US cricket stuns Pakistan in a thrilling 'super over' match, nabs second tournament victory
A thrilling match, that had cricket fans at the edge of their seat, ended with the United States triumphing over Pakistan in a super over. Thursday's match was the U.S.'s second match in the tournament and Pakistan's first. The co-hosts earlier beat Canada in the opening match of the ICC T20 Men's Cricket World Cup 2024.
At the end of 20 overs, both U.S. and Pakistan were tied with 159 runs leading the match to go into a super over. In cricket, a super over consisting of six balls, is used as the tiebreaker.
U. S.', Aaron Jones and Harmeet Singh set a target of 19 runs in the super over, however, Pakistan's Iftikhar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan managed only 13.
U.S. team captain Monank Patel was awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant performance on screen, scoring 50 runs off 38 balls. At the beginning to the match, Patel had won the toss and opted to bowl first.
'First upset of the tournament'
Match commentators termed Pakistan's loss at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas as the "first upset" of the tournament, saying that the U.S. "upstaged the runners-up of the previous edition."
Patel, in a post-match interview, said that it was "big achievement" to beat Pakistan in the super over while facing them for the first time. The captain credited their win to "team effort from the boys" and said that his team "utilized" the conditions pretty well.
Pakistan team captain Babar Azam said that his team was unable to build momentum and promised that they would come back stronger in the next game. He also appreciated the U.S. for "playing well in all departments".
When is Pakistan and U.S.' next match?
Pakistan will be facing India next in New York on June 9, in a match that ICC Geoff Allardice, in an interview with USA TODAY, described as "one of sports biggest rivalries".
The U.S. Cricket Team will also be facing India in their next match on June 12 at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium on Long Island in New York.
Social media congratulates the U.S. for their win
While cricket fans in Pakistan were disappointed in their team's loss, many also appreciated the U.S. for playing a fantastic game and bringing their best front forward.
United States Playing XI
- Monank Patel (Captain)
- Steven Taylor
- Andries Gous
- Aaron Jones
- Nitish Kumar
- Corey Anderson
- Harmeet Singh
- Jasdeep Singh
- Nosthush Kenjige
- Saurabh Netravalkar
- Ali Khan
Pakistan's playing XI
- Babar Azam (Captain)
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Usman Khan
- Fakhar Zaman
- Azam Khan
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Shadab Khan
- Shaheen Afridi
- Naseem Shah
- Mohammad Amir
- Haris Rauf
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.