T20 World Cup big upset: Pakistan bested by USA in Super Over!

GRAND PRAIRIE: In what stands as one of the biggest upsets of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup thus far, Pakistan endured a crushing defeat at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas, United States (USA) as they fell to the hosts during the Super Over on Thursday.

Concerns regarding the state of the Pakistan men’s cricket team had already been mounting. The Men in Green’s performance was abysmal in the series leading up to the T20 World Cup.

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Pakistan’s defeat at the hands of the English team in the T20 series in May was eye-opening. Flaws within the team were evident across all aspects of the team – batting, bowling, to even wicketkeeping!

Issues ranging from Azam Khan’s fitness and wicketkeeping proficiency to the underperformance of bowling stalwarts Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf were glaring.

Despite facing a relatively inexperienced opponent, Pakistan batters struggled against the USA bowlers, delivering a subpar performance.

Fielding lapses further compounded Pakistan’s woes, with several avoidable boundaries conceded.

The current defeat should serve as a wakeup call for Babar Azam’s squad.

USA won the toss and chose to bowl. The hosts capitalised on Pakistan’s vulnerability, restricting them to a target of just 160 runs at a loss of seven wickets.

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Of the entire Pakistan batting lineup, only Shadab Khan and Babar Azam put up a fight. The captain scrapped 44 runs from 43 balls, while Shadab scored 40 runs off 25 balls. Shaheen Shah Afridi was not-out at 23 runs from 16 balls.

Nosthush Kenjige led the USA bowling attack, claiming three wickets while conceding 30 runs in his allotted four overs. Saurabh Netravalkar took two and Ali Khan took a single wicket respectively. Meanwhile, the two bowlers yielded a combined total of 48 runs in eight overs.

The hosts were able to score 159 runs by the last ball of the match. They only lost three wickets compared to Pakistan’s seven.

US batter Monank Patel scored a half-century off 38 balls. Meanwhile, Aaron Jones scored 36 runs from 26 balls and Andries Gous contributed 35 runs off 26 balls.

Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf took a single wicket each while conceding 25, 26, and 37 runs respectively in their allotted four overs.

During the super over, Aaron Jones scored 11 runs off six balls for the USA, while Mohammad Amir’s bowling proved costly for Pakistan. He yielded over 18 runs in a single over!

Pakistan’s super over saw Iftikhar Ahmed scoring a boundary followed by a dismissal on very next ball. Despite Shadab’s efforts, the Pakistani batter struggled against the USA bowlers, managing only three runs off three balls.

Saurabh Netravalker deserves all the accolades and praise. He not only claimed took wickets but also contained the Pakistan batters during the super over. However, Monank Patel was declared the player of the match for his half-century.

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The USA won the the super over by five runs in the eleventh match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.