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Spirited USA seek Pakistan scalp after opening day heartbreak
After opening day fixtures for both sides that could have easily had the opposite outcomes, Pakistan and USA face each other at a time the World Cup has finally found its feet. To the extent even the US President Donald Trump appeared to have found out about the tournament, weighing in to wish his side the best of luck ahead of their next game.
Pakistan come into the fixture with a nervy win sealed by Faheem Ashraf’s penultimate over heroics against the Netherlands, while the USA hunt for their first points on the board after Suryakumar Yadav’s fireworks denied them one of cricket’s greatest upsets over India.
USA, of course, know a thing or two about great cricketing upsets, having inflicted one on this very opponent two years ago, when they took Pakistan to a Super Over before applying the knockout blow. They have spent the last week demonstrating they retain the capability to spring a similar surprise, after running New Zealand exceptionally close in a knockout game before that fright they gave India.
They will travel to Colombo from Mumbai and have little time to acclimatise, with less than 72 hours between the end of their previous game and the toss at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Once there, though, they know they have the ability to stifle Pakistan early on, just as they did with India. Injuries to Ali Khan and Shubham Ranjane could potentially cause bowling headaches, but in the disciplined seam of Shadley van Schalkwyk and the right and left arm spin of Mohammad Mohsin and Harmeet Singh, there were other avenues that discomfited India’s batters, too.
They will need more of a contribution from their top three, whose failure against India virtually sealed their fate in the first four overs, though the US will hope the likes of Andries Gous and captain Monank Patel have got their failure out of the way.
Pakistan may still be breathing sighs of relief after the get-out-of-jail card Faheem conjured up against the Netherlands. It was a win that showcased their fragility and lack of confidence at these events, having been knocked out of the last three ICC tournaments at the first hurdle. From a position of supreme comfort halfway through the chase, they imploded when a couple of wickets fell, and looked destined to throw the game away under the lightest of pressure from either the opposition or the match situation.
For Pakistan, with the boycott of the game against India on February 15 very much still on, this game, like all of their group games, feels very much like a knockout. They will be aware of the perils of even brief passages of play where the wheels come off or concentration sags being terminal to further involvement at the tournament. Fortunately for them, there wasn’t too much to complain as far as the fielding went, which was excellent, and little to worry about in the bowling department, where Pakistan got their spin and seam combination spot on, and still needed to use Saim Ayub and Faheem Ashraf for a combined one over.
The brittleness of their middle order and the alacrity with which it crumbled under pressure remains the biggest concern for Pakistan. Salman Ali Agha has promoted himself up the order while Babar Azam remains out of form. Under fire, Usman Khan is yet to be properly tested, while Pakistan will worry there’s not enough specialist batting quality to act as a shield before the procession of allrounders begins one spot too high in their lineup. It is a chink in their armour they are aware they need to conceal, but if the US can burrow through the top order, that soft underbelly could truly be exposed.
Pakistan will feel they have used a fair chunk of their fortune this tournament already, while the USA might be owed some.
While the scrutiny never seems to leave Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi’s greatest contribution against the Netherlands was merely as support act for Babar’s splendid relay catch on the boundary on Saturday. The left-arm pacer endured a torrid opening game, particularly in the powerplay, where Michael Levitt targeted him and took 23 off two overs. It was a setback following his decent return from a ligament injury during Australia’s visit to Pakistan, but with wickets offering more support for seam than expected, Pakistan will want their senior quick to step up.
It’s hard to look too far past Saurabh Netravalkar. His performance against Pakistan in 2024, and his professional backstory, which saw him take time off at Oracle as software engineer, caught the imagination of the cricketing world. He was the pick of the American bowlers, stifling Babar up top and removing Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed, conceding just 18 in four overs. But he saved his best heroics for last, defending 18 in the Super Over to give the USA its finest cricketing day on home soil.
Two years later, at the Wankhede for the Mumbai-born bowler, it was a more prosaic homecoming as he found himself smashed for 65 in four, the most expensive figures in T20 World Cup history. The USA will hope it is memories from two years rather than three days ago that inspire their star quick, especially in the potential absence of Ali Khan.
Pakistan continue to wrestle with what to do about Babar, who once more struggled to have an impact during Pakistan’s nervy chase against the Netherlands, and got himself out at a crucial juncture. Their bowling combination appeared to go according to plan, so sweeping changes are not expected.
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan Saim Ayub Salman Ali Agha (capt) Babar Azam Shadab Khan Usman Khan/Khawaja Nafay (wk) Mohammad Nawaz Faheem Ashraf Shaheen Afridi Salman Mirza Abrar Ahmed
The USA side suffered a couple of key injuries to their bowlers at the tail-end of India’s batting innings. Pakistan-born Ali Khan pulled up trying to bowl the third over and is a serious doubt for the game with a leg injury. Shubham Ranjane, too, hobbled in the field and during his second over, but did come on to bat, and ended up joint-top scoring with 37 off 22. They have Jasdeep Singh as fast bowling cover.
United States of America: Andries Gous (wk), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Monank Patel (capt), Milind Kumar, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Shubham Ranjane, Harmeet Singh, Mohammad Mohsin, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ali Khan/Jasdeep Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar
(Cricinfo)
Salman Ali Agha said that he would have done things ‘differently”, after Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran him out in controversial circumstances in the second ODI in Dhaka.
Agha, who made 64 from 62 balls, had been backing up at the non-striker’s end when Mohammad Rizwan drove the ball back towards him. He was still out of his ground as Mehidy swooped round behind him in an attempt to gather, and Agha had appeared ready to pass the ball back to the bowler before Mehidy reached down to grab it first and throw down the stumps.
Agha reacted furiously to the dismissal, throwing his gloves and helmet down in disgust at the decision. However, he later came to the post-match press conference, ahead of captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and player of the match Maaz Sadaqat, to clear the air.
“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” Agha said. “What he [Mehidy] has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this [type of thing] previously, we would never do that in the future as well.”
Agha explained that he had been trying to pick up the ball to give to Miraz, thinking it was likely to have been called dead. “Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat,” he said. “So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat.
“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided [to make the run-out].”
Agha however regretted his angry reaction. “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff,” he said. “If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”
He was also involved in a robust exchange with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, though he didn’t divulge many of the details.
“I can’t remember what I was saying and I can’t remember what he was saying,” he said. “I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just heat of the moment, so we are fine.
Asked if he had patched things up with Mehidy, Agha said: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”
Pakistan won the match by 128 runs via the DLS method.
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
US embassy in Baghdad hit by strike as Trump says military targets ‘obliterated’ on Iran’s key oil island
The US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, has been hit by a missile – video shows fire and smoke rising in the aftermath.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says “every military target” on Iran’s key oil island has been “totally obliterated”, but there was no damage to oil infrastructure.
Kharg Island is a tiny but strategic terminal in the northern Gulf, 22 miles off the coast of Iran In response, Tehran warns oil and energy infrastructure belonging to firms that co-operate with the US will be “turned into a pile of ashes” if Iran’s energy facilities are attacked
Elsewhere in the Middle East: Israel and Iran both warn of fresh attacks, and at least 12 medical staff have been killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon
Meanwhile, more US Marines and warships are expected to be deployed to the Middle East, two officials tell BBC’s partner CBS News
[BBC]
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.
A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.
Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.
Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.
The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.
Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.
But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.
The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.
(BBC)
Agha calls for ‘sportsman spirit’ after controversial dismissal
US embassy in Baghdad hit by strike as Trump says military targets ‘obliterated’ on Iran’s key oil island
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