USA produced a brilliant run-chase to take Pakistan to a Super Over in a thrilling ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 contest at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
USA are eyeing a famous win having taken Pakistan to a Super Over in a thrilling encounter in Dallas.
Opener Steven Taylor departed for 12 (16) in the final over of the Powerplay, but Monank Patel and Andries Gous put Pakistan on the back foot with a brilliant partnership that moved the tournament co-hosts into treble figures and seemingly in control of the run chase.
Monank was particularly impressive, hitting a classy half-century to give his side hope, putting on 68 in a crucial stand with Gous.
However, Pakistan’s four-pronged pace attack hit back, removing both set batters to set up a nervy finale at the Grand Prairie Stadium.
Haris Rauf cleaned up Gous (35 from 26) to get the crucial breakthrough. And, an over later, Mohammad Amir had the excellent Patel caught behind for 50 from 38 to give Pakistan hope.
A classic display of death bowling seemed to have put Pakistan on the brink of victory despite a fine knock from Aaron Jones.
But USA banged 11 runs off the final three deliveries of the innings, with Nitish Kumar slamming the last ball for four to force a Super Over and send the home crowd delirious in Dallas.
Victory for the USA in this fixture would be one of the biggest upsets in the history of T20 World Cup cricket.
Earlier, a recovery partnership between Babar Azam (44 from 43) and Shadab Khan (40 from 25) helped Pakistan recover from the loss of early wickets, before some big late hits from Shaheen Shah Afridi boosted the first-innings total to 159/7 after 20 overs.
Nosthush Kenjige (3/30 from 4) and Saurabh Netravalkar (2/18 from 4) led the way with the ball for the tournament co-hosts, who have given their batters a chance against one of Group A’s big two.
How Pakistan eeked out 159/7
Tournament hosts USA won the toss, with captain Monak Patel opting to bowl first at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam also revealed he would have opted to bowl first in “Test match conditions”, and his assessment was borne out in a tricky start to his team's innings.
Mohammad Rizwan (9) was removed by a stunning catch in the second over, with Usman Khan (3) holing out seven balls later and Fakhar Zaman departing for 11 to leave Pakistan in a spot of bother.
Babar and Shadab led the rebuild as Pakistan moved towards a competitive total. But the momentum swung back in the favour of USA as Nosthush Kenjige took two in two balls to dismiss the well-set Shadab (40 from 25) and Azam Khan (0) with a first-baller.
Babar’s anchoring innings came to an abrupt end when he was trapped lbw by Jasdeep Singh for 44 – a total that saw him become the leading run-scorer in the history of men’s T20 Internationals.
But Pakistan accelerated at the back end through Iftikhar Ahmed (18 from 14) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (23 from 16) to boost their total to 159/7 and give their talented bowling line-up a decent total to defend.
USA opened the tournament with victory over neighbours Canada in the opening game and would blow Group A wide open with a positive result today against a Pakistan side who are favourites, along with India to progress to the Super 8 phase.
Pakistan’s build-up has been disrupted by weather, both during their rain-affected series in England and also since arriving in Texas.
Team News
USA: Steven Taylor, Monank Patel (capt, wk), Andries Gous, Aaron Jones, Nitish Kumar, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan
Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Haris Rauf
