Pakistan takes on India in marquee game at T20 World Cup. West Indies, US win
MUMBAI, India (AP) — The most-anticipated game of the T20 World Cup is set to attract more than a billion eyeballs when India takes on archrival Pakistan at Colombo on Sunday with uncertainty aplenty still surrounding world cricket’s marquee matchup.
Political and diplomatic tensions between the two nations have often boiled over on to the cricket field. Sunday’s game will be the first time the teams have met since last year’s acrimonious Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates that was won by India and where players refused to shake hands.
West Indies makes it 3 in 3
At Mumbai, West Indies notched its third successive win in Group C when it thumped Nepal by nine wickets and qualified for the Super 8 stage of the tournament.
West Indies had already beat Scotland and England to take command of Group C.
Nepal showed plenty of promise in its first game when it lost narrowly to England, but then two heavy defeats against first-timer Italy and Sunday against West Indies saw it eliminated.
Fast bowler Jason Holder grabbed 4-27 and restricted Nepal to 133-8 after captain Shai Hope won the toss and elected to field. Hope then smashed unbeaten 61 off 44 balls and Shimron Hetmyer scored 46 off 32 balls as West Indies cruised to 134-1 in 15.2 overs.
Nepal had stuttered to 6-73 in 15 overs but Dipendra Singh Airee (58) and Sompal Kami (26 not out) contributed a 54-run stand in the death overs to give the total some respectability.
United States, which lost to both India and Pakistan before beating the Netherlands, takes on Namibia in its final Group A game later Sunday.
US keeps slim hopes alive with win in Chennai
Sanjay Krishnamurthi kept America’s slender hopes of Super Eight qualification alive with a maiden T20 half-century – 68 not out off 33 balls – against Namibia in their Group A clash.
Skipper Monank Patel also scored 52 off 30 balls as the U.S. notched up its tournament highest score – 199-4 in 20 overs.
Patel was second out just past halfway, and then the U.S. was down to 103-3. Krishnamurthi then put up 87 off 46 balls with Milind Kumar (28), en route to his first T20 World Cup half-century off 23 balls. He hit six sixes.
In reply, Namibia was restricted to 168-6, losing its third game and is now eliminated from the competition. Opener Louren Steenkamp scored 58 off 39 balls, but the target proved too far off.
Medium-pacer Shadley Van Schalkwyk picked up 2-30 to take his tally to 13 wickets – highest in the tournament. The U.S. won its final game by 31 runs, and now awaits the result in Colombo, depending on other results for any hope of progression.
All eyes on Colombo
But Colombo remains the focal point on Sunday where the marquee game of the tournament begins at 7 p.m. local time (1400 GMT).
In the lead up to the match, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said he believed it was up to the Indian players to decide whether they will shake hands with his team before and after Sunday’s game.
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, for his part, was non-committal.
“Why are you highlighting that?” Suryakumar asked reporters on the eve of the game. “We are here to play cricket. We will play good cricket. We will take all those calls tomorrow. We will see tomorrow.”
Pakistan’s government threatened a boycott of Sunday’s match after the International Cricket Council kicked Bangladesh out of the World Cup for refusing to play matches in India, citing security concerns.
Pakistan only agreed to play after intense discussions with the ICC. The fixture is the major revenue earner for the ICC.
Tensions running high
Tensions came to a head in the Asia Cup when Suryakumar refused to shake hands with Agha. Heated moments followed between the two sides throughout the tournament, with Suryakumar and Pakistan’s Haris Rauf fined for breaching the ICC’s code of conduct.
India went on to win the Asia Cup but refused to accept the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
“The game should be played in real spirit, the way it has been played since it started. The rest is up to them (India), what they want to do,” Agha told media on Saturday about the possibility of the players shaking hands.
Political and military tensions have meant the two teams have not played a bilateral series for years.
India has not traveled to Pakistan since 2008 and Pakistan visited India for the 50-over World Cup in 2023 but has since played ICC tournaments at neutral venues.
India has defeated Pakistan 12 times in the 16 T20 games they have played. It also has an impressive 6-1 record in the eight T20 World Cup matches since the first edition in 2007, with one being tied.
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