Team USA pulled off a stunning upset in cricket on Thursday, beating cricket powerhouse Pakistan by five runs in the group stage of the T20 World Cup, a tournament in which the world’s top 20 cricket teams qualify.
The United States will be competing in this year’s T20 World Cup for the first time after being automatically selected as host. The T20 tournament will be co-hosted by the U.S. and the West Indies in 2024. Thursday’s upset near Dallas gave the U.S. atop Group A, which also includes India, Canada and Ireland.
The win came after a tense Super Over, a tiebreaker format similar to cricket’s penalty shootout. The US finished the Super Over with 18 runs to spare, meaning Pakistan needed 19 to win, but the US held on and Pakistan finished with 13 runs to secure a historic win for the US.
The home win is especially meaningful for the U.S. team, given that cricket is not a very popular sport in the U.S. Most U.S. cricketers don’t play full-time; one of their cricket heroes, pace bowler Saurabh Netravalkar, works full-time for the software company Oracle.
This victory could be a turning point for the sport of cricket in the United States, with the buzz surrounding its first World Cup likely to propel the sport forward.
USA beats Pakistan in T20 Cricket World Cup
One of the biggest upsets imaginable
Pakistan made it to the final last time. It was just USA’s second game at the World Cup…and they won both!!! pic.twitter.com/l1AGYFtBFW
— Roger Sherman (@rodger) June 6, 2024
The U.S. will next face cricket’s other formidable opponent, India, on June 12 in its group stage match.
This story will be updated.
