Pakistan were left embarrassed in their first clash in the T20 World Cup 2024 as they were stunned by the host nation of USA in the Super Over. The thrilling encounter went right down to the wire and caused one of the most historic upsets in cricket’s history as the associate nation prevailed over last edition’s finalist and former world champions in the Super Over. 

Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam was understandably not pleased with his team’s performance and blasted his team mates and urged them to do a lot better after they got outperformed by USA in the match. 

Pakistan batting first scored only 159 runs and set a target of 160 to chase. USA were valiant in the chase and scored 159 runs themselves to take the match in Super Over. In Super Over, the Americans set a target of 19 runs and spectacular final over by Saurabh Netravalkar meant USA pulled off the historic upset. 

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Babar Azam blasts Pakistan teammates

Captain Babar Azam blasted his Pakistan teammates for not showing up in the game and thought that as professionals they need to do a lot batter job at reading the conditions. 

"Very hard, all credit to USA, they played better than us in all three departments. Little bit of moisture in the pitch, it was also two-paced. As a professional you need to assess the conditions”, said Babar Azam. 

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Babar Azam further said that as a team they need to step up in the batting department and admitted they were not up to the mark in the game. 

"First 6 overs while batting we didn't capitalise. Back-to-back wickets always put you on the back foot, as a batter you need to step up and build partnerships. We were not up to the mark in the first 6 overs with the ball. Our spinners also did not take wickets in the middle overs so these things cost us," Babar Azam said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Pakistan will quickly want to get over this slump as their next game in T20 World Cup is a herculean match against eternal rivals India on Sunday, June 9th at Nassau Country Cricket Stadium in New York. 

(With PTI Inputs)