IND vs PAK: "Pakistan never deserved"- Shoaib Akhtar bemoans Babar Azam after USA stun Pakistan

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is disappointed over the Babar Azam-led team's loss to the United States of America (USA) in the T20 World Cup 2024. Shoaib Akhtar mentioned that Pakistan did not deserve to win the match, given the United States of America's impressive performance in the recent match.

The United States registered their maiden victory over Pakistan in international cricket at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday, June 6. The home team pulled off the first upset in the ongoing ICC tournament. The USA defended 18 runs during the Super Over to secure their second win of the T20 World Cup.

The Babar Azam-led team needs to win the remaining three matches in the group stage to reach the Super 8s. The Men in Green will face the Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, in their next match in New York on Sunday. The Pakistan team might miss qualification if they lose against their archrivals in their next match.

Disappointing Loss For Pakistan - Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar compared Pakistan's loss to the USA to a past defeat against Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup. The former fast bowler praised the USA for their excellent performance, stating that they won 37 overs in the contest.

"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 were in a commanding position," Akhtar said.

"[Mohammad] Amir saved the match. He and Shaheen [Shah Afridi] 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.

Hurt & disappointed. #pakvsusa pic.twitter.com/PfQkk6qQ09

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) June 6, 2024

USA Skipper Monank Patel Smashes Match Winning Half Century

Pakistan started the innings on a poor note as Mohammad Rizwan fell to a brilliant catch by Steven Taylor off Saurabh Netravalkar's bowling. Babar Azam scored 44 off 43 balls, including three fours and two sixes. Shadab Khan (40 off 25) and Shaheen Afridi (23* off 16) chipped in with useful contributions.

The United States restricted Pakistan to 159 for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. Nosthush Kenjige picked up three wickets for 30 runs in his four-over spell. Saurabh Netravalkar took two crucial wickets for 18 runs in his full quota of overs. Ali Khan and Jasdeep Singh secured one wicket each for the USA.

In the chase, the USA scored 159 runs in 20 overs. Skipper Monank Patel played a crucial role as he scored 50 off 38 balls. Andries Gous (35 off 26) and Aaron Jones (36* off 26) made significant contributions. Nitish Kumar smashed a crucial boundary off Haris Rauf's bowling to take the game into the Super Over.

Also read: IND vs PAK: "Sheer panic and finger pointing..." - Tom Moody on Pakistan's loss to USA in T20 World Cup 2024