In many ways, Thursday was a historic day for USA cricket. Their team, minnows in every right, pulled off a stunning super over win over Asian giants Pakistan.
In fact, USA almost chased down Pakistan's score of 159 during their allotted 20 overs only for nerves and Pakistan's death over bowling to get the better of them. Only Nitish Kumar's final ball four extended the game into a super over.
But they definitely held their nerves in the super over, scoring 18 runs and then restricting Pakistan to 13 to pull off an all-time great victory.
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While the cricketing world digests the monumental victory that USA has pulled off, a South African-American cricketer has levelled some serious accusations against the Pakistan team.
What did Rusty Theron say about Haris Rauf?
Theron, who has represented USA in the past, claimed that Pakistan team scratched the ball to try to get it to reverse during the latter part of USA's chase.
At one point, USA needed only 56 runs from 42 balls before Pakistan pulled it back with disciplined bowling and crucial wickets, including that of in-form Andres Gous who was castled by Rauf with a delivery that shaped back in.
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Theron claimed that Rauf was running his fingenail over the ball when starting his run up.
@ICC are we just going to pretend Pakistan aren't scratching the hell out of this freshly changed ball? Reversing the ball that's just been changed 2 overs ago? You can literally see Harris Rauf running his thumb nail over the ball at the top of his mark. @usacricket #PakvsUSA
— Rusty Theron (@RustyTheron) June 6, 2024
Interestingly, the ball was changed a few overs before Gous was dismissed after the umpires noticed wear and tear in it.
It was not a memorable match for Rauf who conceded 37 runs in his four overs and took the wicket of Gous in the match.
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What next for Pakistan?
Pakistan will face arch-rivals India in their second outing at the T20 World Cup 2024. The Asian powerhouses will clash at the Nassau County Stadium in New York on June 09.
