Paras Mhambrey. (Photo by Jan Kruger-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
India and Pakistan featured in a low-scoring thriller in the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Nassau Cricket Stadium in New York last week. India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey lauded his bowlers for putting in a stellar shift against the Men in Green and helping the team defend their lowest target in the shortest format of the game.
India’s six-run win over Pakistan, defending a target of only 120, witnessed one of their best bowling performances under Rahul Dravid’s tenure as head coach. Another standout performance that would cross the minds of Indian fans will be the one against South Africa earlier this year in a Test match.
Mhambrey said considering the context of the game and the quality of the opponents and change in the conditions, the Pakistan game ranks as the best effort by the bowling department.
“Well, there were a couple of them. I thought in a different format. I thought the Test win in South Africa, the last game that we played in South Africa was phenomenal. But yeah, if you look at the context of the game, if you look at the tournament, the pressure, the way we handled the pressure, this was definitely very much up there in terms of the performance, fabulous performance,” Mhambrey was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers, bagging three wickets for just 14 runs in four overs. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya also bowled well and took a couple of wickets. Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel also chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Pakistan were cruising at one stage, needing just 48 runs to win off the last eight overs, with eight wickets in the bank. However, a gritty effort from the Indian pacers at the backend of the innings helped the inaugural champions register a famous win.
“I thought in a game like this, especially when you have so much pressure in terms of the high intensity game, obviously the game against Pakistan is always going to be high intensity, whatever you say, it’s never going to be a normal game. When you’re batting you expect a situation where we were nicely placed to get more runs. But especially when that doesn’t happen, you know you’re defending low scores. And the only way out there is to go and bowl at your best. I think in that context, to be able to defend that score on a wicket which definitely got better was phenomenal,” Mhambrey said.
India are on the brink of qualification for the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 as a win in their upcoming clash against the USA on Wednesday, June 12, will ensure them a place in the next stage of the ongoing marquee event.