Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to USA's win over Pakistan ft. Shoaib Akhtar
The USA completed a sensational win over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday in Dallas as the thrilling game finished with a Super Over. It could be termed as the first proper upset of the showpiece event.
After being asked to bat first, Babar Azam and his men could only post a target of 160 on the board. A half-century from Monank Patel and handy cameos from Andries Gous and Aaron James helped the USA reach parity and take the game to a Super Over.
Pakistan's sloppy fielding, coupled with a series of wides from Mohammad Amir allowed the United States to post a stiff target of 19 in the Super Over. Left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar then stepped up and defended the runs to give his team a dream win.
While cricket experts praised the United States for their fantastic performance, some also criticized Pakistan for being complacent. On that note, let's take a look at some of the reactions from cricket experts:
#5 Parthiv Patel
Former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel was impressed by how the United States looked in control of their chase. Monank Patel's half-century and an effective partnership with Andries Gous kept the United States on par with the chase and put Pakistan under serious pressure.
On this, here's what Parthiv told Cricbuzz:
"It just never looked like the game was going away from the USA. The required run rate showed that they were always in control of the chase. They understood the game really well and attacked the right bowlers like Iftikhar and Shadab. Pakistan will need to find a way of adding those extra runs with the bat and getting their bowling to do better under pressure."
In the same interaction, Parthiv also claimed that Pakistan just did not have enough big-hitters in their line-up and that showed when they sent Shadab Khan to bat in the Super Over.
#4 Kamran Akmal
Former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal didn't mince his words while questioning the Pakistan team for the standards of their performance against USA. He claimed that the United States looked like a higher-ranked cricketing side than Pakistan and called the defeat as an 'insult' for the Men in Green.
Here's what Akmal said in a video on his YouTube channel:
"The biggest insult for Pakistan cricket is losing the game in the Super Over. There can't be a bigger insult than this. The USA played exceptionally well. They didn't feel like a low-ranked side. It felt like they were ranked above Pakistan. That is the level of maturity they showed."
Kamran Akmal also stated that the defeat to the USA summed up the grave issues in the roots of the Pakistan cricketing system.
#3 Ramiz Raja
Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja, who had also served as PCB chief, shed light on the tactical errors that the Men in Green made that led to their defeat. He felt that Pakistan were nervous while facing USA when it should have been the other way around.
He couldn't understand some selections and also the on-field tactics and believes there needs to be honest conversations among the think tank to salvage the rest of the campaign. Here's what he said in a video on his YouTube channel:
"USA should have been the team scared of playing Pakistan, but mistakes after mistakes were made. From team selection's point of view, from a tactical point of view, it seemed as if the think tank was sleeping. There are so many mistakes being made in the dugout and outside as well. This should end up being a blame game, and constructive criticism must be given."
Ramiz Raja also hailed United States captain Monank Patel for his fine half-century that allowed his team to stay in the chase. Monank won the Player of the Match award for his 50 off just 38 balls.
#2 Wasim Akram
Former Pakistan legendary pacer Wasim Akram slammed the Men in Green for their performance against the United States. He claimed he was confident that Pakistan would close the game out, but credited the United States for their never-give-up attitude and how they performed in the Super Over.
Here's what Akram told ESPNCricinfo:
"Pathetic performance. They were playing against USA. I was confident, Pakistani fans were confident that they will win. Credit to the way USA played their cricket. The first innings, the second innings, when they came out to chase and of course, the Super Over. 19 runs is like 36 runs in an over in Super Overs. So well done USA."
The former cricketer made a bold prediction that Pakistan may find it difficult to make it through to the Super 8 phase with games against India and other teams still to play.
#1 Shoaib Akhtar
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar is known for his unfiltered analysis on the game and he claimed that Babar Azam and Co. just did not deserve to win against the USA. He gave an analogy to the 1999 World Cup where Pakistan had another unexpected loss against Bangladesh.
Here's what Akhtar said in a video on his X (formerly Twitter) account:
"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."
Shoaib Akhtar praised the United States for their resolve and claimed that it was Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Afridi's efforts that kept Pakistan in the game.