(CNN) — The United States cricket team recorded a dramatic Super Over victory in a shocking victory over powerhouse Pakistan at the Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup in Dallas on Thursday.
The emotional win is the biggest in US cricket history and is already considered one of the sport’s biggest upsets.
Team captain Monank Patel, who was named man of the match, spoke about what this landmark win means for the team and the country.
“We are happy with the win. It is our first time playing against Pakistan in a World Cup and we have won. It was an unbelievable performance from our team,” he told reporters after the match.
“It’s a big day for the U.S. team and it’s a big day for the U.S. cricket community,” he added.
The United States will be participating in the T20 World Cup for the first time and co-hosting the tournament with the West Indies for the first time.
The significance of Thursday’s win cannot be underestimated. Cricket is far from a mainstream sport in the United States, but Pakistan has an impressive track record on the field, reaching the T20 World Cup final in 2022 and winning the tournament in 2009.
“Obviously, beating Pakistan in the World Cup would open up a lot of doors for us,” Patel said, “and of course, having the World Cup in America and performing here as a team would help grow cricket in America.”
Pakistan is ranked sixth in the world, while the US team is ranked 18th.
Nitish Kumar hit a match-saving boundary to force a super over, much to the delight of the US fans at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium.
In the tie-breaking over, the U.S. posted a competitive score of 18 points.
The USA bowler Saurabh Netravalkar held the ball in the super over and restricted the Pakistan batsmen to just 13 runs to secure the win.
It’s been an incredible journey for Oracle software engineer Netravalkar, who was born in Mumbai but moved to the US to get a master’s in computer engineering from Cornell University in New York, according to ESPN.
He moved to the United States and played cricket as a hobby, making his national team debut in 2019, where he also served as captain. He currently plays for Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket.
The United States won its opening match against Canada and currently leads Group A with four points and has two games remaining in the group stage, against India and Ireland.
If the U.S. maintains its position at the top of the group, it will advance to the Super 8 knockout stage in its first match.
India, also in Group A and the pre-tournament favourites, will face Pakistan in New York on Sunday.
CNN Wire
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