The State Department congratulated the U.S. cricket team for its upset victory Thursday against a “formidable” Pakistani team at the Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup.
The U.S. men’s national cricket team beat Pakistan, a powerhouse in the sport, on Thursday in a tiebreaker. It kept Pakistan to 13-1 to secure it’s second victory in the tournament.
“Congratulations to @usacricket for their victory against a formidable Pakistani team at the #T20WorldCup,” the State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs said Friday morning on social platform X.
“We look forward to cheering on #TeamUSA at their next match against India as we continue to celebrate the power of sports to connect and inspire.”
The surprising victory immediately ranked among the biggest in U.S. cricket history. This is America’s first appearance at the T20 World Cup. Pakistan was a tournament finalist in 2022 and won the whole thing in 2009.
“Playing against Pakistan for the first time in the World Cup and beating them, it was an unbelievable performance,” U.S. captain Monank Patel told reporters after the match, adding “beating Pakistan, you know, it’s a big achievement.”
The U.S. is co-hosting the competition along with the West Indies.
Cricket is Pakistan’s national sport, while in the U.S., the sport has yet to break into the mainstream. Pakistan, the tournament’s three-time finalist, is filled with star players, while some U.S. team players were largely unknown, until now.
Saurabh Netravalkar, one of the players on the U.S. roster, is a principal engineer at Oracle. His teammate, Ravi Timbawala, is a manager at Foothill Pharmacy in California.
The U.S. has two more games in the group phase: one against India on Wednesday and another against Ireland on Friday. Pakistan will play India in a rivalry match Sunday.
