US Team Flies High to Defeat Pakistan in Exciting Match
Credits: Otago Daily Times
June 6 will surely be written in golden words in the history books of USA cricket as they defeated one of the oldest cricket-playing nations in just their second match of the World Cup. The hosts took on Pakistan in the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, and everyone expected Pakistan to dominate, but the hosts, Monank Patel and his boys, had other plans.
After winning the toss, Patel opted to bowl first, and the bowlers backed his decision, putting his team on top with the new ball by sending the top three Pakistani batsmen back to the pavilion in just 5 overs. Mohd. Rizwan, Usman Khan, and Fakhar were dismissed cheaply, and Pakistan was in deep trouble at 26/3.
Batting at No. 5, Shadab gave some spirited knocks, scoring 40 off 25 balls, and the skipper, Babar, on the other hand, played a very mature knock, scoring 44 off 43 balls. Some late strikes from Shaheen and Iftikhar took Pakistan to 159, which was a very moderate score.
Chasing 159, the USA got off to a fine start, scoring 44 in the powerplay. Skipper Monak Patek and Andrew Gous kept scoring freely, and after 10 overs, the USA were on top, scoring 76 for the loss of just one wicket. After 10 overs, the momentum shifted towards Pakistan as both Monank Patel and Andre Gous were dismissed in quick succession, and the US were 115 for 3 after 15 overs. Aaron James, the hero from the previous match, was on the crease alongside Nitish Kumar, and both took the game till the last over. The USA needed 15 off the last over. 15 runs looked tough as Haris Rauf had the ball in his hand, but the USA batsmen held their nerves and took on Haris and managed to score 14 from the over, and the match ended in a tie.
In the super over, the USA got ahead of Pakistan, scoring 18 runs against Mohd. Amir. Chasing 19 runs, the Pakistani batsman managed to score only 13 runs. The USA won the super over by 5 runs and created history.
This win will surely be remembered for a long time in the world of cricket. A team playing their first World Cup defeated a regular Test-playing nation in their first encounter. Saurav Naresh Netravalkar, who took 3 wickets in his spell and also bowled the super over, was a part of the 2008 Indian U-19 World Cup-winning team, which was led by Virat Kohli. After 16 years, he became a hero for the USA, in a country where he also works as a software engineer. With this win, the USA is also in a strong position to qualify for the next round, as they are currently at the top of the table, followed by Team India. If they win their game against Ireland, they will surely be one of the teams to enter the Super 8 stage, which will be nothing less than a dream run for Monank Patel and his boys.
