed.
The indifferent bounce and accurate lines from the US bowlers led to a boundary drought, which lasted 32 deliveries, and came to an end when Dube edged a Jasdeep delivery past the ‘keeper for a four. Suryakumar, looking to push on, almost fell in his attempt to play a chip shot off van Schalkwyk, reprieved in the end by Netravalkar putting down the catch. In the next over, Suryakumar got a much-needed boundary, flicking an Ali Khan delivery over midwicket. Dube’s release shot also came in the midwicket region as he carted a six off Anderson.
It was almost as if the reprieve of Suryakumar deflated USA. Suddenly, Aaron Jones was switching fields every ball, running up to have a chat between deliveries, all of it playing into the hands of the batters. Twice, USA were warned about delaying the game by not beginning their next over within their 60-second allowance. When they erred for a third time, the umpires awarded five penalty runs to India.
From 35 off 30, India now needed a run-a-ball 30. It didn’t matter then that Dube had at one point been struggling on 5 off 14, or that Suryakumar was far from his 360-degree mode.
Suryakumar, Dube help India into Super 8
Before the start of the 16th over, penalty runs were awarded to India and the USA’s game came apart after that. It came down to a run-a-ball for the last four overs and Suryakumar struck a maximum over cover and played a scoop shot for a four off van Schalkwyk, bringing it down to 9 off 18. India needed 4 off 12 balls when Suryakumar took a single off Ali Khan to bring up a 49-ball fifty, and Dube finished it off with a straight drive for a couple to register India’s third straight win and also the highest successful run-chase at this venue.
Fifty-three needed off 45. USA were bowling cutters into the pitch. Suryakumar was struggling to hit the ball off the square, and was trying to manufacture strokes. Most times, it comes off. Here, it wasn’t.
An over after nearly getting bowled trying to sweep Corey Anderson off his length, he tried to open the bat face to play his trademark loft, only to slice the ball high. Saurabh Netravalkar circled under it after doing exceedingly well to get to the ball running back from short third, but couldn’t hold on to the chance. The superhero who could not put a foot wrong until then was human, after all.
In the 17th over, India truly broke the stranglehold when Suryakumar picked Shadley van Schalkwyk’s medium pace for a lofted six over extra cover and a trademark flick over his shoulder for four off back-to-back deliveries. Off the first ball of the 19th, he got to a 49-ball half-century.
The winning runs were hit one legitimate delivery later when Dube dug out a yorker-length delivery to long-off. It could have so easily been another knock that had Dube’s self-doubts spiraling, but that he dug in to remain unbeaten on 31 in what was a hard scrap should give him lot of confidence.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Aaron Jones the loosing skipper said : 10-15 runs short. If we got 130 then it would have been a tough total, that’s how it goes sometimes. The boys were very disciplined, really proud of the bowling unit. Feels good, this is what we wanted for USA cricket, enjoying it.
We will recalibrate now, have a few meetings and come back strong. The wicket was a bit tricky, more suited for seam bowling. That’s why no spin. Mostly he (Monank Patel) should be fit for the last game, just got a slight niggle.
Rohit Sharma the winning skipper said: Knew it would be tough. Credit to us for the way we held our nerve and got that partnership. Credit to Surya and Dube for showing the maturity and taking us through. (On the Indian American cricketers) Lot of these guys have played cricket together, very happy to see their progress. Saw them last year in MLC as well, they are all hard-working guys. (On the bowlers) We knew bowlers had to take the lead, run scoring was difficult.
All the bowlers did the job, particularly Arshdeep. (On Dube bowling) You want options and we should be able to use them as and when we can. Today, the pitch favored the seamers so wanted to use him. (On qualifying) It is a big relief, playing cricket here wasn’t easy. We had to stick through till the end in all 3 games.
Will take a lot of confidence from these wins. (On Suryakumar) He showed he has a different game to him, that’s what you expect from experienced players. Credit to the way he stuck through today to take the game deep and win it for us.
Arshdeep Singh Player of the Match for his spell of 4 for 9 said: Very very happy with the performance. In the last two games, I gave away little more runs, wasn’t happy with that. The team always shows belief in me and keep backing me, I had to deliver for them. The wicket is very conducive to fast bowlers and it’s helping us get some seam movement.
The plan was simple, pitch it in the wicket and let the ball do the talking. Don’t give easy balls to score, our batsmen are also facing difficulties to score runs. The plan was to hit the hard lengths. In conditions like this, you can use the wicket more. When you are playing international cricket, you need to have some routines and the way you take care of your body counts. All the bowlers have done extremely well, looking forward to do the same in the next leg as well.
A nervy little run chase for team India, don’t let the scoreboard trick you. They lost both Kohli and Rohit within 3 overs, as Netravalkar dismissed both openers to leave India at 10/2. Pant and Suryakumar stitched a partnership for a bit, but the southpaw got a skiddy delivery from Ali Khan that kept low and knocked over his stumps.
The middle phase saw India’s batters pretty much go into a shell, as they played very slowly but managed to keep their wickets intact. Suryakumar Yadav took his time today, but proved that he could anchor a chase as well if needed. Dube started a bit tentatively but found his form later on as India got through a tricky period on a tricky surface to get over the line with more than an over to spare.
So we say goodbye to New York’s Nassau County Cricket Stadium with a jittery Indian win against a spirited American side. No wickets for Bumrah today, and Rohit, Kohli both fell early. But India found a hero in Arshdeep Singh with the ball, and Suryakumar with the bat who’s unnaturally measured fifty helped them qualify for the Super Eights. Today’s result makes Friday’s game in Lauderhill very interesting, generating special interest in Pakistani broadcast circles.
It had all the makings of a one-sided fare. Except, it was anything but. At one stage, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma both dismissed by Saurabh Netravalkar, and India 15 for 2 in chase of 111, USA dared to dream. When Rishabh Pant was castled by Ali Khan, thirty-thousand screaming fans, many of them Indian-Americans, gave more wings to those dreams. This was now USA’s game to lose.
But in Suryakumar Yadav, India had a crisis man who bailed them out of choppy waters. He was helped along by Shivam Dube during the course of a half-century stand that proved to be a game-changer. India are now through to the Super Eights, but USA are still very much masters of their own fate; a win over Ireland, even a washout, will see them through, ahead of Pakistan whom they famously beat in a Super Over thriller last week.
With the New York leg coming to an end, India will move to Florida where they will face Canada on June 15 in their final group match. USA will face Ireland a day earlier at the same venue, with their Super 8 qualification fate still in their hands.