'Pakistan Never Deserved To Win': Shoaib Akhtar On Babar & Co’s Humiliating Loss To USA In T20 World Cup 2024; Watch

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar expressed his disillusionment over the Babar Azam-led side humiliating defeat against the co-hosts USA in the T20 World Cup 2024 Group A at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday, June 6.

The match between the USA and Pakistan went into Super Over after the co-hosts levelled the Men in Green's score of 159 in a stipulated 20 overs. Since the match was ended in a draw, the winner had to determined in the Super Over. Opting to bat first, USA posted a total of 18/1 and set a target of 19 for the Men in Green's chase.

Mohammad Amir displayed poor bowling as he conceded seven wides in an over. Chasing a 19-run target, Pakistan were restricted to 13/1 in an over. Saurabh Netravalkar was the star performer as he defended 18 runs to help the USA pull off a historic win over Pakistan.

'Pakistan never deserved to win': Shoaib Akhtar

Taking to his X handle (formerly Twitter), Shoaib Akhtar shared a clip in which he expressed his thoughts on Pakistan's shocking loss to the USA. He stated that the Men in Green deserved to lose as the co-hosts performed really well. The former Pakistan pacer lauded the bowlers' efforts despite the defeat.

"Disappointing loss for Pakistan. We are not off to a good start, losing to USA. We repeated history, like we did against Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup. Unfortunately, Pakistan never deserved to win. The reason is that USA played very well and they were in a commanding position." Akhtar said.

"Amir saved the match. He and Shaheen tried. They [US] won 37 overs of the contest, if we look at the overall picture. Unfortunately, we couldn't pull it off." he added.

Pakistan bowlers, including the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan and Naseem Khan conceded over 20 runs.

Skipper Monank Patel led the USA's batting with a captain's innings of 50 off 38 balls. Andries Gous and Aaron Jones chipped in in co-hosts' 159 run-chase by scoring 35 and 36*. Nitish Kumar saved the team from the jaws of defeat against Pakistan by hitting 10 runs in the final over to level the score and taking the match into the Super Over.

Pakistan to play against India on June 9

After the shocking defeat to the USA, Pakistan will play their next match against arch-rivals India at the newly built Nassau County International Stadium in New York on Sunday, June 9.

This is the most crucial match for the Men in Green, as a loss to India would virtually knock them out from the tournament. The clash between India and Pakistan is expected to grab significant attention due to their intense rivalry, thanks to historical and political tensions between the neighboring nations.

India and Pakistan will lock horns for the ninth time in the T20 World Cup. In their eight previous encounters, the Men in Blue emerged victorious on seven occasions while Pakistan won only once in 2021 edition to the tournament.

India will aim to extend their dominance over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, while Pakistan will look to bounce back from their humiliating defeat against the USA.