"Super Over revealed the drop in Pakistan’s cricket standard" - Sanjay Manjrekar reacts to Pakistan's 'worst defeat ever' to USA in T20 World Cup
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his disappointment over Pakistan's performance in their T20 World Cup clash against the USA on Thursday, June 6. The co-hosts clinched the thrilling game in the Super Over and stunned Babar Azam and company, who were expected to coast home.
Chasing 160 for victory, USA managed to level the scores and take the game to the Super Over, However, out of the 18 runs that USA scored in the Super Over, only 11 were off the bat.
In a post on X, Sanjay Manjrekar shed light on how Pakistan gave away extras in the form of wides and also some sloppy fielding in the Super Over which proved to be the difference.
Slamming Pakistan's poor standards, Manjrekar wrote:
"More than the main game it was the super over that revealed the drop in Pakistan’s cricket standards. It was Pakistan’s worst defeat ever! Hope this match now becomes the corner stone of Pakistan’s rise back to the top in world cricket."
USA pacer Saurabh Netravalkar conceded just 13 runs in the Super Over and helped his team clinch a historic win against Pakistan. The co-hosts are now at the top of their T20 World Cup group with two wins from two games.
Ramiz Raja also criticized Pakistan's performance
Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja also shared his opinion on Babar Azam and company's defeat to the USA in the T20 World Cup.
Like Manjrekar, even Ramiz earmarked the poor body language of the Pakistani players on the field and their lethargic fielding that cost them extra runs.
Ramiz said in a video on his YouTube channel:
"No one seemed to show any indication that the team are putting in all of their effort and fighting for the win. It was as if they thought things would be fine on their own. You cannot be like that in a World Cup, the opposition comes well prepared. You could see that as well, USA's body language was so good, and so were their tactics and performance."
Pakistan will now face India in their next T20 World Cup game on Sunday, June 9, in New York.
Babar and his men need a quick turnaround to ensure that they get their first points on the board before it is too late.