Under immense pressure to keep Pakistan below that total, US bowler Saurabh Netravalkar conceded just 13 thanks to a superb catch by Nitish Kumar. Pakistan’s Shadab Khan needed six off the last ball to take the match into another Super Over but could only hit a single, leaving the US team in disarray.
“This is a big accomplishment,” U.S. captain Monankh Patel said. “It’s the first time we’ve beaten Pakistan and I’m very proud of how we played.”
After beating Canada in their opening match of the World Cup, the USA are suddenly a threat to reach the quarter-finals of the first international T20 tournament. The country began playing a simplified version of the game at the highest level in 2019 and qualified for this year’s World Cup as co-hosts with the West Indies.
In contrast, Pakistan won the International Cricket Council’s inaugural T20 World Cup in 2009, two years after finishing as runners-up. Pakistan also finished as runners-up in the 2022 World Cup, losing to England in the final, but has reached the semi-finals three times so far.
Thursday’s result will put even more attention on a high-profile match between Pakistan and arch-rivals India on Sunday in Nassau County, which borders New York City. If Pakistan loses, they will have to win their remaining group-stage games against Canada and Ireland and may still need help to advance further.
“It’s still early days of the tournament and we will bounce back from this,” Pakistan captain Babar Azam said. “Yes, we have a tough task ahead of us, but the US deserves credit. They performed brilliantly today. They were better than us in every aspect of the game.”
The U.S. just beat Pakistan in a T20 cricket match in the World Cup. I never thought I’d see that, much less this. One of the biggest upsets in cricket history, no, the biggest upset. Amazing. #T20WorldCup
— Atif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) June 6, 2024
The United States, the only team to play two matches in the five-nation group, unexpectedly emerged atop the group. Ranked 18th in the ICC rankings as of Thursday, with Pakistan in sixth place, the U.S. will face top-ranked India on Wednesday and 11th-ranked Ireland on June 14.
Among the US heroes on Thursday were Queens-born batsman Aaron Jones, who followed up his fine performance against Canada with some crucial hits in the closing stages of the match against Pakistan, and the batting duo of Patel (50) and Andries Guth.
Early in the match, when Pakistan batted first in regular play, Steven Taylor made a diving one-handed catch to take a wicket. Pakistan started slowly but rallied to finish for 159. That wasn’t necessarily insurmountable for the Americans, who had scored 197 in their opening match, but this time they were up against a formidable Pakistani bowling line-up that included Shaheen Afridi, Mohammed Amir, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.
But Amir was shaky in the Super Over, hitting three wides, and when it was Netravalkar’s turn – an Indian-born man who works as an engineer for Oracle by day – he continued the impressive composure his team had shown all day, despite overwhelming odds.
