CHENNAI: Texas, the Lone Star state. The state with NASA’s Johnson Space Centre and those mouthwatering Briskets. The state of pop star Beyonce and President Dwight D Eisenhower, and the state known for their Cowboys. The fringe jacket and Stetson hat-wearing cowboys with their Bolo tie who would use their noose to slow the cattle down before catching them. The speed of the cattle did not matter when you have a skilled cowboy in charge. So when Pakistan came to Texas for their T20 World Cup opener, the USA team turned into cowboys.
After their thrilling win against Canada, USA opted to bowl first against Pakistan. Nosthush Kenjige opened the bowling with his left-arm spin. He did get hit for a six in the first over by Mohammed Rizwan, but one could see that coming. Then came Saurabh Netravalkar, the left-arm pacer originally from Mumbai, playing in his first-ever T20 World Cup. Rizwan defended the first ball. With a hint of away movement from Netravalkar, the Pakistan opener tried to jab it only to find Steven Taylor in the slips. A blinder to start off the day for the USA.
Usman Khan came and went. He tried to go after a tossed-up delivery from Kenjige, only to find Nitish Kumar at long off. As if that wasn’t enough, Fakhar Zaman’s aggressive start, six off the first ball of his innings, came crashing as Pakistan-born Ali Khan tightened up the noose in the fifth over. Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Babar Azam was stuck at two runs off 10 balls. Netravalkar bowled the sixth over and gave away just three runs, leaving Pakistan at 30/3. Till that point, USA had taken more wickets than Pakistan had found a boundary rope. The cowboys were tightening the noose.
The introduction of Harmeet Singh and Jasdeep Singh could not change much for Pakistan immediately. Shadab Khan and Azam took their time and it was the former who decided to break the shackles. Two back-to-back sixes and a boundary off Jasdeep took Pakistan to 66 halfway through the innings. The hold of the noose was getting loose, but in came Kenjige to deliver two mighty blows to send Shadab and Azam Khan back. The noose came back where it was.
Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed, and the tail did take Pakistan to 159/7, but while playing their first-ever international against the multiple ICC trophy winners, the American Cowboys stood their ground in Dallas. But the job was only half done. In the chase, American batters, especially Point Man, Monank Patel, went after the four-pronged pace attack in Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.
While these four were expected to rattle the Cowboys, the Americans kept challenging one of the strongest pace attacks in the tournament. Such was the counter-attack from captain Patel and Andries Gous that Azam threw absolutely everything at the duo but nothing could stick. Patel swatted his willow all over the ground to score his first World Cup half-century. The six he hit over the bowler's head to bring the milestone could well become a moment for generations in USA cricket.
Once Gous and Patel fell, Aaron Jones, the hero from the World Cup opener, kept them in the competition for as long as he could. A six off Shadab and a boundary off Afridi the next over kept the Cowboys hustling on the big stage. Experienced Mohammed Amir's penultimate over did take the momentum towards the USA but Jones and Nitish Kumar had other plans.
With 15 required off the last over, bowled by Rauf, the USA had nothing to lose. Stand your ground and swing the bat was clearly the motto. That's what the noose does. Aim on the target, take the position and just throw that noose before the prey could think of making any escape.
The juicy full toss from Rauf made Jones' job easy, as he found the long on the boundary. With five needed from the final ball, Nitish Kumar, who till that point struggled to bat, lofted another low full toss over mid-off to take this battle to a super over.
This was their first rodeo against Pakistan. Granted, this was the USA's own wild west, but even on their own field, facing a team like Pakistan was never going to be easy. The Americans kept pushing and pushing for the ultimate goal. The wayward bowling from Amir and some panic fielding meant Pakistan conceded seven extra runs as the USA scored 18 runs in the Super Over. A little over what Pakistan would have imagined or liked.
Pakistan batters Iftikhar Ahmed and Fakhar Zaman did take their own sweet time to come to the middle to face Netravalkar in the super over chase. A dot ball followed by a boundary and a wide felt like Pakistan were in the hunt, but a sensational diving catch by Nitish Kumar sent Ahmead back. With three balls in hand, Shadab walked in with luck behind him. He tried to scoop one on the onside, only to get a boundary. With seven needed off the last ball, Fakhar could not find a six. Netravalkar bowled his heart out, finally tightening the noose as Pakistan finished with 13/1.
A famous victory in the Lone Star State. The state of Texas has seen many ups and downs. Many natural disasters like flooding and hurricanes and wonders of man's imagination take off from Houston's Space Centre. But this come-from-behind win against the side they were not supposed to win against will be remembered for generations to come. The Grand Prairie Stadium will remember when the cricket Cowboys won their first Rodeo against Pakistan. In Style.