Dallas: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi made headlines on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with a succinct five-word tweet following Pakistan’s unexpected defeat to the USA in the super over of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 match on Thursday (June 6).
The Group A clash, held at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, saw Pakistan falter in the super over, failing to chase down 19 runs.
In the wake of Pakistan’s embarrassing loss in their tournament opener, Sethi, who was succeeded by Zaka Ashraf as PCB chief last year, tweeted, “Aik aur American saazish kaamyab!” (“Another successful American conspiracy!”). His tweet swiftly went viral across the internet.
Aik aur American saazish kaamyab! #PAKvsUSA
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) June 6, 2024
Opting to bat first in the Group A encounter, Pakistan, at the invitation of USA skipper Monank Patel, could only muster a total of 159 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Babar Azam led the batting charge with 44 runs off 43 balls, while Shadab Khan contributed 40 runs to the team’s tally.
During his innings, Babar Azam etched his name in history by becoming the highest run-scorer in T20Is. The 29-year-old surpassed Virat Kohli’s record of 4038 runs in 118 T20Is, amassing a total of 4067 runs in 120 matches.
In pursuit of the 160-run target set by Pakistan, the USA relied on captain Monank Patel’s 50 runs off 38 balls and Aaron Jones’s 36 runs to reach 159/3 in their allotted 20 overs, forcing the match into a thrilling super over.
In the nail-biting one-over decider, the USA managed to score 18 runs off Mohammad Amir’s six deliveries. Pakistan faced a daunting task of chasing down 19 runs, but they fell short of the mark.
With their defeat against the USA, Pakistan’s prospects of advancing to the Super 8s stage hang in the balance. The Men in Green are scheduled to face India on Sunday (June 9) in New York, where a loss against Rohit Sharma’s side could all but eliminate them from the tournament.
