A 58-run loss in the women’s T20 World Cup lung opener against New Zealand isn’t the ideal start that the Indian team would have expected heading into Sunday’s high-octane Group A contest against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai.
Led by ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, defending champions India will enter the match as table toppers, having convincingly won all their four Asian Champions Trophy games so far.
The narrow margins have cost Gary Kirsten’s team, which could very easily be two from two and more-than-likely confirmed starters in the second round. Instead the team now finds itself in a desperate situation to avoid a first round exit, with themselves to blame.
The tremors of the loss also hit the governing body of the sport in the country, and after Sunday’s six-run defeat to India in the T20 World Cup 2024, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi came down heavily on Babar Azam & Co, while suggesting that the side requires “major surgery.”
Bumrah finished with impressive figures of 3 for 14 from his four overs, bowling 15 dot balls as Pakistan capitulated in their chase of 120 to find themselves in serious danger of an early exit.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, in recent media interactions, emphasised on the extensive arrangements, likening them to presidential-level security.
On paper, Sunday’s India-Pakistan clash doesn’t hold much importance considering the fact that the opponents in the next round are allocated on pre-tournament seeding and thus it is not that important to top this group. The losing team should win its other matches comfortably to advance to the next round.
He obviously called himself the Indian team and Akhilesh the Pakistan team.
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