IND vs PAK: 'Disappointed' Rohit Sharma refuses to 'talk too much' about Jasprit Bumrah despite his heroics

The biggest match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 between the arch-rivals India National Cricket Team and Pakistan National Cricket Team was played on Sunday, June 9. The Men In Blue under the leadership of Rohit Sharma and the Men In Green under the captaincy of Babar Azam faced off each other at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

After being invited to bat first in the match, India had a horrible outing as they scored 81/3 in the first 10 overs, but then lost 7 wickets for 38 runs in the next 9 overs to get bundled for 119. Rishabh Pant emerged as the top performer for India with his brilliant 42 runs.

While defending the total, India dismissed Babar Azam early but Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Khan put pressure on India. After a not-so-good start, Indian bowlers made the game slow and took it as deep as they could. In the end, Jasprit Bumrah displayed his greatness and bowled two 3-run overs and bagged two wickets as well to put Pakistan under tremendous pressure. Arshdeep Singh got 18 runs to defend in the last over and he held his nerves to take India home. India restricted Pakistan to 113/7 to win the match by 6 runs.

Speaking after the match, Rohit Sharma expressed disappointment over the batting performance of India and he highlighted the failure of his team in building partnerships. Rohit Sharma stated:

"We didn't bat well enough. Halfway through our innings, we were in a good position. We didn't put enough partnership there and fell short with the bat."

Rohit Sharma added that the pitch was a good one and they were confident of defending the total with the kind of bowling unit they have. Rohit Sharma said:

"We spoke about every run matters on a pitch like that. There was enough in the pitch. Was a good wicket to be honest, compared to the last game. With a bowling lineup like that, you feel confident to do the job. Halfway through the stage when they were batting, we got everyone together and said that if it can happen to us, it can happen to them. Little contribution from everyone can make a huge difference."

Rohit Sharma further refused to talk 'too much' about Jasprit Bumrah despite his Player of the Match performance but labelled him as an absolute genius. Rohit Sharma said:

"He's going from strength to strength (Bumrah). We all know what he can do. Not going to talk too much about him. Want him to be in that mindset throughout the WC. He's a genius, we all know that. Crowd was superb. They never disappoint wherever we play. I'm sure they'll be going home with a big smile. It's just the start, we have a long way to go.

India vs Pakistan Head-to-head Record After Their T20 World Cup 2024 Clash

Ahead of the high-profile ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 encounter between India National Cricket Team and Pakistan National Cricket Team, the head-to-head record in T20I cricket was dominated by India. Out of the 12 matches played between teams, India had won 9 T20Is, including a bowl-out win, and Pakistan had just won 3. In the T20 World Cups, the record looked even more one-sided for India as they demonstrated dominance and won 6 out of 7 matches, with Pakistan winning just 1.

Speaking in detail about the T20 World Cup matches between India and Pakistan, the MS Dhoni-led side had defeated the Shoaib Malik-led side in their first-ever clash via bowl out at Kingsmead, Durban. In the final of the same 2007 T20 World Cup, India beat Pakistan by 5 runs at the Wanderers, Johannesburg to become the inaugural champions.

The next two T20 World Cup matches between the arch-rivals were hosted by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and both those matches saw India registering comprehensive wins. First by 8 wickets in 2012 at the RPS, Colombo and then by 7 wickets in 2014 at the Sher-e-Bangla, Mirpur.

When the blockbuster clash was held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India hammered the visitors by 6 wickets to extend their winning record. It was only in the 2021 T20 World Cup, that Pakistan defeated India for the first time in World Cups as the Babar Azam-led side crushed the Virat Kohli & Co. by 10 wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. However, India quickly bounced back and defeated Pakistan by 4 wickets in the 2022 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Meanwhile, now after the end of their ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 clash, the T20I head-to-head record between the Asian giants stands at India 13 - Pakistan 3.