India claimed the bragging rights on Sunday in New York after beating their bitter rivals, Pakistan, by 6-runs at the ICC T20 World Cup.

India had a bat first at the Nassau County Stadium and were bowled out for a mere 119-runs in 19-overs. Rishabh Pant was the top-scorer for India and with 42 off 31 balls he seemed to be unfazed by the pitch in New York.

Axar Patel in turn contributed with 20-runs and was the only other India batter to reach double-figures.

Naseem Shah was the pick of Pakistani bowlers with 3/21 in 4-overs, while Haris Rauf in turn took 3-21 in 3-overs.

Mohammad Rizwan struck 31-runs for Pakistan, but it was somewhat of a grind as they came off 31-balls, while Imad Wasim scored 15. The captain, Babar Azam, Usman Khan and Fakhar Zaman each scored 13-runs as Pakistan stan was restricted to 113/7 in their 20-overs.

Jasprit Bumrah was brilliant as usual with the ball for India with 3/14 in 4-overs, while Hardik Pandya took 2/24 in his 4-overs.

Bumrah said this was a big victory for India, especially considering that the conditions in New York have been tricky throughout the World Cup.

“First of all, we are very, very happy with the result that we got and the biggest positive for us was the calmness because when we were batting in the morning, there was a lot more help and when we started rolling the skies opened up and the ball stopped seaming and there wasn't a lot of lateral movement.

“So, we had to be more consistent and more accurate and we as a unit were very calm and very clear on what we wanted to do.

“So, we are very happy that as a unit we were able to contribute and created that pressure and then we were able to get the win.”

Brandon McMullen - Cricinfo

In Sunday's other game, Scotland beat Oman by 7-wickets. Oman had a bat first in Antigua and scored 150/7 in the 20-overs with Pratik Athavale scoring 54, while Ayaan Khan scored 41.

In reply, Scotland needed 13.1-overs to chase down the target with Brandon McMullen scoring 61 not out, while George Munsey scored 41.

Meanwhile, on Monday, South Africa will face Bangladesh in New York. The first ball of this game is set to be bowled at 16:30.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport