Upstarts U.S. stun Pakistan in T20 World Cup

Five days after beating their northern neighbor Canada, the United States stunned the cricket universe by defeating the perennial powerhouse Pakistan in the super over by five runs at the Grand Prairie, Texas, stadium in the 11th match of the Twenty20 World Cup.

After winning the toss, U.S. captain Monank Patel chose to field. Pakistan started in a disastrous manner by losing the first three wickets for 26 by the fifth over. It was a 72-run partnership between captain Babar Azam and Shadab Khan that brought some stability to the Pakistan innings. Babar scored 44 off 43 balls and Shadab made 40 off 25 deliveries.

All-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed (18) and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi (23) made some valuable contributions in the lower order to bring respectability to the Pakistan total.

The target of 160 seemed a challenging total, given Pakistan’s superior firepower. But Patel and fellow opener Steven Taylor started off well, scoring 36 in five overs.

The U.S. ended the powerplay with a solid score of 41 for one. The skipper and number three Andries Gous put on 68 runs for the second wicket, making sure that the team never fell behind in the run rate.

Patel top-scored with 50 off 38 deliveries and Gous made 35 off 26.

The U.S. needed 15 off the last over bowled by pacer Haris Rauf. After scoring just 3 from the first 3 deliveries, Nitish Kumar and Aaron Jones managed 11 in the next 3, forcing the super over.

Batting first in the super over, the U.S. scored 18 off left-armer Mohammad Amir, 11 of them extras. In return, Pakistan could only score 13 runs with the loss of one wicket against Saurabh Netravalkar, losing by 5 runs.

The loss, one of the biggest upsets in T20 history, raises the stakes for Pakistan in their next game against India, which will be held in New York on June 9. The U.S., on the other hand, can reach the Super Eight if they beat Ireland or India.

Skipper Patel was named Player of the Match.