The United States pulled off a major historic upset at the T20 World Cup with a thrilling Super Over victory over Pakistan in Texas.
The match ended after both groups had made 159 in their 20 overs at Grand Prairie Stadium, with tournament co-hosts and debutants USA taking over the tournament. The U. S. scored 14 in the final to match Pakistan’s total.
First at bat in the Super Over, the U. S. then upped the pressure on its conflicting parties by going 18-for-one, with Aaron Jones having 11 before being thrown out and seven extra runs.
Iftikhar Ahmed then led Pakistan to five for none on 3 balls before being caught brilliantly by Nitish Kumar near the border and American bowler Saurabh Netravalkar held them to thirteen for one.
Having beaten Canada in their opening match last Sunday through seven wickets, the Group A leader USA now has a strong chance of advancing to the Super 8 round. The two most sensible of the four teams advance to the last eight of the tournament.
U. S. captain Monank Patel, who won the in-form official player award, called the result a “great achievement. “
“Beating Pakistan and betting for the first time, the way we played today, I’m proud of the boys,” he said.
“It’s a whole-team effort from the first ball to the last. When winning the draw, we make sure to use the players’ situations and credits.
“They kept them below 160 and we knew 160 was a pursued target. “
Pakistani captain Babar Azam lamented his team’s performance at bat.
“We didn’t take advantage of the bat and they gained a lot of momentum,” he said. “We lost consecutive ground in between. As a hitter’s unit, we have to step up, we have to create partnerships and we didn’t. “.
“It’s thanks to the United States, they played so well. They were better than us in all facets of the game. “
In their regulation finals, Pakistan got off to a slow start, recovering from 26 of three in the fifth to 159 of seven.
Pakistani captain Babar Azam hit two sixes on his 44 balls, Shadab Khan hit 40 of 25 shots and No. 8 Shaheen Afridi sacked 23 of 16 shots.
The United States gave the impression of responding by shooting 104 to one in the 14th minute.
Skipper Patel’s 38 balls (50) and Andries Gous’ 35 of 26 left them with 56 to win 44 balls.
But after Monank fired on the 15th, it took a six from Jones on the second-to-last ball and a four from Kumar on the final delivery to tie the match and force the Super Over.
This is the first time the ICC has hosted a primary tournament in the United States, which shares duties with the West Indies.
Patel is confident that his victory over Pakistan, the 2009 champion and two-time runner-up, will be a defining moment for the U. S. encounter.
“Of course, beating Pakistan at a World Cup will open a lot of doors for us,” he said.
“And people, like the American cricket community, will be aware of that. Obviously, the World Cup in the United States and the play here as a team, it’s helping us expand cricket in the United States. “
The U. S. had already turned heads before the tournament by beating Bangladesh 2-1 in their warm-up heat last month.
Asked if his team’s eye-catching win over Bangladesh was no longer considered a coincidence, Patel replied: “We don’t worry about what anyone else says.
“We know what we’ve been working on and what our roles are. And we’re just concentrating on one game. “
In one of cricket’s most high-profile rivalries, Pakistan will face India on Sunday in Pool A of the men’s T20 World Cup, with the match in New York kicking off at 15:30 UK and Ireland time. Preparation on Sky Sports Cricket starts at 3pm. m.
The United States’ next match will also face India, at the same venue in New York, on Wednesday, June 12 at 3:30 p. m.
Both matches will be played at the purpose-built Nassau County Cricket Stadium on Long Island, where the ICC has promised to settle the field after the first Sri Lanka-South Africa and then India-Ireland matches.
“T20 Inc and the ICC acknowledge that the grounds used so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have not played as consistently as we all would have liked,” reads an ICC.
“The world-class outfield team has been working hard since the end of yesterday’s match to heal the situation and provide the most productive surfaces imaginable for the remaining matches. “
Watch all the matches of the men’s ICC T20 World Cup on Sky Sports, ahead of the final on Sunday 29 June.