After about two hundred and fifty years, American soil witnessed a keen internecine contest, not on the battlefield but on a cricket field.
Then, it was a sea of indistinguishable white, and now it was a sea of blue.
Then, Benjamin Franklin and his son supported opposite teams; now, it was a young son holding a placard that his father made him wear the Indian blue while he supported the USA.
However, thankfully, the latest version of internecine rivalry in America was not a war for independence but a keenly contested cricket match.
The USA took on India in New York among a sea of blue; Rohit and his team, in a rare occurrence, had to share the audience with their opponents.
The American team, a surprise contender in this World Cup, had already showcased their T20 prowess by triumphing over Bangladesh in a three-match series.
Their victory over Pakistan in the group match further solidified their position. This unexpected success set the stage for a highly anticipated match between India and the USA.
Despite being the underdogs, team USA did not disappoint their fans and showed no signs of backing down in this contest.
The New York pitch posed a challenge for the batters, making it difficult to score. Both teams relied on their seamers to keep the batters in check.
India had the option of utilizing Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling skills, but they opted not to in this game. Similarly, the USA chose to keep their spinners away.
The bowlers focused on pitching on a good length, varying their pace, and letting the pitch do the rest. Neither of the bowling units gave an inch, setting the stage for a keen batting contest.
Not only were the two teams similar in formation, but the game had many symmetries as well.
Two left-handers struck early
Arshdeep Singh struck early for India, removing Shayan Jahangir by bending the ball back and Andries Gous by making him play early and skying a catch.
Saurabh Netravalkar got Virat Kohli to edge a ball on the fifth stump to the slips and Rohit Sharma to edge a ball going across him while trying to flick to the leg side.
The conditions in New York call for the batters to play late, close to the body and under the eyes.
It was surprising to see Virat go fishing tentatively on the fifth stump instead of leaving the delivery or playing his favourite drive through the covers.
(Photo by Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images)
Rohit Sharma played a flick shot against a left-arm seamer, a low-percentage shot on a track where the ball was not coming onto the bat, twice in two games and got out skying the ball.
Against Pakistan, the ball took the inner edge of the bat, while against the USA, it took the outer edge.
With half the blade closed to the ball, the batter has to be precise on where the ball will hit the bat.
Rohit will be better off driving the ball straight, presenting the full face of the bat in these conditions against the left-arm pacer.
Virat and Rohit’s failure with familiar foes will cause concern for India.
Nitish Kumar and Surya Kumar shine
If two lefties provided early breakthroughs for their teams, two Kumars produced the best batting for the two sides.
Nitish Kumar looked in excellent touch, driving the ball down the ground for fours or creaming the ball for a six.
It took a brilliant catch by Siraj standing on the boundary to dismiss Nitish, who looked good to score way more than the 27 he made.
Surya Kumar did not play as fluently as Nitish, but he found his touch once he spent time in the middle. Once he got going, Surya Kumar played his unorthodox shots behind square for fours and sixers.
Surya scored a critical fifty to get the Indian team home. India entered this World Cup with many top-order batters that were not in great form or touch.
They will be happy to see one of their key players getting into form.
A five-run penalty – One a reality and the other almost
The Indian chase of 111 seemed stuck behind the eight ball until the last ball of the fourteenth over.
The equation had reached a stage where India needed 48 runs from 37 deliveries. The required run rate was steadily growing apart from the Indian scoring rate.
A timely boundary from Surya and a six from Shivam Dube brought the equation closer to India needing 35 runs off 30 deliveries.
What followed was a bizarre-looking conference of the two umpires and then a chat with Aaron Jones, the captain of USA.
Soon after, the umpires signalled a penalty of five runs added to the Indian total as the USA had breached the time limit between overs three times in that game.
These five penalty runs brought the equation to an even keel and seemed to have taken the wind out of the American sail.
Indian batters scored the remaining thirty runs on a canter and finished the match soon enough to push the American Net run rate below the Pakistanis; this adds a bit more drama to the qualification scenario.
Later, the television commentators informed the audience that Rohit Sharma had come within a few seconds of getting a five-run penalty in the game against Pakistan.
India won that game by six runs, and these penalty runs would have brought the game closer for India’s comfort.
Rohit and the American captain will keep a keen eye on the clock for the rest of the tournament.
Unlike the India vs Pakistan game, the India vs USA game was not a nail-biter but a closely fought game that could have been a lot closer if a few chips had fallen in America’s favour.