Veteran US cricketer Rusty Theron accused Pakistan, fast bowler, Haris Rauf of ball tampering during the USA vs Pakistan clash on Thursday. Pakistan kickstarted their 2024 T20 World Cup with a shocking defeat against the United States in a thrilling super over game.
Rusty Theron accuses Haris Rauf of ball tampering
Soon after the conclusion of the game, veteran USA cricketer Rusty Theron in his official X handle posted a tweet accusing Haris Rauf of ball tampering. Theron claims that Rauf was trying to tamper with the ball using his finger nail.
“@ICC are we just going to pretend Pakistan aren’t scratching the hell out of this freshly changed ball? Reversing the ball that’s just been changed 2 overs ago? You can literally see Harris Rauf running his thumb nail over the ball at the top of his mark. @usacricket #PakvsUSA,” Theron tweeted.
@ICC are we just going to pretend Pakistan aren’t scratching the hell out of this freshly changed ball? Reversing the ball that’s just been changed 2 overs ago? You can literally see Harris Rauf running his thumb nail over the ball at the top of his mark. @usacricket #PakvsUSA
— Rusty Theron (@RustyTheron) June 6, 2024
Speaking on the game, the United States won the toss and elected to bowl first where Rizwan and Babar Azam opened the batting inning for Pakistan. Netravalkar stunned Pakistan cricket fans by dismissing Rizwan for 9 runs in the very early stage of the game.
In the very next over, Nosthush Kenjige dismissed Usman Khan for 3 and loaded pressure over the Pakistan batters. While Fakhar Zaman was expected to deliver a big inning, his dreams were shattered by Ali Khan dismissed him for just 11 runs.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and Shadab Khan took the responsibilities in hand and managed to add 72 runs for the next wicket. Nosthush Kenjige made the much-necessary breakthrough by dismissing Shadab Khan for 40 runs. In the very next delivery, Kenjige dismissed Azam Khan for a golden duck and shocked every Pakistan cricket fan.
Babar Azam who made a steady inning lost his wicket for 44 runs in the final delivery of the 16th over bowled by Jasdeep Singh. With Shaheen Afridi’s 16 balls 23 runs, Pakistan scored 159 runs for 7 wickets loss at the end of 20 overs.
Hosts on the other hand made a decent opening partnership by building 36 runs for the first wicket. Monank Patel and Andries Gous made a 68-run stand for the second wicket and moved US to a stable position.
When Andries Gous and Patel lost their wickets in back-to-back overs, Pakistan gained a move in the game but Nitish Kumar and Aaron James in the final over scored 14 runs and paved the way for the second super over game of the tournament.
Batting first US scored 18 runs in the super over while Pakistan failed to chase the target and fell five runs short and lost the super over match against US. Monank Patel was awarded Player of the Match for his impressive performances.
