USA vs PAK, ICC T20 World cup 2024, Match Report: Netravalkar, computer scientist, stuns Pakistan as USA scripts major cricket upset

Netravalkar shines in historic upset (X-T20WorldCup)

Mohammed Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf – you’d struggle to find such a group of thoroughbred pace bowlers in this T20 World Cup. Yet, on a historic afternoon at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, it was Saurabh Netravalkar, who had moved to the USA to study Computer Science at Cornell University, that was the bowling hero. A superb spell of 2-18 helped keep Pakistan to under 8 an over, and he then returned to bowl a near-nerveless Super Over to clinch the most famous of upset victories.

After Amir had bowled a ragged Super Over, complete with wides, misfields and sluggish fielding, Pakistan needed 19 to save themselves from abject humiliation. But Netravalkar, the highest wicket-taker for India at the Under-19 World Cup in 2010, kept his cool to make sure that Iftikhar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan, who faced the last three balls, couldn’t script a great escape.

Having secured a victory in their first game against Canada, the USA were full of confidence against a Pakistan side that had recently lost a T20 series to England. And having won the toss, the USA weren’t slow to press home the advantage on a seem-friendly surface.

The perfect day started off with Netravalkar dismissing Mohammad Rizwan, courtesy a jaw-dropping catch from Steven Taylor. Soon after, Nosthush Kenige and Ali Khan jumped into the wicket-taking fiesta. Even though Pakistan had started scoring runs at a decent rate, Kenjige’s back-to-back wickets proved to be the game-changer. Jasdeep Singh's dismissal of Babar Azam, who top-scored with a sedate 44 (43 balls), added drama to the mix, leaving Pakistan fans on the edge of their seats. Netravalkar’s tidy finish meant that Pakistan had eked out only 46 runs in the last five overs.

The USA score 36 without loss in the Powerplay, and after Taylor was caught behind off Naseem, Monank Patel – who replaced Netravalkar as skipper in 2021 – and Andries Gous completed the bulk of the chase, scoring runs without taking any risks. Up until the 10th over, not a single six was struck in the chase.

Pakistan bowlers made their move in the 14th over. Rauf changed the tide with Gous’ wicket. In the very next over, Monank, right after completing his half-century, fell to Amir. Despite some excellent death bowling, Aaron Jones and Nitish Kumar steered the USA into a Super Over. It was Nitish that struck Rauf’s final delivery over mid-off for four to tie the scores.

With every delivery, every catch, and every run, the USA showed that they weren’t intimidated by this biggest of stages. Make no mistake, this was a massive upset. And if Pakistan slip up against India in the marquee match-up on Sunday, it will almost certainly mean an early flight home.