During the Group A encounter between USA and India, American fast bowler Ali Khan took the crucial wicket of Rishabh Pant during India's chase to reignite hopes of an upset for the Associate nation.
Chasing 111, India lost Virat Kohli off the second ball of the innings as Saurabh Netravalkar induced an edge through to wicketkeeper Andries Gous. The left-arm seamer struck again in the third over when his slower ball deceived Rohit Sharma, and the Indian captain was caught by Harmeet Singh at mid off.
Ali Khan, who bowled the second over of the innings, was taken out of the attack and returned only in the eighth over. Stand-in USA captain Aaron Jones was rewarded for the change, as Khan came around the wicket to the left-handed Pant. The ball pitched on a length outside off stump, angling in but keeping low as it knocked back the middle stump to leave India at 39-3 in 7.3 overs.
The wicket will have meant much to Khan, who like many of his teammates is playing in a T20 World Cup for the first time. Born in Pakistan, he moved with his family to Ohio in the USA at the age of 19 before working on his cricketing skills.
He debuted for the American national team in 2016, and has played in T20 franchise leagues around the world including the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the International League T20 (ILT20).
In the first innings, USA overcame a superb opening spell from pacer Arshdeep Singh to post 110-8. Nitish Kumar (27) and Steven Taylor (24) were the top contributors, while Arshdeep finished with figures of 4-9 and Hardik Pandya took 2-14.
Watch Ali Khan bowl Rishabh Pant with a shooter:
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