June 6 (UPI) — The United States cricket team pulled off a massive upset on Thursday when it beat Pakistan in a super over, winning its second game in the 2024 T20 World Cup in Dallas.
After 20 overs, both teams were tied at 159 runs, sending the game into a super over.
A super over is a tie breaker in cricket consisting of six balls.
Pakistan, which already exhibited low form for most of the game, fell apart in the super over. The United States’ Aaron Jones and Harmeet Singh set a target of 19 runs, but Pakistan’s Iftikhar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan managed only 13.
It was a historic victory for the United States, a relative newcomer to cricket. The team had only played its first T20 international in 2019 and is now in its first T20 World Cup, where it snagged victory from Canada in its opening game.
Pakistan, meanwhile, is left licking its wounds and could be on its way out of the tournament unless it can regroup and beat its biggest rival India in New York on Sunday.
The United States also will face off against India in its next game on June 12 in New York.
Thursday’s game is also remarkable considering the United States has never before taken on Pakistan. U.S. team captain Monank Patel, who scored 50 runs off 38 balls, in a post-match interview said their victory was a “team effort from the boys” and that they “utilized” the conditions well.
Pakistan team captain Babar Azam said his team couldn’t build the momentum to come out on top in the neck-and-neck match but that Pakistan would come back stronger on Saturday.
“We weren’t on the mark when it came to our plans as a team. The ball was holding up a bit in the beginning, but we brought momentum back,” he said at a news conference. “The loss of quick wickets gave USA the upper hand again. We need to step up in the middle order. We can’t have any excuses. We played poorly.”
He also commended the U.S. team for “playing well in all departments.”
U.S. coach and former Australian batter Stuart Law in the run-up to the tournament said it shouldn’t be a surprise if his team beat Pakistan and India.
He said he knows his team “are not going to lift the trophy at the end of the World Cup,” but it would be great if they can “cause a few scares.”
Law previously coached the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Pakistan, which won in 2009 and lost to England in the final in 2022, only had experience to match the United States’ top form on Thursday and edge out a second chance despite ultimately fumbling it.
The T20 was taken to the United States in an effort to boost to publicity for Cricket in the country, and Thursday’s huge upset is sure to mean more eyes will be watching leading up to the final.
