USA vs. Pak: Pakistan’s brilliant bowling effort brought the match down to 12 off 3 balls. But Aaron Jone’s master class levelled the game by hitting a 4 when a 5 was needed.
In the USA vs. Pak game, the USA was right on top of Pakistan from the start of the game, with Rizwan caught in the first over. Muhammad Amir’s 19th over brought Pakistan back into the game. With Amir conceding 6 in the 19th, 15 were required in the last over.
Pakistan’s Inning
Pakistan’s Inning started with Rizwan caught in the slips and Usman playing a careless start. Fakhar was looking well with six of the first balls, but he too caught at the fine leg, trying to scoop Muhammad Ali Khan (The Attock-born player playing for USA).
Babar and Shadab somewhat steadied the ship, with Shadab scoring 40 off 24 balls and Babar scoring 44 off 43. But after Shadab’s dismissal, Pakistan never recovered. They set a target of 160 for the USA.
USA’s Reply
The American batsmen were in control except for Steven Taylor’s wicket, who also went on a duck against Canada. Andreas Ghous scored a handful, 35 off 26 in the Context of the game, before Haris Rauf knocked him off. Captain Monank Patel was impressive too with his half-century but it was the MOM from the last game, Aaron Jones who scored 11 of the last 3 balls off Haris Rauf. The match was a tie.
Super Overs
Amir gave up seven extras with 3 wides and 4 runs. The USA was never looking to lose the match. They scored 18 off the super over. In return, Pakistan’s Iftikhar hit a boundary and caught at long off. Fakhar Zaman who must face the super over, was never given a chance to face a single ball and with 7 needed off the last ball, Shadab only managed to take a single and Pakistan was defeated by the USA for the first time in cricketing history.
Pakistan vs. India game is scheduled on June 9 in Eisenhower Park, New York.