The high voltage India Pakistan match went India's way after a nail biting low scoring thriller. The low scoring match was won by India out of nowhere, and unlike most of the T20 matches, this one was for the bowlers to remember. A situation like toss to win very much resembled the India Pakistan encounter of 2021 WC, where Pak won the toss and restricted the Indian team to a mere 119 runs. The only difference was the second innings where the Men in Green fell short by the set target by 7 runs. The match which was anticipated to go Pakistan's way for most of the time it was played, was miraculously won by India.

The match was full of twists and turns, but always looked to go Pak team's way. The match initially affected by incessant rains looked to be an unlikely event. But when the weather was clear, and toss happened, Pak chose what any sane team would do. They chose to bowl and harness the already bowler friendly conditions, which were further aided by overcast conditions massively favouring the deadly pace lineup which they boast of. And the plan to ask India to bat heavily worked in their favour, as the bowl kept in low and slow, and the outfield was slow as well.

The result of the slow pitch was the quick wickets of Indian stars Rohit and Virat Kohli. Both the batters went uppish as the ball reached late to them than expected. After the duo's departure, Rishabh Pant and Axar steadied the innings. Both played their natural shots and the former excelled more amongst the two. But once these two departed, Indian batting fell like cards. The last 7 wickets fell quickly for 35 runs, and the team was reeling. The batting was so poor that the best boundary actually came from Arshdeep. An overjoyed Pakistan team looked in ecstacy as they managed to restrict India to a mere 119 runs.

The runs on the board were too less to defend for the bowlers. And the team had two choices, either to quit or to fight for every run. And gladly the team went with the second option. A required run rate of mere 6 runs per over was a cakewalk for Pak, and a challenge for India, but they accepted the challenge. Initially the duo of Babar and Rizwan tried to put pressure, but Pak skipper was dismissed cheaply. And getting the breakthrough, bowlers were quick to capitalise and put pressure on Pakistan. Although the wickets weren't falling, tight lines from India ensured that the Pak scorecard is not rapidly increasing. At one point, when 48 were required from 48 balls, and Rizwan was well set it looked like the match was slipping away from India's hands.

That's exactly when Bumrah stepped in. Similar to the 2023 World Cup, he produced a peach of a delivery to dismiss Rizwan. Giving away just 3 runs in 15th over, he put pressure on Pakistan, which Axar used and produced a magical 16th over. And the Pakistan batting was again exposed as they couldn't finish the game with wickets in hand and run rate barely crossing 6. Pakistan had a worse collapse than Indian team, leading to their defeat. Indian bowling peaked to give one of the most joyous moments to Indian fans late night back home. And India defended the lowest total for any India Pakistan match, winning with a margin of 6 runs while defending just 120.

The bowlers did it for Indian team. One can imagine the pressure they felt when they knew that they had so less runs to defend. But they did it in some style. The architect of Indian victory was Jasprit Bumrah. His world class bowling, and perfect line lengths won the game for his team, when possibility of it looked extremely bleak. Although the fans might fail to understand it, his heroics were equivalent, if not more to Virat Kohli's heroics in 2022 World Cup clash at MCG. His economy of 3.5 in T20 game is a dream for any player in the world. And it's even more staggering to know that out of the 42 balls he has bowled in this tournament, 27 are dot balls.

As important was Bumrah in yesterday's victory, equally important was the contribution of Rishabh Pant. The selection of the man who made a comeback in the IPL after meeting a deadly accident was not well received. But he proved the selectors right by delivering at the right time. Promoted up the order, he justified his promotion. And a firm believer of hard hitting, he missed many reverse sweeps and scoops, but eventually connected a few much needed ones. His runs mattered the most for India, and if those wouldn't have come, then the team would've never reached 100 runs. Additionally, he was phenomenal with his glove work and stopped many unevenly bounced deliveries, and took some great catches.

And perhaps the most important thing apart from Bumrah and Pant, was the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Many criticized him for keeping Bumrah for death overs when the team needed him initially. But the decision proved to be a vital and decisive one in the end. He also used Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya beautifully. His fielding placements were immaculate and his intent was spot on. In post match presentation he revealed that he said to the team that if India can collapse, the Pakistan team can too. And rightly so, he did what he said. His words pumped up the entire team which went on to pull off an unbelievable victory. With this victory, Rohit Sharma became the only 2nd captain( from India as well as Pakistan) after MS Dhoni to win any India Pakistan match while batting first in T20 World Cup.

With the victory, India have almost sealed the spot in the knockouts, and the road for Pakistan is almost over after being defeated by USA and India. Extremely high on confidence, the Indian team is now exhibiting positive vibes. The homework of the team looks to be great, which was missing in World Cup 2023 final. Dravid's statement which came 3 days before the match stating that Indian team will find it difficult to score 100, but still end up winning the game, proved out to be absolutely true. The guidance of coach like him will provide an added advantage to the team. If only India works on their batting little bit, there is no stopping to this team. A great bowling line-up, a wonderful leader and an insightful coach make Indian clear favourites in the tournament yet again. And hopefully, they continue this rhythm going ahead in the tournament.