New York [US], June 11 : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah met Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) at New York, marking a union of two of the world’s most popular sports, cricket and American football.

The BCCI on Monday shared a video of Shah meeting Goodell. The meeting between these two personalities also marked an interaction between sports’ two most popular leagues, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the NFL. Just like the IPL, the NFL is also among the most-watched sports competitions in the world. The finale game of NFL, the Super Bowl, is one of the most watched sport games every year and prominent musicians feature during the half-time shows as performers.

This introductory meeting between Shah and Goodell focused on sharing best practices, exchanging ideas, and elevating fan engagement and experiences.

“@IPL @NFL When the two biggest sporting leagues in the world unite! BCCI Honorary Secretary, Mr. @JayShah, visited the @NFL headquarters in New York to meet with Commissioner Mr. Roger Goodell and his distinguished team. This introductory meeting focused on sharing best practices, exchanging ideas, and elevating fan engagement and experiences,” BCCI said in a post on X.

https://x.com/BCCI/status/1800229850424168713

During the meeting, Shah presented Goodell with India’s T20 World Cup jersey while Goodell gave Shah an NFL match-ball, also known as ‘The Duke’ and a football helmet featuring a BCCI logo.

Coming to the T20 World Cup, which is also happening in the West Indies and the USA, India defeated Pakistan in a low-scoring thriller by six runs at New York’s Nassau County Stadium on Sunday.

Pakistan won the toss and put India to bat first. However, the Indian batters did not get things going for them on this tough surface as star openers Virat Kohli (4) and Rohit Sharma (13) failed to score big. Rishabh Pant (42 in 31 balls, with six fours) seemed to be playing on a different pitch and had useful partnerships with Axar Patel (20 in 18 balls, with two fours and a six) and Suryakumar Yadav (seven in eight balls, with a four). However, the lower middle order crumbled under the pressure of scoring runs on such a tough pitch and India could make just 119 in 19 overs.

Haris Rauf (3/21) and Naseem Shah (3/21) were the top bowlers for Pakistan. Mohammed Amir got two scalps while Shaheen Shah Afridi got one.

In the run-chase, Pakistan took a more measured approach and Mohammed Rizwan (31 in 44 balls, with a four and six) held one end steady. However, Bumrah (3/14) and Hardik Pandya (2/24) got crucial wickets of skipper Babar Azam (13), Fakhar Zaman (13), Shadab Khan (4), Iftikhar Ahmed (5) as well, which kept the pressure intact on Pakistan. With 18 runs needed in the final over, Naseem Shah (10*) tried to win it for Pakistan, however, Arshdeep Singh (1/31) made sure Pakistan fell short by six runs.

Bumrah secured the ‘Player of the Match’ for his match-winning spell.

After winning this thriller, India is at the top of Group A with two wins in two games and four points. Pakistan is in fourth place, having lost both their games to the USA and India. Their knockout stage chances look slim.

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