The United States of America (USA) pace bowler Ali Khan has reflected on his side’s stunning victory over Pakistan during the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, questioning the batting intent of the Green Shirts.
Former champions Pakistan had a disastrous start to their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign as they endured a shock loss against the USA in the Super Over as they failed to chase down the 19-run target.
Senior pacer Mohammad Amir bowled the Super Over for Pakistan and conceded 18 runs. In response, the Green Shirts only managed 13/1.
Ali Khan, who picked one wicket for 30 runs against Pakistan, stated that the USA team had more self-belief, which led to the famous victory.
“Our belief was bigger than them. I think Pakistan took us lightly. It was their first game, and they hadn’t played on that ground before while we’ve played there often,” Khan said while talking on a YouTube channel.
The pacer also criticized Pakistan’s batting approach and raised questions over their intent, especially in the powerplay.
“We were used to the conditions. When they started batting, we didn’t see intent from them, and they batted very slowly in the powerplay. Yes, Rizwan got out early but we didn’t see much intent after that. Fakhar Zaman hit a six and showed some intent but luckily I got him out. Pakistan didn’t play attacking cricket there and went into their shell,” he added.
Following the defeat against USA, Pakistan succumbed to a frustrating six-run defeat against arch-rivals India.
The back-to-back defeats put Pakistan on the verge of an early exit from the tournament. The former champions got on the winning track when they registered a hard-fought seven-wicket victory over Canada to keep Super Eights hopes alive.
However, USA’s match against Ireland was abandoned without a ball bowled due to persistent rain in Florida, resulting in Pakistan getting knocked out of the tournament as USA progressed from Group A along with India.
Pakistan then edged past Ireland in another stiff challenge to bow out of the T20 World Cup 2024 with a win.
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