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Pakistan receiving the shock of their life from the USA cricket team in the league match of the T20 World Cup is a bolt from the blue.Who would have imagined Pakistan losing to the US? Not even the Indians.
As the stage gets set for Rohit Sharma & Co. to take on the mercurial Pakistan team on a dicey pitch in New York, all eyes will be on how the arch-rivals manage to weave their way in.
The theory of winning some and losing some remains the same, but losing to a newbie in the T20 World Cup like the US, playing the tournament by being the co-host, is an embarrassment for the Pakistan team.
Incidentally, this is not the only time the Pakistan team has lost a game to a lesser-known side. They have done it again and again.
The 2022 T20 World Cup is the best-case example. Pakistan had lost to Zimbabwe and then played the final.
The last T20 World Cup is another example of how Pakistan can turn it around in a game of luck.
Losing to the USA could also mean Pakistan may come hard at the Indians. Who knows?
Whether Mohammad Amir’s bowling seven wides in the Super Over cost them the game or not is a debatable topic. But India won’t find the likes of Amir & Co. easy to negotiate. Fast bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf are some of the other names who are threats to Indian batters, irrespective of whatever happened in their last game. They are going to bowl their heart out.
But the biggest lesson India could learn from the Pakistan-USA match is playing fearless cricket. It pays off well. It has shown how fearlessness can change things around a team. Ask India’s X factors like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya, and they will tell you more about fearlessness.
USA captain Monank Patel just showed his fearlessness. What else? Andries Gous just followed his captain. So did Aaron Jones.
Keeping aside the Indian hands in beating Pakistan. The US team players are all leftover players from countries like South Africa and the West Indies. They played as a team and created the buzz by winning.
Their intensity was the main reason for pushing Pakistan out of the match. This US win also ensured that all the talk about the New York unprepared pitch is put to rest till Sunday.
