Team India clinched a commanding 7-wicket victory over the United States of America in their Group A match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.
Chasing a target of 111 runs, the visitors comfortably achieved a win with 10 balls to spare. This triumph advances the men in blue to the Super 8 stage of the tournament.
Now, let's explore the post-match reactions from the captains of both teams, Rohit Sharma and Aaron Jones, and the player of the match, Arshdeep Singh:
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma attributed the victory to Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube, acknowledging their composed performance in a crucial juncture, where they formed a match-winning partnership of 72 runs off 65 balls.
Knew it would be tough. Credit to us for the way we held our nerve and got that partnership. Credit to Surya and Dube for showing maturity and taking us through. Shivam showed he has a different game to him, that's what you expect from experienced players. Credit to the way he stuck through today to take the game deep and win it for us.Rohit Sharma, Captain, India
Speaking about the Indian-American cricketers in the team USA, the skipper said that he has played cricket with a few of them and said he feels happy to see their progress.
Lot of these guys have played cricket together, very happy to see their progress. Saw them last year in MLC as well, they are all hard-working guys.Rohit Sharma, Captain, India
Speaking on India’s bowling attack, the 37-year-old said:
We knew the bowlers had to take the lead, run scoring was difficult. All the bowlers did the job, particularly Arshdeep. You want options and we should be able to use them as and when we can. Today, the pitch favoured the seamers so wanted to use him. It is a big relief, playing cricket here wasn't easy. We had to stick through till the end in all 3 games. Will take a lot of confidence from these wins.Rohit Sharma, Captain, India
Player of the match, Arshdeep Singh, who achieved career-best figures of 4-0-9-4, expressed satisfaction with his performance. The pacer attributed his success to the favorable conditions for fast bowlers, mentioning that the wicket provided ample support for seam movement.
Very very happy with the performance. In the last two games, I gave away little more runs, wasn't happy with that. The team always shows belief in me and keep backing me, I had to deliver for them. The wicket is very conducive to fast bowlers and it's helping us get some seam movement. The plan was simple, pitch it in the wicket and let the ball do the talking. Don't give easy balls to score, our batsmen are also facing difficulties to score runs. The plan was to hit the hard lengths. In conditions like this, you can use the wicket more.Arshdeep Singh
The pacer emphasised the importance of discipline in international cricket and highlighted the necessity of taking care of one's body to deliver optimal performance.
When you are playing international cricket, you need to have some routines and the way you take care of your body counts. All the bowlers have done extremely well, looking forward to doing the same in the next leg as well.Arshdeep Singh
USA skipper Aaron Jones conceded that his team fell short by 10-15 runs. However, he expressed confidence in their ability to regroup and stage a strong comeback.
10-15 runs short. If we got 130 then it would have been a tough total, that's how it goes sometimes. The boys were very disciplined, really proud of the bowling unit. Feels good, this is what we wanted for USA cricket, enjoying it. We will recalibrate now, have a few meetings and come back strong. The wicket was a bit tricky, more suited for seam bowling. That's why there is no spin.Aaron Jones, Captain, USA
Jones also provided an update on regular opener Monank Patel and said:
Mostly Monank Patel should be fit for the last game, just got a slight niggle.Aaron Jones, Captain, USA
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