Newcomers USA left the cricket world in shock on Thursday as they defeated former champions Pakistan via the Super Over to record their biggest win in T20 World Cup history. The result was reminiscent of Pakistan's three-wicket loss to Ireland in the 2007 ODI World Cup in the West Indies, a tournament where they were knocked out in the group stage as well. Though it is going to take a few more upsetting results for Pakistan to go through a similar fate this time, the result puts the USA and its players in the spotlight, especially the Mumbai-born Saurabh Netravalkar who delivered in the crucial Super Over against Babar Azam & Co.
In the Super Over bowled by Mohammad Amir, USA piled up 18 runs, eight of which came from extras. Saurabh Netravalkar then kept his cool and bowled brilliantly to give away just 13 runs for a famous win. As Netravalkar steered USA to victory, his LinkedIn profile went viral on social media, as fans lauded the 'software engineer' from Oracle who made history at the biggest stage in cricket.
His LinkedIn headline reads: "Principal Member of Technical Staff at Oracle, Professional Cricketer". It's time to swap these around.
"It's a very humbling feeling that life has given me a second chance to pursue what I love doing," Netravalkar said after the match. "And I really feel that bliss as soon as I walk onto the field to play competitive cricket."
As for the match, USA thus jumped to the top of Group A with two wins from as many games ahead of the clash against India. USA had defeated Canada by seven wickets in their opener.
Opting to field, left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige scalped three wickets for 30 runs as Pakistan found it difficult to press the accelerator and were restricted to 159 for seven.
While chasing, USA ended on the same score, reaching 159 for 3 with skipper Monank Patel (50 off 38), Aaron Jones (36 not out of 26) and Andries Gous (35 off 26) leading from the front.
In another embarrassment for Pakistan, they took longer time than usual to come out to bat in the Super Over, keeping the USA fielders waiting and getting the on-field umpires involved.
Earlier, USA's decision to bowl first worked as Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed in the second over, caught by Steven Taylor off Netravalkar (2/18).
USA started their chase on a bright note, scoring 44 runs in the powerplay.
Patel led from the front as he played his shots to pick up consecutive boundaries off Shaheen Shah Afridi in the fourth over.
Naseem Shah gave Pakistan the first breakthrough when Taylor nicked one to Mohammad Rizwan behind the stumps.
Bur new man Andries Gous meant business as he picked up two fours in the same over.
Gous was particularly elegant square of the wicket as he just opened his bat a bit to pick up another four off Haris Rauf.
USA's body language was positive with Patel and Gous leading the charge.
Patel showed his prowess through the off-side, picking up two consecutive boundaries off Iftikhar Ahmed through the cover region.
Patel was at his destructive best as he first hit Afridi over mid-off for a boundary and then clobbered the bowler over his head for a six to bring up his 50 off 34 balls.
A 68-run second wicket stand was finally broken by Rauf, who got the better of Gous with a quick delivery.
Wickets were the need of the hour for Pakistan and they picked up the important scalp of Patel, who edged one to Rizwan off Mohammad Amir.
Aaron Jones (36 not out off 26), who played a blinder against Canada in their last match, lived up to the expectations again and in the company Nitish Kumar (14 not out off 14) took the match into the Super Over.
With 12 needed off three balls, Jones smashed a full toss of Rauf over square leg for a six and then got a single to bring down the target to five off last ball. Netravalkar then gave away just one run to Shadab, securing a historic win for his side.
With PTI inputs