In one of the biggest shocks in cricket history, the USA defeated Pakistan in the T20 Cricket World Cup in Dallas, Texas.
The co-hosts, who have never played in the T20 World Cup before, have now won their first two games in a competition involving a shorter format of cricket in which each side has one innings of up to 20 overs (six balls).
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The U.S. now stand a strong chance of qualifying for the Super 8 round (another round-robin stage before the semi-finals).
The scores were level after 20 overs, meaning the game was decided by a super over — a single-over shootout where the highest-scoring team are victorious.
Pakistan wobbled at the start of their innings, but a recovery partnership of 72 between Babar Azam and Shadab Khan allowed the team ranked sixth in the world to post a competitive 159-7.
USA, ranked 18th in the world, started their reply strongly, with Monank Patel scoring an impressive 50 and Andries Gous chipping in with a very handy 35.
After Gous was bowled by Haris Rauf, in came Aaron Jones, the man who scored 94 runs in the USA’s victory over Canada on Sunday.
He fired a quick 36 runs, including two sixes, but despite playing themselves into a strong position, USA failed to get over the line in the regulation 20 overs and the scores finished level, leading to a super over to decide the winner.
USA batted first and got a very strong 18 from their over, mostly thanks to wayward bowling from Mohammad Amir and more powerful hitting from Jones.
Needing 19 to win, Pakistan laboured to just 13, with Saurabh Netravalkar bowling well in a pressured situation for the USA.
This defeat leaves Pakistan struggling to qualify for the Super 8 stage, with a win against India, the best T20 team in the world, likely to be needed for them to progress.
For the USA, they also face India in their next fixture, but victory in their final group game against Ireland, on June 14, should be enough to see them through to the Super 8 stage.
West Indies are also hosting matches, with games across the Caribbean. They are next in action against Uganda at Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday.
(ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
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