The 2024 T20 World Cup, being held in the USA and West Indies, has just witnessed a seismic event.
Outright minnows and hosts USA have just defeated powerhouses Pakistan in a thrilling group stage encounter at the Grand Prairie stadium in Dallas, Texas.
Pakistan batted first and scored 159 in their 20 overs, thanks to knocks by Babar Azam (44) and Shadab Khan (40). USA also managed 159 in their allotted overs, after Nitish Kumar scored a four off the final ball with his team requiring five runs to win.
In the Super Over, Pakistan ended conceding 18 runs, thanks to sloppy fielding and bowling. USA managed to restrict the Asian giants to just 13 runs, thanks to canny bowling by Saurabh Netravalkar, a 32-year-old Indian-born American.
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Interestingly, Netravalkar has played age-group cricket for India and is an engineer at a prominent tech firm. Many members of the US team are expats from India, including captain Monank Patel. There were also the likes of Nitish, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh and more who are Indian-origin Americans.
'Lost to India B side' - How fans reacted to Pakistan loss?
Social media and fans had a fun time right after the monumental win for USA which has also put Pakistan's qualification scenario to the Super 8 in serious jeopardy.
Fans started likening USA to a second-string team of India, given the number of Indian-origin players, trolling Pakistan for losing to India B ahead of their clash against India on June 9.
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INDIA 'B' Team aka USA Win Against Pakistan 🔥🔥🔥#PakvsUSA pic.twitter.com/MD0CJViWhN
— 🕊𝐕 𝐄 𝐓 𝐓 𝐀 𝐘 𝐀 𝐍 ~💤💙 (@ITZ_VETTAYAN) June 6, 2024
Saurabh #Netravalkar , a full-time tech professional in an IT organization, has accomplished it for the #US ! #India B has secured a victory against #Pakistan !#T20IWorldCup2024 #USAvsPAK #CricketinUS #CricketinUSA https://t.co/4tkO6Z5T07 pic.twitter.com/qCL8dBnY6r
— Sai (@sai_whispers) June 6, 2024
India B team defeated Pakistan in t20 world cup in a thrilling super over#PakvsUSA pic.twitter.com/B1yuPl1qfh
— Shubham Jain🇮🇳 (@ShubhamJain4696) June 6, 2024
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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.
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