Shoaib Akhtar poured his heart out after Pakistans devastating loss in the 2024 T20 World Cup Super Over to the United States at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday June 6. The Rawalpindi Express deeply believed that Pakistan was unjustly robbed of victory and lauded the United States for their stellar performance.
Bowling first after winning the toss, co-hosts the United States did an excellent job of reducing Pakistan to 159-7, with Nosthush Kenjige taking 3-30 and Saurabh Netravalkar 2-18. In the chase, they finished on 159-3, with skipper Monank Patel scoring 50 off 38. Andries Gous (35 off 26) and Aaron Jones (36* off 26) both made significant contributions to send the game into overtime.
Shoaib Akhtar responded to Pakistan’s devastating setback in their opening match of the 2024 T20 World Cup by posting a 33-second video on his official X Twitter. Shoaib Akhtar said:
“Disappointing loss for Pakistan. We are not off to a good start, losing to USA. We repeated history, like we did against Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup. Unfortunately, Pakistan never deserved to win. The reason is that USA played very well and were in a commanding position.
“[Mohammad] Amir saved the match. He and Shaheen [Shah Afridi] tried. They [US] won 37 overs of the contest, if we look at the overall picture. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull it off.”
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar posted the footage on his social media account with the caption:
“Hurt & disappointed.”
While Pakistan suffered a surprising defeat, the United States climbed to the top of Group A’s points standings with two victories in as many matches. They had previously trounced Canada by seven wickets in Dallas.
Unraveling Pakistan’s Shocking Defeat to USA in the 2024 T20 World Cup
The USA sent Pakistan into bat, and Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed for 9 after a stunning catch by Steven Taylor at slip off Saurabh Netravalkar’s bowling. Usman Khan (3) and Fakhar Zaman (11) both fell easily.
Skipper Babar Azam recovered from a shaky start to complete 44 off 43 deliveries. Shadab Khan (40 off 25) and Shaheen Afridi (23* off 16) scored key runs to help Pakistan get close to 160. During the chase, the United States lost Taylor for 12. However, Monank led the pursuit with a half-century, while Gous and Jones both contributed significantly.
Nitish Kumar (14* off 14) hit Haris Rauf for a four over mid-off to win the game in the Super Over. In the Super Over, Amir’s inconsistent performance cost him 18 runs. For the US, Netravalkar conceded only 14 runs to lead his side to a historic victory.