GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (AP) — Aaron Jones hit the ball out of the park again and the United States beat cricket powerhouse Pakistan in a super over tiebreaker in one of the biggest upsets in Twenty20 World Cup history.
Jones, who produced a game-winning batting performance in the tournament’s opening match against Canada, again played a key role in Thursday’s dramatic win over 2022 runners-up Pakistan.
Cricket has a long, though lesser known, history in the U.S. Cricket is the national game of Pakistan, which has been a powerhouse in the cricketing world for many years, appearing in the T20 World Cup finals three times.
USA captain Monankh Patel (center) celebrates with his teammates after the team’s victory against Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket at Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, Thursday, June 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
The stars are household names, while Jones and the U.S. team came in under the radar.
United States player Saurabh Nesralvakar, left, celebrates after a win against Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket at Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, Thursday, June 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Patel said that for him, the U.S. team’s operations were going according to plan.
“We don’t care what people say. We know our worth and our abilities. We just focus on the game,” he said. “We don’t want to get emotional or down.”
“We’re just going to make sure that whatever win we get today, we enjoy it and come back fresh the next day.”
It has been a disastrous start for captain Babar Azam’s Pakistan, who are set to take on tough opponents India in New York on Sunday with only the top two teams from the five-nation group qualifying for the playoffs.
“It’s all thanks to the USA,” Babar said, adding that the Americans performed well batting, pitching and fielding. “That’s why we won.”
“We couldn’t take advantage of our chances in the first six overs. We had some momentum but successive wickets hurt us.”
Still in the shadow of their upset in Texas, Scotland recorded a five-wicket win over Namibia in Bridgetown, Barbados, to top Group B. Namibia won by 155 for 9, with Scotland reaching the winning tally with nine balls remaining.
The match in Grande Prairie went on for more than a full round.
Jones, who scored 94 off 40 balls against Canada, once again took centre stage for the co-hosts with a crucial knock of 36 off 26 balls to take the match into the Super Over.
United States’ Mohammed Ali Khan (second from right) celebrates with teammates after Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman’s dismissal during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match between the United States and Pakistan at Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, Thursday, June 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Jones hit a six off Haris Rauf in successive deliveries, followed by a single, before Nitish Kumar bounded off the final delivery of regulation to leave the score level at 159.
Babar (44) and Shadab Khan (40) tried to regain momentum and put together a stand of 72 runs but Kensige broke through in the 13th over.
Babar, who became the world’s leading run-getter in T20 games to surpass Virat Kohli’s record of 4,038 runs, looked out of form in his 43-ball batsmanship but fell leg-before wicket to Jasdeep Singh’s delivery in the 16th over to leave Pakistan at 125-6.
Pakistan’s total was lifted only thanks to Shaheen Shah Afridi’s 23 runs off 16 balls, including two sixes towards the end.
