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India jumped to the top of Group A with a thrilling win over arch-rivals Pakistan by six runs in the T20 World Cup 2024. After poor batting effort, the bowlers once again bailed the Men in Blue and seal victory from the jaws of defeat. With this victory, India have now defeated Pakistan for the seventh time in Men's T20 World Cup games.
After being asked to bat, Team India had a struggling start as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma got out in quick succession after which Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel steadied the innings with some positive shot making. From 19-2, the Pant - Patel duo took the score to 58 before the left-arm spinning all-rounder was cleaned up by Naseem Shah.
This wicket started the Indian collapse as they went from 89-4 to 119 all out. Naseem Shah, Harisf Rauf and Mohammed Amir combined to pick up eight wickets for Pakistan which dismasted the Indian lower-order. For the Men in Blue, it was Pant's 42 which allowed them to post a decent score on a difficult wicket.
Chasing the total, Pakistan had a decent start but quick wickets kept India in the game. With Mohammad Rizwan was in the middle, Pakistan chipped away at the total before Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah back into the game with the wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Rizwan.
These wickets allowed the Men in Blue to put a choke hold on Pakistan and seal the game by six runs. Bumrah emerged as the pick of the bowlers as picked up three wickets while giving away 14 runs in his four overs. Supporting the right-arm speedster, Hardik Pandya ended up with two wickets.
