The United States of America (USA) cricket team, which scripted a historic win by upsetting Pakistan in the previous edition hoped for an encore when the teams locked horns again in the T20 World Cup 2026 today (February 10). However, the American team failed to repeat their previous success, succumbing to the Men in Green this time around by 32 runs.
Having qualified for the Super 8s in T20 World Cup 2024 after their win over Pakistan, USA had a solid chance to have their fate in their own hands but the loss have now pushed them closer to elimination.
Speaking after the loss, USA skipper Monank Patel opened up on where it went wrong. Monank said during the post-match presentation ceremony,
“While batting we didn’t show intent. Their spinners were not giving enough pace and it was hard to hit the boundary options. We panicked a bit and that cost us the game.”
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Speaking about the PAK vs USA clash, Pakistan batted first and posted 190/9 in 20 overs, courtesy of Sahibzada Farhan’s fiery 41-ball 73. Despite the strong start, they failed to cross the 200-run mark after suffering a late collapse where they ended up losing half their side for just 13 runs. For USA, Shadley van Schalkwyk was the highlight performer with his spell of 4/25.
Coming to the chase, opener Shayan Jahangir gave USA a flying start in the powerplay, but they couldn’t keep up with the asking rate. Shubham Ranjane kept USA’s hopes alive with a 30-ball 51 but no other batter could complement him from the other end as Pakistan took two points home easily.
Speaking about USA Qualification Chances T20 World Cup 2026, they now face an uphill task with their fate now dependent on other results. Firstly, they will need to win the remaining two games against Namibia and the Netherlands and guarantee four points to remain mathematically in contention.
Furthermore, they will need either India or Pakistan to lose two matches by considerable margins so that USA’s NRR remains over them. Realistically, speaking, it seems like a tall ask since Pakistan have already won two games and even if they lose their next match against India, the Salman Ali Agha-led side are expected to outclass Namibia in their final group-stage fixture easily. On the other hand, India have already defeated USA in their opener and are favourites in Group A – likely finish with all wins from their four games and top the points table.
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