USA Upsets Pakistan in T20 World Cup Super Over Thriller

In a T20 World Cup match that mirrored the chaotic situation in the cricket of the Asian nations, the newcomers USA stunned the reigning champions Pakistan on Thursday by winning via the Super Over. It was their largest victory to date.

The outcome was similar to Pakistan's elimination from the 2007 ODI World Cup in the West Indies after losing to Ireland by three wickets.

In light of this, USA topped Group A with two victories in as many games prior to their matchup with India. In their opening match, USA had defeated Canada by seven wickets.

Left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige, who chose to field, took three wickets for thirty runs as Pakistan struggled to get off the ground and was eventually reduced to 159 for seven.

USA finished the chase with the identical score of 159 for 3, led by captain Monank Patel (50 off 38), Aaron Jones (36 not out of 26), and Andries Gous (35 off 26).

Eight of the USA's 18 runs in the Mohammad Amir-bowled Super Over came from extras.

Then, for a historic victory, Saurabh Netravalkar maintained his composure and bowled masterfully, giving up just 13 runs.

Pakistan was further embarrassed when they took longer than normal to bat in the Super Over, holding up the USA fielders and drawing the attention of the on-field umpires.

Prior to this, the USA's choice to bowl first proved successful when Steven Taylor caught Mohammad Rizwan off Netravalkar (2/18) in the second over.

USA got off to a strong start in their pursuit, scoring 44 runs during the powerplay.

In the fourth over, Patel took the lead by playing well and hitting two consecutive boundaries off Shaheen Shah Afridi.

The first breakthrough for Pakistan came from Naseem Shah, as Taylor nicked one to Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps.

But Andries Gous, the new guy, was serious as he scored two fours in one over.

Gous hit another four from Haris Rauf with a particularly skillful square of the wicket after slightly opening his bat.

The USA was displaying good body language, with Patel and Gous leading the way.

Patel demonstrated his skill by hitting two successive boundaries into the cover region off of Iftikhar Ahmed.

When he drove Afridi over mid-off for a boundary and then clobbered the bowler over his head for a six to reach his 50 off 34 balls, Patel was at his most lethal.

Rauf eventually broke a 68-run second wicket partnership when he sent Gous with a sharp delivery.

Pakistan desperately needed wickets, and they gained a critical victory when Patel denied Mohammad Amir a wicket to Rizwan.

After playing a tremendous performance against Canada in their previous match, Aaron Jones (36 not out of 26) lived up to the hype once more, and Nitish Kumar (14 not out of 14) took the game into the Super Over.

Jones hit a full toss of Rauf over square leg for a six when 12 needed from three balls, and he then got a single to reduce the target to five off the final ball.

Usman Khan had lost his wicket for Pakistan after mistiming a Kenjige delivery.

Pakistan was reduced to 26 for 3 after Fakhar Zaman, using his natural aggressiveness, paddle-swept an easy catch off Ali Khan to Taylor in the fifth over.

After smashing two straight sixes off of Jasdeep Singh, Shadab Khan (40 off 25) relieved some of the pressure, and captain Babar Azam (44 off 43) concluded with a boundary to collect 20 runs from the tenth over.

With the momentum in their favour, the Pakistani pair launched an onslaught that left Harmeet Singh sprawled all over the field.

But to get the USA back into the game, Kenjige took two wickets in quick succession, Shadab and Azam Khan.

In the thirteenth over, Kenjige first had Shadab caught at short fine leg, and in the following delivery, he had Azam Khan caught in front of the wicket.

Azam was caught by Jasdeep in front of the wicket, preventing him from reaching his second fifty. The decision was affirmed even though the batter requested a review.

Iftikhar Ahmed (18 off 14) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (23 not out off 16 balls) contributed well in the closing stages to help Pakistan surpass 150 runs.

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