Pakistan suffered a massive setback in their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign as USA shocked them in Dallas, Texas on June 6.

USA dominated proceedings for most of the match as they handed Pakistan a shock defeat on Thursday. Earlier in the day, they sent Pakistan in to bat first. Three quick wickets in the powerplay, including a spectacular grab from Steven Taylor, set the tone for the hosts. Pakistan were 26-3 at one stage and managed only 159-7 in the first innings.

With a 38-ball 50, captain Monank Patel was the driving force behind USA’s reply. The match went down to the wire as a last-ball four by Nitish Kumar took it to the super over.

USA made 18-1 in the tie-breaker, partly assisted by Mohammad Amir’s wayward bowling, who bowled seven wides. Left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar, who took 2-18 off his four overs earlier, was summoned by Monank to defend the total. The equation came down to six from the last ball, but Netravalkar held his nerve as he gave away a single to hand his side a historic win.

Before the tournament, they won a historic series against Bangladesh and entered the tournament high on confidence. They beat Canada comprehensively in their tournament opener.

The result brought out widespread reactions from the cricket community. Michael Vaughan, along with others, was critical of Pakistan's performance as they crumbled under pressure, while praise for USA was universal.

With this loss, Pakistan complicated their path to the second round. They are placed third behind USA and India. Their best scenario to stay in the hunt is to beat India on June 9. If they can’t, they will have to hope USA lose their remaining matches against Ireland and India and need to win their final two group fixtures.

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