USA got off to a terrific start in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 with 2 wins in 2 games. After getting the better off Canada in their season opener, USA defeated the mighty Pakistan via a Super Over on 6th June 2024 to send shockwaves across the entire cricketing fraternity.
Experience, belief and expertise were present in equal proportions in USA’s historic win against Pakistan. Pakistan, who had a jittery and a sloppy few months in international cricket in this format, have several issues to rectify.
Batting first, Pakistan managed to score 159 runs despite a horrible start in the powerplay. Pakistan were 3 wickets down inside the powerplay and the USA bowlers were running riot. The pacers and the spinners punched above their weight and shrugged off the cloak of mediocrity which is associated with associate teams of the USA.
Nosthush Kenjige bagged 3 wickets and was the pick of the bowlers for the home side. Saurabh Netravalkar, the left-arm seamer, who is also a computer engineer by profession and works for Oracle, took 2 wickets and troubled the Pakistani batters.
Skipper Babar Azam admitted to having the lost the plot in the first 6 overs of their batting where they lost the wickets of Muhammad Rizwan, Usman Khan and Fakhar Zaman.
Babar Azam struggled initially with timing and with adapting himself to the challenging pitch conditions but eventually anchored the ship of Pakistan. He scored 44 runs in 43 balls and his innings was packed with 3 fours and 2 sixes.
Shadab Khan’s quickfire knock of 40 runs in 25 balls along-with Iftikhar Ahmed and Shaheen Afridi’s valuable cameos with the bat helped Pakistan reach a competitive total of 159 runs in 20 overs.
In response, USA started off in a dominant fashion. Skipper Monank Patel and Aaron Jones were the star performers with the bat as they scored 50* and 36* runs respectively. Jones, who had scored 94* in the previous game against Canada, absorbed pressure extremely well and made sure that USA reach the super over.
15 runs were remaining in the last over and Nitish Kumar and Aaron Jones, managed to score 14. The action shifted to the Super Over, where Pakistan had a horror show. Mohammad Amir, who is an extremely good bowler under pressure, delivered 8 extras, that haunted Pakistan.
The Men in Green couldn’t exorcise the ghosts of the 1st innings of the Super Over and failed to chase down the total of 19 runs.
Saurabh Netravalkar delivered the goods under pressure and defended 19 runs against the seasoned campaigners of Pakistan.
It was an iconic moment in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 that is sure to be spoken for eons to come.
Also read: ICC T20 World Cup 2024: India Thrash Ireland By 7 Wickets In Their Opener