[Watch] Video of Saurabh Netravalkar singing Om Namah Shivaya and playing ukulele goes viral after USA beat Pakistan in 2024 T20 World Cup
Saurabh Netravalkar helped the United States of America (USA) beat Pakistan in a Super Over in the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup on Thursday, June 6. The left-arm seamer defended 19 runs in the Super Over, helping his team secure a five-run win.
USA won the toss and chose to field first. Pakistan failed to register a mammoth total, finishing at 159/7 in 20 overs. Skipper Babar Azam and all-rounder Shabad Khan were the top performers with the bat, scoring 44 and 40, respectively.
Netravalkar bowled a fantastic spell, giving away just 18 runs from his full quota of four overs and taking the crucial wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed. The match went down to the Super Over, with USA's inning ending at 159/3.
USA claimed a memorable win, courtesy of Netravalkar's bowling exploits in the Super Over. Interestingly, the pacer's talent isn't just limited to the cricket field; he is a musician as well.
One of Saurabh Netravalkar's old videos has gone viral on social media, in which the 32-year-old can be seen playing the ukulele and singing Om Namah Shivaya. You can watch the clip below:
It is worth mentioning that Saurabh Netravalkar was born in Mumbai and has even represented Mumbai in domestic cricket. He made his Ranji Trophy debut against Karnataka in 2013.
Netravalkar was also part of India's U-19 team for the U-19 World Cup in 2010, where he shared the dressing room with the likes of Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Sandeep Sharma, and Harshal Patel.
He moved to New York after getting admission to Cornell University. The fast bowler is a software engineer and works with Oracle in San Fransisco.
"For a left-armer, the angle helps" - USA captain Monank Patel on bowling Saurabh Netravalkar in the Super Over
USA skipper Monank Patel backed Saurabh Netravalkar to do the job in the Super Over. He preferred to hand the ball to the left-arm pacer over Ali Khan, a regular in the death overs for the team.
Explaining his decision, Patel stated that Netravalkar's cutters and wide yorkers would have been more handy in those conditions. Speaking at the post-match press conference, he said:
"The plan was we wanted to make sure that we utilise the conditions. And the condition was a left-arm bowler bowling cutters and wide yorkers with left-arm over angle going out. Ali Khan usually attacks the stumps, but we wanted to make sure that we make them play outside off stump. And for a left-armer, the angle helps. Saurabh had had a good day, and I backed him."
USA have kicked off their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign with back-to-back wins. They will now take on India in New York on Wednesday, June 12.