T20 World Cup 2024: Monank Patel's United States (USA) pulled off a huge upset after they defeated Babar Azam's Pakistan in the Super Over of a Group A clash at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
USA thrash listless Pakistan in Super Over in 1st major upset. Courtesy: PTI
New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 7, 2024 01:25 IST
The United States (USA) pulled off a massive upset after beating Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024 match on Thursday at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. The game had loads of twists and turns before it went right down to the Super Over where the co-hosts emerged victorious. Pakistan, with all their experience, failed to capitalise on the chances USA gave them. With the win, USA went right on top of the points table in Group A, overtaking India.
After being asked to bat first, Pakistan got off to a start equivalent to a nightmare, scoring 30 runs in the powerplay and losing the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and Usman Khan. Skipper Babar Azam, at the other end, made a sedate start as he soaked in the pressure. Babar and Shadab Khan helped Pakistan recover with a handy partnership of 72 runs for the fourth wicket off 8 overs.
USA vs PAK, T20 World Cup Updates
Shadab was the aggressor in the partnership as he scored 40 runs off 25 balls with a four and 3 sixes. Babar also upped the ante to finish on 44 off 23 deliveries. Just when it seemed that the duo would step further on the gas, Nosthush Kenjige came to the party for the USA. The left-arm spinner dismissed Shadab, after which he sent back the out-of-form Azam Khan for a golden duck.
Kenjige was the pick of the bowlers for the USA after he finished with impressive figures of 4-0-30-3. In the end, Shaheen Shah Afridi played some shots and lifted Pakistan to 159 for 7. Saurabh Netravalkar, a former India U19 cricketer, also rattled Babar’s men with a spell of 4-0-18-2. Ali Khan and Jasdeep Singh accounted for a wicket apiece.
Aaron Jones again for USA
USA made a promising start to their run-chase after Steven Taylor and Monank Patel stitched together a partnership of 36 runs for the opening wicket off 5.1 overs. Naseem Shah gave Pakistan the much-needed breakthrough after dismissing Taylor, who scored 12 off 16 balls.
From there on, skipper Monank took charge and got to his half-century off 34 balls. It was his partnership of 68 runs that made USA first favourites to win. Gous raced his way to scoring 35 off 26 with 5 fours and 1 six before Haris Rauf rattled his woodwork. The duo made sure that the USA was always in touch with the required run rate.
Mohammad Amir jolted USA with a big blow after getting rid of Monank, who made 50 off 38. With the required run-rate hovering around 10, the onus was on Aaron Jones, the hero of the match against Canada, to take the USA home.
With 12 runs needed off the last over, Jones hit Rauf for a six over mid-wicket followed by a four to take the match into a Super Over. Jones held his nerves to stay not out on 36 off 26, yet again giving an account of his temperament.
USA stun Pakistan
In the Super Over, Amir gave away 12 runs. He started by giving away a boundary to Jones, who cleared the third man region easily. Thereafter, Jones took a couple followed by a single as Amir tried to hit the block-hole. Amir bowled a wide and Jones took it as a chance to sneak in a bye. In the end, the USA set Pakistan a target of 19.
Netravalkar started with a dot ball and gave away a four in the second. He seemed nervous after he gave away a wide, but made amends with the wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed. With 7 needed off the last ball, Shadab could only take a single.
It goes without saying that Pakistan need to go back to the drawing board before their next game against India on June 9.
Published By:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published On:
Jun 7, 2024
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