Legendary Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram was devastated. So was his 1992 World Cup-winning teammate – Ramiz Raja. Waqar Younis, who captained Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, had already predicted Babar Azam’s men’s downfall in the powerplay against the United States of America (USA) at Dallas. Unfortunately, three household names in Pakistan cricket had the best seats in the house as the troika chronicled one of the biggest upsets in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Meeting former champions Pakistan for the first time at the grandest stage, co-hosts United States did the unthinkable in its second home game of the ICC event. Scoring a historic win in match No.11 of the T20 World Cup, the Aaron Jones-starrer side upstaged Pakistan in a Super Over thriller. Born in Punjab, Pakistan, USA pacer Ali Khan bagged the game-changing wicket of Fakhar Zaman in the powerplay. Interestingly, two of Ali’s teammates who starred in the USA’s unforgettable win have Indian roots!
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USA captain Monank Patel leads from the front
USA skipper Monank Patel was born in Anand, Gujarat, on May 1, 1993. He shares his birthday with legendary West Indies cricketer Gordon Greenidge, who played his final Test innings on the same date (May 1). Winning the toss and making a wise call, Monank invited Babar’s Pakistan to bat first in Dallas. The Indian-origin USA skipper made sure the co-hosts dominated the powerplay against Pakistan. Monank and Co. restricted Pakistan to 159-7 in 20 overs. Playing the captain’s knock for the World Cup hosts, Monank smashed a quick-fire 50 off 38 balls to keep USA in the driving seat.
With Pakistan bowlers staging a late comeback, in-form Jones remained unbeaten on 36 off while a final-ball boundary from Nitish Kumar tied the score at 159, forcing Super Over in Dallas. Veteran Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir leaked eight extras to help USA set a 19-run target in the Super Over. Delivering the goods for the USA in the humdinger, Saurabh Netravalkar bowled the final six balls of the Super Over-thriller, which decided the outcome of the epic contest.
Saurabh Netravalkar brings back Ireland memories for Pakistan
Netravalkar is originally from Mumbai, and the 32-year-old has also captained the USA in the international arena. Employed by Oracle, Netravalkar produced a bowling masterclass against Babar’s Pakistan in Dallas. Netravalkar had opened the account for the USA by removing Mohammad Rizwan in his first over of the initial innings. Netravalkar also outsmarted Iftikhar Ahmed in the Pakistani innings. Taking charge in the Super Over, Netravalkar earned a double over Iftikhar by removing the power-hitter on the third ball of his match-winning spell. Netravalkar conceded only 13 runs to seal a famous win for the US at the T20 World Cup.
