A boundary off the final ball of USA’s run-chase had sent the match to a Super Over, and it was the co-hosts of the tournament who came out on top in Dallas, pulling off one of the all-time great shocks. Pakistan have reached at least the semi-final stage in six of the eight men's T20 World Cups, including finishing runners-up in the most recent tournament in Australia in 2022. But they came against a USA side who did everything right on the day to pull off one of the biggest results in the history of the game.
Our experts at Pitch Battle Discuss What Went Wrong For Pakistan and how the team can redeem itself from this unexpected loss.
#T20WorldCup #USAvsPakistan #CricketDrama #SuperOverThriller #PakPacers #PitchBattle #CricketMatch #EpicFinish #T20Cricket #CricketFans #WorldCupDrama #USAStunsPakistan #CricketHighlights #CricketBuzz #MatchReview
~HT.178~PR.152~GR.125~
Our experts at Pitch Battle Discuss What Went Wrong For Pakistan and how the team can redeem itself from this unexpected loss.
#T20WorldCup #USAvsPakistan #CricketDrama #SuperOverThriller #PakPacers #PitchBattle #CricketMatch #EpicFinish #T20Cricket #CricketFans #WorldCupDrama #USAStunsPakistan #CricketHighlights #CricketBuzz #MatchReview
~HT.178~PR.152~GR.125~
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to One India. And we are back on a new episode of Pitch Battle. Today,
00:10 I am being joined by my colleague, Keshav Shakya and Indranil Basu, our senior journalist.
00:19 And as you can see, Basu is having a background of cricket equipment and gears. So, last night,
00:27 we saw something very surprising coming up when USA just stunned Pakistan. So, let's
00:36 start our conversation with the vitriolic Pakistan cricket team which never ceases to
00:43 surprise its fans and even the cricket fraternity. So, let me start with Shakya. Were you surprised
00:50 the way Pakistan cricket team played or is it just the way these guys are playing? I
00:56 mean, just another chapter to their glorious cricket history.
01:02 No, Pakistan definitely underperformed. No doubt about that. I really thought that their
01:16 pace bowlers would have had too much for the USA batting but that wasn't the case. In both
01:23 the things, the last over where Harris Rauf was taken for 16, couldn't defend 16 runs
01:29 and the super over where Mohammad Aamir conceded 17 and of that, only 10 runs came out of the
01:38 bat. The rest were whites and extras. Yes, and that has been a perennial problem.
01:48 If you ask me and if you look at the whole history of ICC tournaments, this would definitely
01:53 be right up there with one of the biggest upsets in the history of ICC tournaments and
01:58 Pakistan's pedigree in T20 World Cups. Pakistan is one of the most pedigreed countries in
02:03 T20 World Cups and if you look at the upsets that have happened in ICC World Cup history,
02:08 you would probably look at Zimbabwe beating Australia, Kenya beating West Indies in 96
02:14 and Zimbabwe beating Australia in 83. Then you would probably look at Ireland beating
02:20 Pakistan in 2007 World Cups. This is right up there. Maybe an even bigger upset than
02:27 that and the USA side is looking good. Who knows? They may go on to the Super 8 from
02:34 now. They are coached by Stuart Law. Stuart Law is a former Australian cricketer. He should
02:43 have done better than playing just one test match. He has been a coach for Bangladesh,
02:49 for Sri Lanka, for West Indies, for some county sides as well. And he has been a captain as
02:53 well. So, USA is obviously in good hands and there was a lot of Indian touch in their side
03:00 yesterday as well. People of Indian origin. That was there to see. But yeah, a huge shock.
03:08 I mean, even after watching so much cricket over these years, you can't dismiss the nature
03:16 of this result.
03:19 And the memes, if we can talk about the social media, the memes are galore. The way Pakistan
03:26 team batted because fans were expecting. This is the Dallas pitch where we have seen high
03:32 scores as compared to the New York, Nassau County International Stadium pitch, which
03:39 is about which we were speaking yesterday. And even the ICC had to formally come up with
03:45 their clarification in Anil Dada. And they are also in a damage control mode like we
03:53 have been discussing. But having said that, when a pitch which has nothing demon-like
03:59 into it and yet your key batters just fail to perform and put up a sizable amount of
04:07 runs on the board, which US hardly face any issues while chasing because at one stage,
04:12 they were cruising all along.
04:15 I think Babar Azam and company played a little on the slower side. They were on the slower
04:21 side because T20 is all about intensity. Babar did a, you can call it a Virat Kohli. Virat
04:27 was also playing like this earlier. Almost, you know, I mean, scoring a 40 or 50 balls,
04:33 something like that. So, run a ball, kind of a thing, 100, 110, 120 is no good strike
04:42 rate in T20. You have to actually excel a lot at the start of the innings. And I mean,
04:48 you have to play quickly. And that's why we are putting Virat Kohli up there. We don't
04:52 want Virat to go waste. After the first power play, we want Virat to negotiate the gap.
04:58 We want Virat to play as quickly as possible. I mean, play his shots as quickly as possible.
05:05 So that's probably the reason we are seeing him opening the innings, which Rohit does
05:09 all the time. Virat has got a lot of other issues also. He's been scoring so many runs.
05:16 He's got that ego. He doesn't want to throw up if the runs are not coming by. So, he's
05:20 in a different league. But Babar Azam also was striking the ball well. But it was not
05:25 easy for Wicked to bat early on. You have to realise that. It's very easy to sit back
05:29 and say, "Oh, they didn't bat well." I mean, the fact that USA played better cricket
05:35 than Pakistan, let's face it. They were at it. They didn't think about the results as
05:43 much as they thought about the process, which is important. They enjoyed the game. There
05:46 was no pressure under which they were playing. Fearlessness. Intensity was good. They ran
05:53 in well. Their medium paces were fielded well. They took brilliant catches. All the elements
05:58 of the game are covered quite vastly. And that's why you are seeing a result like that
06:02 with winning. And you actually, when you are up against Mohamed Amey, the same Mohamed
06:08 Amey against India would be a different kettle of fish. But Mohamed Amey bowling those wide
06:12 balls, you actually force him to do it. Because he was trying to target the sixth up. The
06:15 ball went the other way round. He was trying to get away from the batsman. So, that's how
06:20 he got those wides. But this is what cricket is. It's really the mind game. And USA was
06:26 in a rush to win. They wanted to win. They played like a team. Everyone contributed.
06:30 Look at the captain. He played for Gujarat under-19. And look at what… Mr Patel is
06:37 a rockstar today, I think.
06:39 Yes, truly. Like Shakya mentioned, there was a lot of Indian contribution in this victory
06:47 of US. They are going to remember it for quite a long time. Keshav, let me get to you. US
06:54 cricket team, I mean, they just did something which was not expected of them. Although the
07:01 game of cricket is always full of glorious uncertainties. But let's talk about the Pakistani
07:07 team. They are batting heavyweights still. And yes, bowling is one of the key factors
07:14 which propels them to victories. But they have a good batting lineup as well. But the
07:20 big guns, they once again failed to perform the likes of Rizwan, if you can talk about.
07:27 Yeah, definitely, Appa. First, let me start on a lighter note. It looks like as our co-panellists
07:36 have mentioned, the US has outsourced cricket also to India. It looks like on top of that,
07:44 Gujarati as a captain. So, it was a different game altogether. But the problem has been
07:55 the Pakistanis, they fail at the crucial moment. And it starts right from the inaugural T20
08:02 World Cup. The Super Over is never in favour of the Pakistanis. More than Mohammad Rizwan,
08:11 I see they failed because of their bowlers failing when they were supposed to clinch
08:18 it for the Pakistani team. Mohammad Rizwan, I mean, the kind of fatigue I could notice
08:25 in his batting. Mohammad Rizwan has been always taking the bowlers on a ride. Yesterday, he
08:35 could not put up a free-flow show. That's what. More than the batters, still I would
08:43 call the bowlers culprits for not taking Pakistan where it should have been otherwise.
08:51 Yes, they say batters win new matches, but bowlers win new tournaments. But if you look
08:57 at the way the Pakistani bowlers, I mean, the way they performed last night, one would
09:04 wonder how are they going to perform in the upcoming matches with the next big match between
09:10 India and Pakistan. Of course, they are going to be a different kettle of fish when they
09:14 are up against a team like India, our rivals. The atmosphere in New York is going to be
09:22 something different this time around because the seats are already tickets are sold out.
09:29 It's going to be the most sought after match of the tournament if we can go in the history
09:36 and look at it. But does Pakistan's defeat against US gives India an edge now? I mean,
09:46 they already had an edge because the records and the head-to-head in the tournament rise
09:53 in favor of the Indians. But can they recover from a defeat of this epic proportions in
10:00 a day or two and then bring their A game against a team like India?
10:08 Pakistan can do it. It's mercurial side. It can go up and down any time. But against India,
10:14 they display their best cricket. We have seen in 22, God was not fair in that game where
10:21 Virat Kohli scored that 84. It was absolutely brilliant that one of the best cricket shots
10:27 played in that game by Virat Kohli when he hit that six of that fast bowler from Pakistan.
10:34 So, coming back to the game, India would be surprised. They won't know what to do. Pakistan
10:43 losing to US and we are playing Pakistan. Whether the Pakistanis would be hurt, they
10:47 come back with different tactics. Will they be really hard on the Indians? We don't know
10:53 how Aamir would be. Aamir was the most experienced bowler. The way he was exposed yesterday.
10:59 The fact that he was not playing international cricket for a long time, it was showing somehow
11:03 that when you are up. But when Aamir would see Virat Kohli is a different bowler. So,
11:08 I don't know how it's going to work out in that battle. It's a different set of battle.
11:13 It's not… India-Pakistan, of all the matches, we will see and we are seeing, it's completely
11:20 different. That intensity that Matt gives you, I would witness the players giving their
11:27 best. Pakistan especially, they hold on to us till we are not beaten. But they have not
11:32 managed to get a good track record against us in World Cup matches. Possibly for us.
11:37 But Indian team definitely would have that edge you are talking about. But with Pakistan,
11:44 you never know actually. I would be actually a little concerned what kind of cricket they
11:53 will play against us. If I were part of the Indian team management. So, you have to have
11:59 your backup plan. You have to have everything. But only thing is, we are riding high on players
12:04 like Bishop Pandey, the way he is batting. Players like Hardik Pandey at the back. These
12:10 two players have a lot of hope. Because these two players can really soak pressure. So is
12:14 Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. They have been doing it for so many years. So, I think India,
12:19 in terms of bowling, batting, fielding, everything is superior side. Jadeja, look at the way
12:24 he moves on the field. I mean, if you ask any of the UN players, they will tell you
12:29 my inspiration is Ravindra Jadeja, the way he moves around. Left, right, doesn't matter
12:33 if it's left-handed. That's the kind of cricket we are talking about. So, intensity
12:38 won't change because Pakistan just lost to the US. Pakistan against India is a different
12:44 beast.
12:45 Okay. Shakya, you just mentioned about the US team's coach, Stuart Law. Let's speak
12:53 about the coach sitting in the opposite camp, Gary Kirsten. One of the best players, best
13:01 openers the game has seen. One of the best, most stylish left-handed batters for South
13:06 Africa. A successful coach, won the ODI World Cup for India. What must he be thinking sitting
13:15 in the Pakistani camp now? I mean, it's just his first assignment, the T20 World Cup with
13:21 the Pakistani side.
13:22 See, the bit I saw of the game yesterday, it looked that the Pakistan players were lacking
13:32 cohesion. And the bowlers, they were not bowling at full tilt. So, don't know what was the
13:39 reason for that. They didn't have a very good set of matches against England recently. But
13:45 Gary Kirsten, as you've pointed out, very successful coach, former vice-captain of the
13:51 South African team. So, he's held those seniority positions before. And you know, about the
13:58 match coming up against India, India is a very professional side. They've become a very
14:02 professional side over and over. I do not believe at any moment will they take this
14:08 result of Pakistan. They will take this result of Pakistan. They'll be complacent watching
14:15 this. Because they know anything can change any minute. And you know, Pakistan is a mercurial
14:20 side and they have match-winners all over. So, you don't know who is going to deliver
14:26 on what day. In T20 cricket, it takes a little bit to change a game. But coming to… There's
14:36 a bigger point about USA beating Pakistan. And I was just doing some research before
14:42 I came here. Is that the ICC has reduced the number of teams in the ODI World Cup. There
14:49 used to be a time when there were 14-16 teams. Now, it's come back to 10 teams. This is
14:55 a big message. This is a big message to the ICC and to the people who govern cricket that
15:03 you have to make it more global. Unless you keep… This is USA beating Pakistan or any
15:11 big team, any new team beating a big team is only good for the game. And if you're
15:19 not doing it, how will you… The level of football. Football is… We're going to have
15:25 the Euros coming up very soon. We have the World Cup. Anyone can beat anyone in those
15:32 competitions. Not anyone can. But yeah, you always have those upsets in the major football
15:38 tournaments. And the same here. I mean, if you look at the 2015 World Cup, the last time
15:43 when there was a full-strength ODI World Cup, you saw Ireland beating West Indies in that
15:49 tournament. And you saw… You've seen upsets in every tournament. So, definitely, this
15:56 is a very… You know, USA has done a favour to not just themselves but to all the small
16:04 associate nations that the World Cup should be more inclusive. And the ODI World Cup,
16:12 I don't believe… I do believe the 2017 ODI World Cup will go back to 14-16 teams.
16:19 And that's how it should be. I think that the 2019 and 2023 World Cups missed a trick
16:25 by reducing the number of teams.
16:28 Okay. Yes. And a lot of questions is already being posed on ODI cricket's viability,
16:36 whether the format is still popular amongst the youth. And is it a marketable format for
16:46 cricket to reach to the markets where cricket is still developing and it's in a nascent
16:54 stage? Keshav, let me get to you. What do you think is the future for cricket? Because
17:01 in the next Olympics, which is going to happen in the USA, in Los Angeles, I think these
17:07 are the grounds where the Olympics will be played. And it is going to popularize cricket
17:15 like nothing else. Because the popularity of Olympics and the reach of Olympic sports
17:24 is much higher than cricket as it is now.
17:28 No. Countries like US playing cricket definitely provides a kind of thrill and it will be very
17:35 useful, very handy for the game to be a part in the bigger stage like Olympics and all.
17:43 But I believe all these three formats of cricket is going to stay. It's not only that T20.
17:50 You need snacks, you need main course as well and gala dinner as well at times. So, yeah,
17:58 definitely countries like US playing cricket, more cricket will take this game to the larger
18:05 stage. Besides this, definitely all eyes are on India and Pakistan game on Sunday. The
18:13 class of titans, the Nulls becomes the key player. Much more to be seen. But we cannot
18:23 be ignorant of the progress that Pakistan team brings on table.
18:28 That's right. Yes, continue. Continue, Keshav.
18:37 Yeah. So, the game is going to rock all of us on Sunday. And besides India and Pakistan
18:47 match, we have the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected government of India. So,
18:55 it is going to be a TRP war as well on that day, particularly. So, in the evening, first
19:02 we will witness the swearing-in of new government. After that, India and Pakistan stage is set
19:10 for a newer TRP war besides the war between the bat and ball. Particularly, I see the
19:18 combination of Indian team needs a bit of change. I don't see the use of three seamless
19:25 three-pacers on the slow pitches of the US. So, definitely, I mean, and a firing power
19:34 on top if Rohit Sharma departs early, then there has to be someone who can take the Pakistani
19:40 ballers on a ride. That I see coming up.
19:45 Okay. Dada, you were smiling on something. What is it? Kis baat par muskura rahe the
19:52 panab?
19:53 No, no. I am just thinking that the swearing-in and the heat and the world cup and the poor
20:01 pitch. I see they are trying to cover it up by last minute preparation saying that everything
20:08 is going to be taken care of. Getting into the technical side of it. But to tell you
20:12 honestly, I mean, whatever pitch we talked about, the Pakistani players and as Keshav
20:17 pointed out, spinners should play. But spinners will play on what grounds? This ball is the
20:22 wicket. It is not spinning at all. It is seeming. So, it is like, you have to have, you have
20:27 to just reduce the seam. I don't mind swing. The moment it pitches and it moves away, the
20:33 bowler doesn't know which direction the ball will go. So, that dangerous. And the ball
20:37 is leaving, coming in, jumping up and down. Well, you have to wear your chest guards for
20:42 sure to start with. I think people have stopped wearing chest guards.
20:45 Do we really see players wearing these chest guards nowadays?
20:48 No, not anymore. Not anymore. They are so confident. Some do. In winters, they cover
20:54 it. Because winters, it hurts a lot. So, we have a sweater to cover it. They don't tell
20:57 the world. But otherwise, you want to be free-flowing and playing the spinners. Helmet is a must.
21:03 The tight helmet on both the legs. So, that is good enough. And reflex of these players,
21:09 they have those trigger movements. They are easy. They can take fast bowlers. They hang
21:14 the bat in the air. They are ready for the pace. They are ready to use the pace of the
21:19 bowlers. Everything put together, it's a different battle altogether. But if you are not sure
21:23 of the bounce, the bounce is not variable. Then, that's the problem. There lies the problem.
21:29 That's why we are talking about the pitch. And Pakistan losing this game, I think you
21:35 can't take away the fact that the pitch is a problem there. The more that Pakistan is
21:40 losing, the bigger problem is the pitch. And that's why we call it pitch battle. Pitch
21:44 battle will never change. You were so concerned yesterday, Avinash, when you called me the
21:48 opponent.
21:49 Yes. Yes. Exactly.
21:50 What if Avinash is not happening? And I can tell you something. This was Asia. The wicket
21:56 was behaving like that. ICC would have taken. And this is the problem with the ICC for many
22:02 years. They don't see a turning track to be a good wicket. They see a seeming track where
22:09 the ball is bouncing around. We saw in South Africa Test series. India-South Africa Test
22:13 series. The ball just went over in two days and there was no noise about it. But when
22:19 it happens in India, it gets over in two and a half days, three days. This time it was
22:24 different because we decided not to play on rank turners. Then it's a problem. When the
22:28 ball turns, it's a problem. When the ball seems around, when the ball is going to hurt
22:35 the batter, you get bruises all over the body, then it's alright. ICC is going to keep shut.
22:43 And they are going to do a cover of job right now. You can't blame the curator, Mr. Andy
22:50 Atkinson, the head curator of ICC because the pitch has to be used. It's a new pitch.
22:55 Anywhere in the world, it will behave the way it's going to behave. The way it's behaving.
23:00 It's undeleted. What's that word called?
23:05 Undeleted, yes.
23:07 Undeleted. And it's not smooth. The outfield is not smooth. There is a sand layer which
23:18 is coming out. The ball hits the top. There is a puff of sand coming up. Every time the
23:22 ball hits the ground, your calf muscles might get really heavy. You might struggle to run.
23:29 It will slow down. The pitch doesn't have a proper slope. It's not being rolled properly.
23:34 Different types of rolling. Things are done to prepare a pitch. It's not been done. You
23:39 play practice games which has not been done. So, what do you expect? First match, you'd
23:44 say some non-descript teams will play initially and it will settle down. By the time Pakistan
23:50 matches will happen, it will be alright. Don't take things for granted. We have seen how
23:54 West Indies are also mixed up. In 2007, we had to play the final in low visibility. The
24:00 final between Australia. In which Australia became the champions again. So, this is…
24:05 Sri Lanka.
24:06 You can't cover up because an upset has happened. You can't cover up. It's good. It's going
24:12 global. And Shakthiyam made a very pertinent point how this kind of win will help cricket
24:17 to grow globally. And I am very happy as long as we are supplying. We are the supply chain
24:24 for all these cricketers across the globe. Be it India, Canada, Brazil will start playing.
24:31 China. We should have at least 5-6 Indian players in every team. Because you have so
24:35 much of Indian players. Unmukh Chand, for instance. We expected Unmukh to play in the
24:43 US team. And now I know why he didn't get a chance. Because the players are absolutely
24:49 brilliant.
24:50 And yes, they truly are. And today, if we speak about Sourav Netravalkar, he is the
24:57 charm. Today, he is getting all the laurels because of the way he bowled the final super
25:03 over. And Keshav, a lot is being spoken about his expertise apart from cricket. He has an
25:13 engineering MS. Works with Oracle, a multinational company. And he is a very fine ukelele player
25:20 as well. So, I mean, one of the best persons to just bring out and tell the parents as
25:28 well. If they are not allowing their kids to go for a sport and build a career in the
25:35 sport. And there's a guy like him who can do everything. So, "Padoge likhoge, banoge
25:40 kharaab, padoge nawab, kheloge kudhoge, banoge kharaab" wali jo kahawat thi. It's just a
25:48 thing of the past now.
25:49 No, yeah. It's not only with the Netravalkar. There are many others. In India, we have Ravi
25:56 Ashwin, the likes of Kumble and Sivakumar. Engineering graduate writing glory in the
26:03 field of cricket. Definitely, being mediocre at some place or being excellent at the other
26:10 place is purely your choice. And I think paradigm has been already shifted. Now, the parents
26:16 are more interested in taking the kids to the fields of games. There are various games.
26:23 Our family also, we noticed there was one time when we were away for the games or something.
26:29 We are getting the bashing from our parents now. We are taking our kids to the tennis
26:35 court, cricket fields, all these summer holidays we spent on fields with our kids. So, the
26:43 scene has been completely changed now. Now, it's a different world. So, it's not only
26:51 Netravalkar. Not many.
26:53 Yes. Exactly. So, Netravalkar and Monak Patel, they are getting all the credit they deserve.
27:02 And hopefully, in the coming days, US cricket team scales new heights. And it's not just
27:09 good for the US cricket team. It's also good for the sport. And it's the first occasion
27:15 when Pakistan lost a T20 match against a non-test playing nation as well. So, they definitely
27:21 need to do some introspection and thinking before they get into action against India.
27:27 And on that note, we are ending our conversation today. We'll catch up with you tomorrow. Thank
27:33 you, gentlemen, for joining us. And we hope that the contest between India and Pakistan
27:41 is not a dull one or a dead one. Something like the 2022 World Cup transpires between
27:49 these two nations and a winner is decided on the final ball.
27:51 [MUSIC PLAYING]
27:55 (upbeat music)