Promoting cricket in the USA was always going to be a tough ask, especially when the USA team is made up of expats, full-time engineers, and part-time cricketers. But this is Pakistan we’re talking about, a nation that loves to defy the odds. And after last night’s game, the ICC owes them big time because that was one hell of a way to introduce cricket to the American audience.
As one of the oldest cricketing nations, Pakistan feels a certain responsibility to promote the sport and give new nations a smooth entry into top-level cricket. Just ask Ireland (2007) or Bangladesh (1999). The biggest sport in the USA is the NFL, and interestingly enough, it’s categorized as “Sports Entertainment” rather than a “competitive sport.” This gives us a clear blueprint for how to popularize a new sport in the US: make it entertaining. And boy, were we entertained last night.
USA won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first on a pitch where Canada had posted 194 against the same bowling attack. Pakistan’s intentions were clear from the get-go as Rizwan swept Kenjige for a 6 on the third ball. However, that was about it. After losing Rizwan to a brilliant diving catch in the slips, the team seemed to lose their nerve.
Babar Azam, the ambassador of the sport, decided to give the US audience a taste of Test cricket. At one point, he was languishing at 9 runs off 23 balls with a strike rate of 39. However, after witnessing Shadab Khan unleash a flurry of sixes in his 40-run knock, Babar Azam flipped a switch. He unleashed a barrage of boundaries, hitting 3 fours and 2 sixes, boosting his strike rate to a massive 102.32 before eventually getting out for 44.
I can’t think of an ICC game in the last five years where an “impossible to bat on, slow, double-paced, rank turner” didn’t turn into a batting paradise for everyone else as soon as Babar Azam got out. After a healthy cameo from all-rounder Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan crawled to a competitive 159 against the mighty USA. The intent from this six-hitting-machine team was clear throughout the innings, as they didn’t hit a single four inside the first 10 overs.
In response, the USA looked comfortable against Pakistan’s pace battery, reaching 104–1 by the 13th over. It was at this point that Pakistan seemed to realize what they were playing for. To truly promote cricket in this region, a nail-biting contest was important.
The Pakistani bowlers finally pulled back their lengths and restricted the flow of easy runs, dragging the game into the last over. Surely, the USA couldn’t chase down 15 runs in the final over against Pakistan’s fastest bowler? Well, they did. 6, 1, and 4 off the last three balls sent the match into a super over. Move aside, baseball, you don’t have anything exciting as a super over!
The USA managed to score 18 runs in the super over, with only 10 of those actually coming off the bat. At this point, Pakistan had seemingly lost their composure. Misfields, overthrows, wides, and heated exchanges on the field — everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Pakistan.
Needing 19 runs off 6 balls was always going to be difficult, but Pakistan, being their own worst enemy, made things even more difficult by stranding their best hitter of pace, Fakhar Zaman, at the non-striker’s end. Zaman didn’t face a single delivery as Pakistan could only score 13 runs, losing the game in the super over.
A famous victory for the USA, perhaps the biggest upset in T20I history as the hosts defeated last edition’s finalists. But fair play to Pakistan for playing their part in promoting cricket in the USA. This win has set the internet ablaze and even led to US tech giants tweeting about it. It just goes to show that some things in life are bigger than a win.
The masters of the dark art of “Qudrat ka Nizam” shouldn’t be too disheartened though. This isn’t the first time Pakistan has had a shaky start in a major tournament. Remember 1999, when they lost to Bangladesh but still made it to the final? Or the infamous 1992 World Cup win, where they barely made it into the knockouts thanks to a washout? Or last year’s T20 World Cup where they reached the final after Netherlands upset South Africa. Even Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in their opening game of the FIFA World Cup 2022, and we all know how that ended ;’)
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